I called and Penn told me I was deferred from M&T. Is this a good sign or bad?
What are my chances of getting in regular decision and what can I do to improve those chances?
My second choice school is SEAS, since I was deferred M&T do I have a good chance of getting in there RD?
It’s certainly better than a rejection. Penn has a less than 20% deferral rate, so of the ~75% who didn’t make it, you’re in the top, which is definitely a good thing. This is why deferred candidates have a slightly higher acceptance rate than regular applicants in RD. Not too much higher, but noticeable.
That being said, you can improve your chances by demonstrating your continued interest in Penn and whatever it is you’re trying to study. Continue to update Penn about what you’re doing- what awards you’re winning, what clubs you’re participating in, what significant accomplishment you’ve done, additional recommendations (Tread carefully here, some schools don’t want this) etc. There’s a good article on CC as to what to do if you are deferred, including sending the school a later of continued interest. Take a look at that.
Finally, the best thing you can do is keep up your grades. You’ll be required to submit a mid-year report (your first semester grades), and an increased trend in grades can show that you are a committed and capable student. On the flipside, getting bad grades maybe show otherwise.
If you want more precise chances (though obviously not absolute or accurate in any way) post your stats.
bump
On the website they say 11% of those deferred last year got in. Slightly higher than the admission rate for the entire RD pool. I got deferred too and anyway I think it better than a rejection.
Guys, it’s not slightly higher.
You guys are comparing 11% to the 10% OVERALL acceptance rate. You guys should be comparing it to the 7% RD acceptance rate. 11% is a 60% increase from 7%!!!
Also, I believe that the acceptance rate for those deferred from dual degree programs is much much higher than 11%
How much higher would it be for dual? Especially since this is M&T and my second choice is just SEAS. Or are you saying I have higher chance for M&T or for SEAS?
yeah I’d say our chances for getting into M&T are very slim especially if you did what I did and put in the single degree as RD but it should be a fairly good bet for a single degree admission. Doubt they release any of those stats though.
Still trying to figure out whether I got deferred because I put in RD and they can’t give me the single choice early or whether they actually deferred me. Did anyone indicate their single choice ED and still get deferred?
They told me they actually deferred me from M&T and SEAS didn’t even get to read my application, not because it was non-binding but because M&T deferred me. I would call them and ask if I were you.
thanks…I’m guessing the same thing happened to me what did your letter say?
Call them to confirm, letter was not really helpful
@VeniVidiViciDM It’s much higher. See, M&T is super competitive. If you get deferred it means that you’re a great applicant, but they just weren’t sure. But that means that you are one of the strongest applicants in Penn’s overall pool, you woulud mostly have been accepted to your single choice.
I’m saying that you have a better shot at SEAS than M&T
@schakrab I indicated a binding single degree choice. I was deferred
Also, VeniVidi, when you called them did they ask you for specific information such as your Common App ID or your full name before telling you that you were deferred from M&T?
@ShaunakK98 that’s awsome! I feel much relieved. Hopefully I’ll get into M&T as well. And yeah I gave them my name and ID.