Hi all,
As you can tell from the title, I was recently deferred from my absolute #1 choice: Brown University. This deferral is absolutely destroying me–I have been crying since 6:01PM, no exaggeration. Tomorrow, I am going to talk to my guidance counselor about the next steps, but what are your suggestions? I’ve read online that you should call admissions, but what would I say? I know that a lot of people send deferral letters, which I definitely will. I want to discuss what I have accomplished thus far in my senior year, and reiterate my interest in Brown in a very specific way. Ethos, pathos, logos, all that jazz. I don’t want this letter to be too long, though. Do you guys think it should be more brief? I really want them to see that Brown is still my #1 choice and that I am a great fit for Brown and will take advantage of the multitude of opportunities offered to me there. Of course, I will thank my admissions officer and be very positive/hopeful in my email (a stark contrast to what I’m feeling now).
What else do you guys recommend? Should I send them another teacher rec? What do you think the chances of getting in after a deferral are–is it basically just a rejection? HELP.
Draft a letter tonight (don’t stay up late doing it- just do a SHORT- 1 body paragraph- draft. Do not over-focus on how much you love them: they know that already. They just aren’t sure how much they like you back.
Take it with you to talk to your counselor. Ask if your counselor can call the regional rep and give some idea of the thinking. Have your GC read the draft and give you feedback.
And then, immediately- as in, tomorrow night- start your essays for your Plan B schools. Focus on the ‘why us’ essays: force yourself to spend time deep-diving their websites, finding the things that you would actually like about each school.
Deferred is not denied, but it does mean you need a Plan B that you can make peace with.
IF you get any sort of award or something of note between now and (say) end January, it is fine to send in another brief note saying, ‘just to update you, as part of EC A that was a big part of my application, I was selected for X / won Y’ etc.
@collegemom3717 what should the contents of that letter be? What should I focus on? Updates on senior year, or just thanking them and reiterating Brown is still my first choice?
I don’t have any advice, but I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am that you are so crushed. You must be amazing to even qualify to be in the running for Brown. Try and stay positive and I hope the deferral gets flipped in your favor!
obviously, it has to be you & your voice, but the usual advice is *thank you for your letter *obviously disappointed, but still committed to Brown as #1 choice *look forward to / believe that I can bring X and Y to the Brown community. If you have something that is objectively strong that has happened since your application, obviously mention it. Otherwise just leave it at that.
i feel exactly the same way. finally stopped crying about it. it’s just the worst…my only advice is try to focus on other apps because getting off of the waitlist is hard and unlikely as there are 2000+ on it. i feel so crushed
Next step – move on and really nail your remaining applications. Honestly – an email now saying how much you want to attend is meaningless. Wait until around the end of January, then send one with updates (maybe new accomplishments?) and tell them them how much you still hope to attend. They already know it right now (you applied ED). Give them some new reasons once they are really into the RD reviews.
And be realistic. Odds are good you will end up at a different school. Dig into those other apps. Remind yourself why those schools are on your list.
Keep the letter of interest short and specific to why Brown is still your #1 choice. Enter in as many competitions that are relevant to your skills as possible as sending Brown an update with a new award or EC development is good for your application
My s was one of those deferred last yr and 1 of the 100 accepted RD. He just dusted himself off and concentrated d on up and coming aps. Then just sent in the updates required. He did not graval to them. He just showed his passion in app and let it go from there.
Definitely keep your letter to Brown short and positive. Admissions staff are very busy this time of year and will appreciate a short letter of continued interest.
Also, definitely remember that there are a LOT of very good universities in the US. You need to focus primarily on other schools now, because you probably aren’t going to end up at Brown. You need other options. If you are a strong enough candidate to be deferred at Brown (rather than rejected), then you are a strong enough candidate to get into other very good schools.
Harvard RD 1118 out of 33,033 (3.4%)
Princeton RD 1120 out of 26,053 (4.3%)(waitlist,1168=4.5%, Yield,1308=69.2%)
Stanford REA/RD 2050 out of 44,073 (4.6%)
Yale RD 1401 out of 27,814 (5.0%)(Yield,1550=69.2%)
Columbia ED/RD 2185 out of 37,389 (5.8%)
Brown RD 1927 out of 29,554 (6.5%)(Deferred accepted,100=5.4%, waitlist,1000=3.4%)
MIT RD 781 out of 11,853 (6.6%)
Pomona RD 554 out of 8155 (6.8%)(Yiels,415=56.0%)
Penn RD 2345 out of 34,266 (6.8%)(Yield,2445=66.1%)
Northwestern RD ~2408 out of 33,519 (7.2%)
Duke RD 2255 out of ~30,884 (7.3%)(58 deferred accepted=8.6%)
MIT EA 657 out of 8394 (7.8%) (def=69.7%, rej=22.4%)
My point is control what you can and concentrate on your apps.