DEFERREMENT...whats the deal with that?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Yale University
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<p>Kids, at this point, the schools hold all the cards. Hopefully, by the time April 1 rolls around you will have a better look at your own hand, and will realize that in fact you hold some pretty good ones too. </p>

<p>Yale, in particular, is in an incongruously strong position for picking EA candidates because it's closest peer schools (H & P, right?) have no EA programs. In general, going EA should give the candidate a boost, but it's pretty possible that in this particular environment, it's harder to get in EA than RD, which is a reversal of the usual scenario.</p>

<p>So, don't take it too personally, submit some more great apps and get out there and stick it to Yale! </p>

<p>It wouldn't surprise me if the imbalance eventually ends, either by Yale getting rid of EA or the other 2 re-instating it.</p>

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<p><em>sigh</em> ok maybe its because im a pessimist....but still even though its not a rejection, its still has the potential to be one....its like imm leftovers u knoe?</p>

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<p>PrincessBeLLaa,
you can CHOOSE to be a pessimist.....or you can choose to be an optimist, you are NOT leftovers .... think of yourself as part of a beautiful arched window or ceiling... it is tooo early in the building process to install the windows and ceiling..... </p>

<p>you now KNOW you have what it takes for Yale....a deferment means you ARE a contender..... savor that knowledge, and now also apply elsewhere because you have what it takes for soooo many other wonderful schools..... </p>

<p>attitude sweetie.... it IS the only thing you can control.....</p>

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<p>Think of deferral as a callback--you didn't get cast in a role in the first audition, so now you have to go to callbacks.</p>

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<p>Honestly, I don't really care about how I got in. I'm not going to go around thinking I'm just that great and I deserve it or that if they don't accept me early I'm going to vent about it because I'm obviously better than the rest of them or anything. Or that if I ended up getting accepted RD that will make me mad enough to not GO. That's just arrogance. It's Yale for crying out loud.</p>

<p>I'm just ****ed off because they probably deferred me because I'm ranked 2 in our class and they don't want our school to be mad at them. And yes, so others will keep applying to Yale, even though our school sends some ONE to yale every 10 years.</p>

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<p>You have to realize they only accepted 740 people this time around. Yale has a very limited amount of spots for so many applicants. </p>

<p>For those saying you're "tainted" because of a deferral, get over it. There are so many qualified people for Yale, it's obvious not all of them will be accepted, even those that can benefit from the education. </p>

<p>As for the idea of taking a test and getting into colleges that way, that is worse. That doesn't reward intelligence, it just rewards those that are good at testtaking. Yale has said from day one you could be one of the smartest people in the world, but if all you do is stay in a lab all day, they don't want you. They want well-rounded people.</p>

<p>Look at a deferral this way. You certainly impressed them; otherwise they would just have rejected you.</p>

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<p>"<em>sigh</em> ok maybe its because im a pessimist....but still even though its not a rejection, its still has the potential to be one....its like imm leftovers u knoe?"</p>

<p>You also have the potential to be an acceptance.</p>

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<p>i havent checked yet i'm gonna do it now. wish me good luck ...</p>

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<p>^^ GL. </p>

<p>KRock, do deferred SCEA-ers really have the same chance as all the RD people? Do they even spend the time to re-read all the deferred apps? Why would they waste their time rereading everything?</p>

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<p>Yes. You have to realize that a lot of the RD applicants are not qualified, whereas EA is almost all qualified applicants. And I don't know if they reread all the deferred applicants, but yes you do have roughly the same chances as an RD applicant. </p>

<p>They make sure not to accept all the qualified EA applicants because then there'd be no RD applicants to accept.</p>

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<p>"They make sure not to accept all the qualified EA applicants because then there'd be no RD applicants to accept."</p>

<p>Er, but how much does the quality of EA compare with RD anyway? I feel like this is overemphasized. Is EA quality really > RD?</p>

<p>How do they choose which deferred files to re-read? Do they make notes distinguishing the differences between deferred applications? (alliteration omg)</p>

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<p>"""yes its very American since in europe all u have to do is take a colege test and BAM! if ur smart u get in if ur not sucks for u)"""</p>

<p>Ah.. Universal College admission to go hand in hand with Universal Healthcare. :)
I think the issue is that if colleges admit everyone who can pass a test then they'd have 10 times too many people for the classroom and dorm space available. Just a guess.</p>

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<p>I don't agree with the whole creme of the crop statement because out of the 5 ppl who I know applied from my area 1 was accepted (minority, 1800 sat's, lower gpa than rest) 3 deferred, one rejected (who had much better sat's and gpa and worked hard...). No quest</p>

