Deferred? Don't Despair!

Applying to College
1

<p>Early action and decision results will be out soon (some already are). For those accepted, congratulations! For those rejected, my sympathy. But what about the deferred, the curious limbo of admissions? A few tips picked up from Admissions at my university and from CC: </p>

<p>Is this basically a rejection?</p>

<p>No. Colleges rarely admit more than 50% of the freshman class through early decision, and perfectly good applicants can be deferred. Deferring applicants allows colleges to build a well-rounded class. As long as you have safeties, don't give up.</p>

<p>What should my next step be?</p>

<p>Look over your EA/ED application. Is there something you should have explained better? Should you have focused on a particular aspect of your application? Your guidance counselor may be able to contact admissions and help you figure out how to improve your application. Fine-tune your RD applications and get them sent! Make sure you have a safety you love.</p>

<p>What can I do about my deferral?</p>

<p>1. Call for backup. Talk to your guidance counselor and get him/her to contact admissions. A call from someone who knows you well and can plead your case to admissions goes a long way. A periodic call with updated information can help make your application stand out.</p>

<p>2. Another recommendation. Preferably choose someone who knows you well and can address a side of you not expressed in your application. Did you start a club? Organize an animal adoption drive? Get someone to write about it. </p>

<p>3. Send supplements. Interested in music? Send a tape. Who could resist a talented oboist tootling the alma mater? Interested in art? Send a portfolio. In dance? Send a video. Anything you send gives admissions officers a better sense of who you are and what you can contribute. </p>

<p>4. Keep them updated. Did you win that major writing contest? Did you retake the SAT and improve your scores? Did you get a state title? Let admissions know! You are allowed to send supplementary materials after the RD due date.</p>

<p>5. Find a "friend" in admissions. Call and write him/her. Let them know that Y College is still your #1 choice. Inform them of any recent accomplishments. Send them clippings from newspaper articles about you. Write him/her a letter. The more admissions knows about you, the better.</p>

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<p>If I made significant changes to my essay, can I send them the update?</p>

<p>If I saw parts of my application which I forgot to mention, what should I do? Don't they just look at your EA application again?</p>

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<p>Yes, send them the updated essay. If you forgot to mention something in your application, write them about that too. Sometimes tiny things can make or break an application.</p>

4

<p>How would you send extra stuff? Just put it in an envelope with some ID information (SSN, Name etc.)? Would it need some sort of letter to introduce it all?</p>

5

<p>Colleges often have protocol for all that. It's usually online. Otherwise, call and ask about how to submit supplements.</p>

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<p>I just submit the application online. I later improved the essay. Can I sent in the improved essay, will that cause confusion?</p>

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<p>Before you go sending off every little detail, use discretion. You want to make them like you by improving your profile. However, if you are just adding little tidbits that will barely add anything to your candidacy, don't send it in. Basically, don't annoy them too much. THey are real people, they want to see eagerness, but not overbearing eagerness.</p>

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<p>park327- As long as the application deadline hasn't passed, then feel free. It's not at all uncommon for applicants to find errors in their essays after sending them. If you do send it, be sure to mark it as the "correct" essay so readers will know to disregard your other essay.</p>

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<p>My son got a call, a month ago, saying he was on a waiting list, to get into a certain program he wanted. Just this week, that school called back to say he's officially admitted. In the meantime, that first call caused him to send out two more applications to other schools, which could have been good back-ups.</p>

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<p>Warblersrule's advice to those who get deferred is excellent. My child was deferred at the U of Chicago and followed this advice a few years ago, doing everything suggested. It worked and she was admitted regular decision.</p>

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<p>Thanks, Asiakid and warblerrule86. Both are very valuable suggestions.</p>

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<p>Many years ago I was deferred from an Ivy ED; I wanted the process to be over so much and was really unhappy and jealous of my friends who had ED acceptances. But I did get into college in the end!!! Keep busy senior year and don't obsess over the deferral; it is not the defining moment of your life.</p>

