<p>So the letter sent out to deferred students is not promising at all... 15 to 20 of deferred ED applicants get in regular? Ugh. Does anyone know how many people were deferred and how many were outright rejected? If this is just a gentle rejection then I'll move on and apply ED II at my second choice.</p>
<p>My son was deferred ED and then accepted regular decision. His guidance counselor called admissions right after the deferral, my son emailed as well asking for any additional insight on the decision. He also submitted additional music work and some other awards he received and a letter indicating his continued interest. I don’t know for sure what tipped the scales in favor of admission, but it worked for him!</p>
<p>Make sure the admissions office knows you are very interested! Submit any other items that would help strengthen your file.</p>
<p>Was the admissions office responsive to the call/email? Were they able to provide some insight that was helpful?</p>
<p>I find myself second guessing so many parts of my son’s application, wondering if there was anything they saw as weak, or otherwise questionable. I thought for sure my son’s application would stand out as being different/interesting. My son thinks that if he didn’t leave a strong enough impression in a pool of 500+ applicants, what’s the chance that he will in a pool of 6000. But, they do ultimately admit a few of the deferred students. </p>
<p>I, too, wonder how many kids were deferred vs outright rejected.</p>
<p>Wow, it is tough to be deferred an someone’s dream school. There are some reasons to defer a “different/interesting” candidate. Going to the common data set, they do put academic rigor, grades, class rank, and test scores as the “most important” consideration over ECs. Someone also posted a link on eph blog as to who would be considered a “level 1” academic applicant. My D, who is at Williams, has slightly stronger stats and leadership than her BFF across the street. They also both played violin. At the schools D applied, BFF got wait-listed although she is academically a “level 1”. In other words, I suspect the schools only had room to admit 1 caucasian violinist from our county. BFF is happily at another elite LAC. </p>
<p>What I would do is submit additional academic credentials such as higher SAT scores, SAT II’s, and results from a rigorous course of study the first part of senior year. Being “unique” would also be a plus.</p>
<p>Thanks for responding. I did read that controversial Eph blog post, and their academic rating scale. My son’s stats should be considered very strong and it’s his non-traditional education (until high school) that contributes to his interesting/unusual background. He graduated this past year so his final grades are in. He graduated in the top 5% of a very large graduating class. It would be nice to find out whether there is something he could do to improve his application to leave a more compelling impression.</p>
<p>On the one hand, you don’t want to be a pest…on the other hand, you want to give them the opportunity to learn about you as a candidate, to help tip the scales in your favor.</p>
<p>I would be interested in knowing whether the reps appreciate hearing from students, and if they are able to provide insight to help students strengthen their applications. Are the regional reps the actual readers for each application?</p>