Chances of Being Admitted Post-Deferral?

Colleges & Universities A-Z Yale University
1

Please be honest with me and tell me if I was a courtesy deferral.

GPA and Background
3.94 UW, 4.74 W

Chinese female, California

COLLEGE DECISIONS SO FAR
Deferred from Yale EA
No merit scholarships from USC
Accepted to Berkeley early but no Regents invite
Invited to UCSB Chancellor’s Reception
UCI Regents and CHP

CLASS RANK
<1%, 4th of 529 students

SAT
2240 (2400 scale), 720 CR, 740 Math, 780 Writing,

SAT II’s
750 Chemistry, 750 US History, 800 Math Level II, 750 Spanish Reading

AP CLASSES
AP World History (4), AP US History (4), AP Chem (5), AP Lang (5), Calc AB (5)

SENIOR YEAR CLASSES
AP Literature, AP Calc BC, AP Physics, AP Spanish, AP Psychology, Photography 150 (community college class offered at my high school)

MID YEAR REPORT: All A’s first semester of senior year

EXTRACURRICULARS
Mu Alpha Theta (12)
Key Club (9-12)
CSF (9-12)
Academic Decathlon (9-11)
Math Club (9-10)
Tutorial Club (11-12)
Piano (4-12)
Sync or Swim (9-11)
Toastmasters (11-12)
Your Vote Matters—Advancing Justice (11-12)—Asian American Voting Campaign
Homework Helper at local libraries (11-12)
Theater Usher (11-12)
TeenInk Advisory Board (10-12)

LEADERSHIP
TeenInk Advisory Board (10-12)
Your Vote Matters—Advancing Justice (11-12)—Asian American Voting Campaign
Counselor at Tech Trek, STEM camp for pre-teen girls (10-12)

SUMMER INVOLVEMENT
Empowerment Program—program that encouraged Asian-American youth in political engagement (12)
Doctor Shadower at private gastroenterology clinic (12)

AWARDS
• AP Scholar with Distinction,
• Academic Decathlon Language and Literature
• Academic Decathlon SuperQuiz Silver Medal,
• Academic Decathlon Science Bronze Medal
• Academic Decathlon Speech Bronze Medal
• Academic Decathlon Interview Bronze Medal
• Academic Decathlon Economics Bronze Medal
• Published a personal narrative in TeenInk
• TeenInk Editor’s Choice Award
• CM Level 10 Piano

“NOTABLE” ACHIEVEMENTS (I TRIED)
Worked on an astrophysics research project for 3 summers with PHD and grad students and work got published in a physics journal—I was a co-author
Published a personal narrative in TeenInk, a national magazine

ESSAYS: 7.5-9, some were better than others

RECOMMENDATIONS
Physics teacher gave a solid recc, English teacher gave maybe a 7/10, and the doctor I worked with sent a really nice recc

2

Everything seemed pretty good, but not amazing, up until the published research. I think that’s a really impressive point, so I wouldn’t count you out. Besides that, everything seems very average (well, average for Yale’s standards). I think a lot depends on luck right now. If they don’t get a lot of Chinese, female Californians, or don’t get a lot of students with published research, I think you stand a chance, but otherwise, I wouldn’t be overly hopeful. But you never know until you know…

3

I would take it at the Admission Office’s word that you are being considered along with the other RD applicants. Your objective credentials certainly put you solidly in the accepted student’s range. That being said, thousands of equally qualified students will not be admitted. UC Berkeley and USC are great schools, and I am sure you will be admitted to other great schools as well. To me, it is all upside for you, so enjoy your senior year. It’s all out of your hands at this point, and you and your parents should be proud of your accomplishments. Best of luck.

4

Unless you’re a Yale legacy, I see no reason to think that this is a courtesy deferral. I think you’re in the RD pool with everybody else.

5

I think courtesy deferral means that the deferral was a polite, postponed rejection.

6

@jamiejamie8100 why would you say “no merit scholarships from USC” - did you get in? My understanding was that anyone that was let in early - even if their letter did not state Trustee, Mork, Stamps potential scholarship, will get the Dean’s scholarship which is 1/4 tuition?

7

@hcmom65 I applied before 12/1 but didn’t get any merit scholarships. So no admissions decision from USC yet

8

@Hunt Courtesy deferral means that I was deferred but they meant it as a polite rejection

9

^ and Hunt was saying that courtesy deferrals are usually reserved for legacy applicants, if they’re used at all. Yale otherwise has no reluctance to reject, as they do thousands every year.

10

@IxnayBob I’m not legacy at all. I’m so confused. What’s a courtesy deferral? I thought it was something done in the EA round to give people who have a (slight) chance at admission a second chance and some false hope, as long as if their stats were slightly in range.

11

I don’t think Yale uses it to give anyone false hope.

Some people have suggested, perhaps correctly, that some legacy students or children of significant donors are “let down gently” by a courtesy deferral. I haven’t seen it used that way, but I guess it could be.

If you’re not a legacy, but were deferred, then the deferral was exactly what it purported to be: a deferral to see how you stacked up against the RD kids.

12

Courtesy deferral to me means you have all the right stuff, but they wanted to pick others who may have had lesser credentials due to diversity, so they couldn’t reject you. They will definitely take another look in the RD round, but I think you know for Asians, the bar is set much higher, so you will be competing against other asians who might look more outstanding than what you presented.

13

I want to confirm that I think a courtesy deferral–if it exists at all–would be for people who a not getting in at all, but that the university wants to let down easy–as IxnayBob said, perhaps a legacy or a donor. Maybe somebody from a high school that the university has a close relationship with.

But I also agree that if you’re not in some special category like this, a deferral simply means that you are a potential but not definite admit, and that you’ll be considered in the RD round with a lot of other people like you. I know anecdotally that deferred people do get admitted, but I don’t think anybody knows how many.