I’m going to be honest with y’all. I can not take this deferred thing seriously when 60% of us were deferred.
^^^ 100% agree with you. They deferred 2,318 people. Add that to the thousands of people applying RD and those are terrible odds. I think that the people who were rejected were either EXTREMELY under-qualified or just awful people–probably extreme situations. They deferred so many of us that a deferral basically means nothing. Sure, some people who are deferred will end up getting in, but not very many. If Brown did not defer so many of us, then it would mean something but at this rate I don’t think it means very much.
hey guys, I am new to this website… I got deferred from Brown too. It is really nice to find a little space to express out feelings.
@hopefull7890 Yes! Welcome to our little pocket of the Internet.
Accepted to WPI with presidential scholarship!!! Yay I’m not a total failure.
what are you guys planning to do about deferral letters? I keep trying to write one and it comes out like Brown is my ex with whom I’m still deeply in love
when are you going to send it in?
Here’s my two cents on deferral letters as a college freshmen. Last year, I was deferred ED and later was admitted to that school (although I ended up choosing Brown in the end), but I’m sure it is a similar process at every school.
My counselor also used to work in Yale admissions and has a great relationship with lots of top schools, so I think he has a pretty good idea of these letters should do. He said that, best case scenario, there is a significant update you can put in the letter that will help your case. Maybe you won some award, your team/club won a tournament, you got a 4.0 first semester, etc. Any positive new information will definitely help your case.
However, even if there aren’t any significant updates, a letter is still a good thing to do, even if it just sounds like you are in love with Brown. Brown, like any top ranked school, cares a ton about admissions yield, and a short email saying that Brown remains your first choice and that you will absolutely attend if admitted (only say this if true though) will help your case. When it comes down to final admissions decisions and there are a few spots left and a ton of kids with similar stats, Brown would definitely rather take the ED deferral kid who promised they would still attend if admitted rather than taking an equally qualified candidate who, based on the stats from last year, has around a 55% chance of choosing to attend Brown.
I personally would say send in the letter in mid-January, as there is no point sending it in until after the holidays and RD apps have been submitted. I would definitely include your first semester grades (as long as they are good/decent), and try to include some other new information. If you think of something will happen after mid-January that will significantly improve your chances of getting in, wait for that, but for the vast majority of students I would just say submit it in January. It can be short, and just say ‘Thank you so much for considering me for ED… Brown remains my first choice because … I will absolutely attend Brown if admitted this spring… Since submitting my application, I have continued to excel in … Recently, I received recognition for my work on … I kept up my strong academic performance this fall, earning these grades… Thank you again for your consideration’.
That is a very generic template I just quickly thought of and you should definitely add a personal flare to it, but even if you just write a few sentences and have nothing new to share, this email would still put you above all the ED kids who didn’t send an email (and probably an comparable RD kids as well), so it is definitely worth doing even if you feel like its just you groveling over Brown.
@brownstudent984 Super helpful. Thanks so much! Just wondering, what are your thoughts on mailing a paper copy of the letter to the admissions office as opposed to just sending it as an email? I figure a student who mails their letter may come across as more serious?
@jrdsnw honestly, I have no idea. On one hand, a letter is definitely more formal and you will definitely be one of very few people who does that, but at the same time it seems like a lot of unnecessary effort. If you do an email, you can write the email, proof read it, send it, and it will reach the admissions office instantaneously. You’ll probably get a quick response noting that they got the email and are adding it to your file, and that will be that. If you mail a letter, you have to wait a while for it to get there, you probably won’t receive any confirmation that they ever received it, and they might just roll their eyes at some kid trying to be all fancy and send a letter. So personally, I probably wouldn’t do the letter because I’m too paranoid and I would probably think it got lost in the mail, but I think you can do it- probably won’t make a big impact on your decision either way.
Hey guys! I’ve been deferred as well and I’m seeking some advice. I just won two gold keys for my art in the scholastic art and writing competition. Does anybody have experience reporting this to the university? Their closed currently, but do you even think its worth telling Brown? I know its only regionals, but I thought that maybe anything could help. Any other winners here 
?
Me too. I would say send them a letter (to your regional admissions rep) updating them on your new awards/other accomplishments. @JAM8EE
Wondering about whether the update letter could be loaded into the admissions portal for a deferred ED candidate? Has anyone tried this?
@mclmom: We applied at RD. I remember after Ivy Day, you can use your Brown account and click on “Admission Decision.” and it should take you to a window that allows to to upload additional stuff. I guess “Admission Decision” is not available now. If you have not sent in an LOCI, it is already pretty late. Usually the last pieces of candidate data, interview reports, come in by mid-February. Best luck to you.
Thank you. Semester grades will not be provided by DC’s school until mid-February because their semester just ended - so we are within in that timeframe.
do any of you get text messages from Brown?
I am not implying that Brown is doing the way Harvard does, but as a reference … out of 75 percent who were deferred by Harvard … just 2.3 percent of applicants who were deferred to the regular admissions cycle received acceptance letters. You can imagine a lot of those Harvard/Yale/etc. deferred are also coming into Brown’s RD pool.
Thanks, that’s exactly what we need to hear :/.
The deferral letter said that the acceptance rate for deferred applicants is typically consistent with the regular decision acceptance rate. Does that mean that presumably 9% of deferred students are later accepted?
@sciencenerd123 : I am surprised the deferral letter actually talks about acceptance rate?? My latest calculation indicates that the RD acceptance rate would probably go below 6.5% this year (last year 6.9%).