Deferral Letter Comparison

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Michigan
1

<p>There's been a lot of talk about the difference between the deferral letters and I think it would be best to just have one reference so people can see where they fall. All of the info presented is my opinion and what I've seen as the consensus on the boards so take it with a grain of salt.</p>

<p>"Good" Letter (abridged):</p>

<p>We are pleased that you have applied and are impressed with your achievements. However, our high application volume, coupled with the very strong credentials of our applicants in recent years, has contributed to an increasingly competitive admissions process. As a result, we are writing to inform you that your application is currently being deferred for further review.</p>

<p>While this is not the answer that you were hoping to hear, your application remains under consideration. All final admissions decisions of admit, deny, or waitlist will be made no later than early April, 2014.</p>

<p>Strong fall semester or trimester grades may improve your status in the deferred pool of applicants. Therefore, please ask your high school counselor to forward them when they become available. Beyond that, we are confident that the information you have given us is more than sufficient for a final decision. The most successful candidates send us only what we require. </p>

<p>We hope your interest in Michigan continues. You have our best wishes for an enjoyable and successful end of your senior year.</p>

<p>What we think it means:</p>

<p>This letter seems to indicate that you are qualified for Michigan, but they are not sure if they would admit you over somebody with similar stats. It does say that 7th semester grades can be sent but it doesn't stress the importance of sending them. It also praises the applicant for their achievements.</p>

<p>"Bad" Letter (abridged):</p>

<p>Thank you for your freshman application to the University of Michigan. After an initial individualized and comprehensive review of your application, we have determined that we will need additional information in order to make a final decision. We will not re-evaluate your application file until after our regular decision deadline of February 1, 2014. We need this additional information and time to ensure that we give your application the best possible review. We will notify you of a final decision on your application by early April.</p>

<p>The quality of grades earned in academic courses is one of several critical factors taken into consideration in evaluating a student's competitive admissibility. To give your application a final evaluation, we will need your fall semester or first trimester grades. Because it is important that we receive these grades as soon as possible, please request to have a PDF of your grades sent from the issuing institution to our office via an e-transcript vendor or to <a href="mailto:ecredentials@umich.edu">ecredentials@umich.edu</a>.</p>

<p>We appreciate your interest in the University of Michigan and look forward to receiving the information requested. We look forward to reviewing your completed application and appreciate your interest in the University of Michigan.</p>

<p>Go Blue!</p>

<p>What we think it means: This letter seems to indicate that Michigan is not sure whether or not you are qualified. It emphasizes that your application is not complete and that they will indefinitely need your 7th semester grades. It also does not praise the applicant for their achievements and seems to hint at a later notification date as it says that your application will not be considered until February.</p>

<p>Just what I think and what I've seen other people say. Feel free to leave your own comments.</p>

2

<p>@bmh423</p>

<p>Correct, but the good letter seems to say that there is a chance that they will make a decision on your application without receiving your semester grades. That coupled with stories from years prior of people receiving decisions just a couple of weeks after their deferral seem to show that people with the good letter will likely get in first.</p>

3

<p>@jeffler I got the good letter, and I am sending my grades too (I have a 4.0, 5.0 weighted, so it can’t hurt I guess). Is it true that people have the potential to get decisions as early as a couple weeks from now?</p>

4

<p>Actually all the letters ask for current senior year grades. One implies they might make a decision before Feb. 1 and one says they might make a decision after Feb. 1 but really we’re talking about a short period of time, so everyone get those first semester, first trimester grades submitted especially if your grades are stellar and improve your original application. Anecdotally, in previous years a few kids were accepted with all the different deferred letters some quickly in January and others trickling in during the ensuing months.</p>

5

<p>There is no good or bad deferral letter. If you look at previous years threads this will become apparent.</p>

6

<p>@sundaypunch</p>

<p>It’s apparent that there is a clear connotative difference between the two and that admissions had some purpose behind sending one letter over the other.</p>

7

<p>It’s tempting to think that, jeffler, but we don’t have the data to prove it: CC only has information on the outcomes for a few deferred applicants who posted their letters last year, and a sizable percentage who received the “good letter” were waitlisted or deferred. Admissions had some reason for sending different versions of the letters, yes, but we don’t know what that is. Saying that one indicates “a clear connotative difference” suggesting a higher likelihood of admission is not something we can substantiate. </p>

<p>I’ve been posting this in a lot of threads because I saw many applicants last year fretting endlessly about having the “good letter” or the “bad letter.” It did no one any good. I’ve been there in the agony of waiting for a decision, so I know it’s tough, but all you guys can do is wait, work hard, and send in your grades. Analyzing the letters won’t without basis won’t get you anywhere.</p>

8

<p>Speculating won’t get you much of anywhere because I can almost guarantee no one here will get it right, even if there is a real difference between the two.</p>

9

<p>I agree that speculation isn’t going to really get us anywhere but you have to understand that for many of us, Michigan is our number one choice and that this decision is what we’ve been working for four years. It makes sense, then, that we would fret endlessly over it and grasp for some type of pattern or reasoning. Not saying that it helps anything, but it’s natural.</p>

10

<p>The way I look at it is that the so called good one has moved in evaluation to an advanced level and held back to see if people drop out from early pool and also to see the student rises to the level of early admit candidates with fall grades.
The so called bad letter just implies that the evaluation has not proceeded to an advanced level … It could be due to two reasons. Time of submissions and materials that were received in by college or in the initial stages itself UOM thought they need more info before sending it to the next level. Now UOM considers them as regular applicants and will be treated as such … So they require the grades like any other regular admit candidate would be required to submit.
Again, my deductions … Could be wrong too.</p>