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<p>So far this all sounds very cheery, and I am known to all my friends as a glass-half-full kind of gal, but I think I should interject some reality here. I have watched the admissions process over the past three years and tried to find statistics that shed light on the quandry of an ED/EA deferral. My bottom line: schools don't report these numbers.</p>

<p>Yes, there are individuals who were deferred and then admitted, but certainly over the past few years I think these applicants represent the exception not the rule.</p>

<p>If you receive an ED deferral, my advice to you is think long and hard about the school. It is the school's loss that they have placed you in the deferred category. Check out other options. Talk to teachers and counselors that know you best. Find a school that wants you rather than chasing a school that based on the data/odds will probably reject you this spring.</p>

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<p>Look over the suggestions given by OP. Make sure that whatever additional materials you send are truly valuable. I would hesitate to send minor corrections or changes. I think a simple cover letter expressing your disappointment and continued interest, along with any additional accomplishments or activities of senior year should suffice.</p>

<p>Give yourself a set amount of time in which to do this (maybe one week) and then MOVE ON. Assume that nothing will change in April and focus on your other schools. Don't keep checking the threads about your school - find new schools to discuss.</p>

<p>DD was deferred and ultimately accepted. By the time April rolled around, she had truly put it out of her mind and focused on other choices. She was a much healthier kid for not getting too bogged down in whether there was anything else she could do to help her cause.</p>

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<p>Is the hope for any kind of merit/award/grant money (non-FAFSA stuff) pretty much gone by the time Regular Decision rolls around?</p>

<p>I ask because son was admiited EA to his second-choice school with a surprisingly large award attached. His first-choice school (with admissions standards just a smidge tougher, but not much) deferred him to RD.</p>

<p>Just don't know what to do......waiting until April 1st is not easy when there's another offer on the table......but it is from his 'distant second' choice.</p>

<p>No way we could afford choice one school without a goodly bit of non-need aid. Should we now assume it ain't gonna happen with his being bumped to RD?</p>

<p>Thanky ou for any advice.</p>

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<p>cardinalalum80</p>

<p>Sounds like you were deferred and then rejected. It is heartbreaking when that happens, but I know MANY more students who were accepted after being deferred. If you were deferred, then there was certainly something that caught their eye about your application. Keep in touch with the school as mentioned above, and let them know that their school is your number one choice. Make sure you do VERY well your fall semester senior year, and retake the SAT/ACT if you think you can improve. If it worked for me with an Ivy League school, it can work for you. Just make sure you are giving them DIFFERENT information. Don't send a whole bunch of new recommendations. Remember--the admissions people will ask themselves, "What will this student bring our school? not "What can we do for this student!" Good luck--and stay optimistic.</p>

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<p>if anyone could give me some advice, that'd be great. I just got deferred from Pomona College, and if you know anything that would help me get in regular decision (aside from the great tips on this thread) please tell me
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pomona-college/433460-ok-deferred-now-what.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pomona-college/433460-ok-deferred-now-what.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>CBcheck, I think there is still hope for good aid, possibly still merit aid. Your son should have until April 1 to accept or reject the scholarship from school number 2. It's something nice to have in the pocket while he pursues his other choice. :)</p>

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<p>Son was deferred from ed school, but has been accepted at three other really good ones who have offered a lot of merit awards. My question is, is there a chance he could still get in through ra or should we move on? Thanks.</p>

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<p>My son was just deferred from Yale. SAT 2310, 8 AP's and 8 college credits from Harvard, summer science research and a 95.3 high school average. He is editor-in-chief of Yearbook, and president and captain of all he does at his HS. He also founded a community service program in our town. He has a state rank in Chess as well. What more do they want?</p>

<p>P.S. Forgot to mention SAT 2 scores of Math2C-800, Physics-800, BIO-780</p>