Hellobee Boards

We had to pay $200. We put it down in August 2012 for a slot in September 2013. We moved up the list and got the spot so they applied it towards the first month of tuition.

Don't judge a daycare based on (perceived) popularity to the extent that it could be popular due to its affordability and/or other factors (not many centers in the area and/or the most affordable center in the area, extended hours, sibling discounts, etc.).

@Corduroy: We had to pay a $150 deposit to get LO on the waiting list. It's common practice in our area.

No, where I am you don't pay to be on the waiting list. Every single centre here has a massive waiting list, so you have to put your unborn child on 10+ lists to have any hope of getting in, so it wouldn't be feasible to require deposits!

We paid between $150 to $200 to be put on wait lists at the daycares we were interested in. It is part of why we started looking for daycares when I was only 5 months pregnant. By the time C came along and was 8 weeks old one of the two had a spot open for him.

Deposits are standard in my area but the amount varies widely. The rationale is that it keeps the lists from being clogged up by people who don't really intend to send their kid there even if a spot opens up. The daycare we're hoping to get into was $25, which we gladly paid. Others I contacted were $100, $250, and $400(!) and we didn't bother applying, less because of the cost than because they pretty much told me there was no chance of getting a spot by the time I need to go back to work. It just seemed silly to pay for something we almost certainly won't be able to use.

ETA: I should clarify that these really are application fees, though most places call them deposits...they're non-refundable and most of them don't get applied to future tuition (only one center does this).

There is a fee because in general, people tend to put their names on a whole bunch of wait lists, thus taking up a spot that might otherwise be available. Our daycare required a deposit to ensure that we were serious.