<p>My daughter was deferred. Any tips on what she might do to bolster her app at this point? And does anyone know if there's much hope of getting accepted after being deferred? or is this just a slightly nicer rejection? Any and all advice greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>It’s not a slightly nicer rejection. If they didn’t want anything to do with your daughter, they would have rejected her. There are simply so many qualified applicants that they can’t possibly accept all of them.</p>
<p>That being said, the regular decision applicant pool is more competitive. It’s a good idea for your daughter to let the admissions office know that Wash U is still her number one choice. If there are any developments in her high school career that might help her chances, definitely email the admissions office and let them know. And of course, if she hasn’t taken them yet, she should try very hard to do well on her upcoming finals.</p>
<p>Perhaps most important is to stay positive. Getting deferred is very disappointing, but she should realize that Wash U is just one school. Even if it’s her first choice, she’ll apply to other great schools and she’ll get accepted to several of them. It may not seem like it, but the mere fact that she was deferred at Wash U means she’s right there in the upper echelon of students. She’ll be in a much better emotional and mental state if she comes to accept that.</p>
<p>Best of luck to both of you.</p>
<p>It’s also important that she demonstrate to the admissions officer that she can take an academic knockdown and bounce back up. Make the contact as upbeat as possible. The officer knows that there will be other knockdowns in the next four years and washu wants students who spring back up.</p>
<p>My daughter attended Wash U and had two friends who were deferred and got in. I think if you can afford to revisit the school, ask questions, sit in on a class, let them know you are still interested it might help. One of the kids who was deferred, her brother attended Wash U, and the other doggedly pursued the school by visiting, and meeting with people there.</p>