<p>Hello everyone, i was deferred from Penn ED, and have only recently completed my “penn is still my first choice” letter. My question is, who do i send this letter to, my regional advisor, or the admissions office in general (i know the name of my regional director (Elizabeth Spegele), however I do not know her email adress). Also, do you guys think it is too late to send the letter by post, and that email would be a better method of sending it? Thank you very much.</p>
<p>I sent a letter out by post today. I think it should be fine.</p>
<p>Is sending a deferral letter significant ?</p>
<p>I don't know if sending a letter is significant. I was told to send one, but didn't. If they ultimately accept me, then we'll know the letter wasn't a factor (since I didn't send one and don't plan on sending one).
I don't want to write a letter saying I want to attend Penn since I don't even want to go there anymore. I love UMICH and I'm waiting to hear from Cornell. But my major scholarship from Mich will be too hard to pass up.</p>
<p>I didn't send one either... I did send a letter updating them on a couple awards that I got. But I figured Penn is one of those elite schools that they're gonna accept the candidates they want regardless of whether people sent some sort of deferral letter or had their guidance counselor call them or something like that.</p>
<p>I agree with dulce and onevoice; however, I think that the adcom needs to see something different in the application. We must be able to improve our apps in some way, if nothing is changed, the adcom is not gonna take us... since there was something in the app that got us deferred in the first place. In addition, i think that we should demonstrate some sort of interest, that it is still our first choice. The adcom wouldnt want to accept a deferred applicant who isnt gonna ultimately attend.</p>
<p>Most will attend though, since they applied ED.</p>
<p>Even if a low deferral sent in a letter saying how Penn is still his 1st choice, I doubt that'd be enough to sway Penn into taking him over a higher deferral. (I do believe some kids can be considered low and high deferrals... For example, my friend and I were both deferred... Me being top 3% and scoring in the 2300s / He being top 6% and barely breaking 2000. Not to mention my ECs/awards are better than his.)
After all, it is Penn, and they want the best quality of students that they can get... They're not going to accept a less-qualified student over a more-qualified student just because the former sent in a bunch of letters detailing his love for Penn.</p>
<p>And I don't think every deferred candidate needs to update their application in order to be accepted (although I did because I felt two awards that I received would benefit my app a bit)... I'm sure students who have been deferred that didn't send extra things to the school in Jan/Feb have been accepted.
I don't think there's necessarily something wrong with each deferral's application... They're probably just not insanely strong enough to be accepted early, but not crappily bad enough to be outright rejected... So the admissions people give them a second look in March/April.</p>
<p>Meh, we'll see how it goes I guess.
Good luck. =)</p>
<p>welll... I agree again haha.. however.. according to "A is for Admission", since competion during RD round is fiercer, applicants that... "They're probably just not insanely strong enough to be accepted early, but not crappily bad enough to be outright rejected... So the admissions people give them a second look in March/April"... </p>
<p>Those applicants are the ones usually rejected since nothing changed. The book states that those applicants are going to get rejected anyway, unless something in their app changes, and that they were too strong to be rejected during ED.</p>
<p>ok heres my take on things. deferred means that you were obviously not good enough to be taken immediately, but you weren't exactly a "poor" applicant. the adcom must have seen something in the deferred applicant to give them the deferral versus the rejection. and remember, penn is an elite school, yes, but it it generally well known that the amount of interest one shows in the school as well as the amount of character one can demonstrate towards the adcom is definately a factor that can either help or deter your admissions decision to penn. therefore, i think writing a letter and updating them on any accomplishments can help you, or will at least give the adcom a reason to take a "serious" second look at your application, whereas not writing a letter might not detract from the quality of your application, but certainly wont give the adcom reason to look at you in a more serious manner the second time around. it might seem as if you were giving up on penn, or something to that effect.</p>
<p>btw, when i called my regional director in december, she said that they definately like to see a letter from deferred applicants expressing continued interest in the school, and that midyear grades are quite important for deferred applicants. </p>
<p>those are my thoughts, take them as you will.</p>
<p>Yeah, I'm glad I sent them an update of some of my accomplishments. Hopefully that letter is also construed as "continued interest" in Penn... Cause if I wasn't interested, why would I have bothered to send that in ?</p>
<p>And blech, I hate how midyear grades are an important factor... I have a B on my midyear report. I'm afraid that'll sway the decision against me... Que sera sera.</p>
<p>i think that the deferral letter is exteremly important - restate your interest and how penn is sitll your number one choice</p>
<p>Penn, though it is an uper echelon school, does look more favorably on kids who want to be there and want to attend the school (hence better admit rate during ED). </p>
<p>According to an interview with Lee Stetson, Penn's Dean of Admissions, in the Atlantic Monthly in 2001: "We have had a policy in place for close to thirty years that legacy applications are given special consideration only during early decision." The reasoning is that if a legacy candidate is not sure enough about coming to Penn to apply ED, then Penn has no real stake in offering preferential consideration later on. "Years ago many children of alums were not viewing Penn as their first choice, so they didn't apply early," he said. "We said we were willing to give them a measure of preference, but only if they were serious about coming." It made sense, he added, for Penn to extend the policy to applicants in general: if they are extra serious about Penn, Penn will make an extra effort for them. "We've been very direct about it," Stetson said. "Everybody likes to be loved, and we're no exception. Everybody likes to see a sign of commitment, and it helps in the selection process."</p>
<p>Yeah, I think everyone would agree that Penn wants kids who are passionate about attending. Hence why they admit nearly half of their class through ED.</p>
<p>im a legacy (my mom went to penn vet), and i was deferred :(</p>
<p>im wondering if they will still consider my legacy status after being deferred, as i clearly stated in my deferral letter than penn was still my first choice...</p>
<p>I donno how bad one B will look on your midyear report with_one. just keep your hopes high and think positive, because trust me, senioritis has a tendency to make good students get many more than 1 B in first semester senior year, especially when they have the toughest courseload available.</p>
<p>Hehe, thanks. I have all A's on my transcript, so the B just bothers me even more.</p>
<p>But yeah, we'll see... I really doubt I'll be among that 12% of deferrals who are admitted in April (although someone on CC several months ago predicted that I'd be deferred and then admitted, lol).
I have several other schools (Cornell, Georgetown) that I'm excited about and would love to attend, so I think no matter what, things'll work out for the best.</p>
<p>all see you at georgetown with one voice</p>
<p>Whoo, Georgetown love. DC is the shyt.</p>
<p>Notification in under a month...</p>
<p>Hey with<em>one</em>voice! I also applied to Cornell and Georgetown. I can't wait to hear from them. Maybe we'll see each other at Cornell.</p>
<p>and 12%, hell, thats really not that low a percent. think about it: roughly 1 in 8 deferred gets accepted in april (the percent is actually closer to 12.37, so almost exactly 1 in 8). if you have 4 of those deferred that just gave up and didnt send a letter, didnt do anything since they were deferred basically, you can say that you already have a better shot then them (provided you have a good midyear and sent a letter and an update). now you are down to 1 in 4. from there, its just a matter of who expressed the most interest, and who has the best numbers for senior year (which shouldnt be that hard for CC'ers) i think (im making an assumption that midyears are huge because my RD said they were important for deferred people).</p>
<p>always be positive, i know this is repetitive, but i could swear if you think something will happen, then it will. i know, i sound like my grandma :)</p>
<p>i doubt that half the deferred just give up on penn</p>
<p>I sent in an extra teacher supp (which is amazing) and a personal letter to Mr. Stetson. However, I have 3 B's and terrible midterms. Our school is pretty tough, and I'm taking all APs, so it's a draw.</p>