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<p>It just doesn't really make a whole lot of sense that you would defer 2700 applicants when you have space for 1000 during the RD round. eh, I guess I'm just bitter.</p>

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<p>How much does applying EA to Yale really help? Or does it actually hurt you if you're not like amazing? </p>

<p>I would totally apply EA to Yale next year...that's where I would LOVE to go. But I'm not one of those USAMO winners or anything really really outstanding. I think I'm a competitive applicant though..if you compared me to the rest of my state/region. Would it actually be better to apply to RD because in EA I would be competing against some crazy outstanding people?</p>

<p>I dont mean to take over this thread..an opinion on this would be nice. I'm totally rethinking my decision to apply EA..</p>

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<p>Smile614</p>

<p>What has caused the most consternation among those deferred and rejected is a fundamental misunderstanding of exactly what Yale is trying to achieve in their admissions process.</p>

<p>In reality, Yale (and most other Ivies) could fill their incoming class more than several times over with nothing but applicants with 4.0s and 2400s but in their words, "that would be a very boring class." One thing that they stressed over and over when we visited and in info sessions was that they strive to admit a class that is "interesting".....again their words not mine. If you read the letter of admission that has been posted in other threads by several people you will see that they actually used the word "interesting" to describe the admitted students.</p>

<p>It is important to keep one thing in mind, and I really do know that this is difficult to do, but admissions to Yale (or any other highly selective school) really is a crap shoot at best. At one Yale info session we attended (we went to four in two years) we were told that over 95 % of all applicants are truly qualified (on paper...GPA/scores) for admission to Yale. When you consider that the admit rate is somewhere around 7-8% historically that means that 92 to 93 % of the 95% of the highly qualified applicants do not get accepted. </p>

<p>I have gotten to know a former Ivy admission rep very well in the years since my son applied to Yale. He worked at both Yale and Penn. What I am about to say is factual from his experience at Yale.</p>

<p>He has told me that the process is far more difficult than one would imagine because on paper there are so many candidates that are truly indistinguishable from each other. Couple that with what can be almost stereotypical ECs for certain groups (he cited the example of Asians who have played piano or violin since age 4, play chess, tennis or are fencers, have virtually all their APs in math and science and whose essays are also all alike and it truly becomes mind numbing. This becomes even more difficult for that particular subset because of the sheer number of Asians who apply and compete with each other for a limited number of spots.</p>

<p>In EA they are looking for people who truly stand out, not just in raw numbers because virtually every app they look at has numbers worthy of admission. They read every application a minimum of two times and rate them on a 1-10 scale. 9s and 10s are admits without question...they don't require committee review, 7s and 8s will sometimes go to another reading before the committee and and 6s are automatically going to another reading before the committee. Anything below a 6 must have a compelling reason to go before the committee for review.</p>

<p>Essays are far more important to the process than anyone believes because they are the ONLY way that an ADCOM has to humanize the person behind the numbers. In every single acceptance letter that my son received, even from Yale, he had a hand written comment about how much they enjoyed his essays and all commented about his short essay which was quite humorous and in all honesty scared me to death when he submitted it!</p>

<p>When you think about the sheer enormity of the process, 5500 plus SCEA apps this year to be read and processed by December 15th by a group of about 11 or 12 admissions reps. Each essay is read at least twice so the number is now 11,000 essays at a minimum. That represents almost 1000 apps per committee member. I was told that they all start to look very much alike and almost formulaic. The essays that really stand out, that make the admissions rep want to meet that person are the ones that go to the top of the pile and help them sift through the maze of look alike applications. These are the ones that are accepted; the next best are deferred and the ones that just don't find a way to separate themselves from the rest of look-a-likes are rejected. On top of all of this, because it is an EA decision and is not binding they have to think about yield, about over-filling the class etc since they still have another 15,000 plus applicants to review for RD and are still limited to a class size of about 1300 incoming students. With Harvard and Princeton doing away with all early programs they also know that some are using EA to "game" the H & P process.</p>

<p>If you think you are a good and interesting candidate, especially for your part of the country, apply....you really do have nothing to lose. A person who is outright rejected in EA would not have fared better in RD and the odds for admission in EA are a bit higher although it really is a more self selecting pool. A deferral allows for a second look; it essentially says we like you a lot and we just want to see what the rest of the applicants look like before we make a final decision.</p>

<p>Remember at Yale in particular, they are looking for "interesting people" to make up an "interesting class" not just for high achievers who have resumes that look like they were built for college admission. They really do want well rounded people who have had some fun along the way, who know how to laugh, especially at themselves, and who have not spent their entire lives solely prepping for Ivy admission.</p>

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<p>Are there differences between deferred applicants at all? How do they keep track?</p>

<p>Are there seriously only 1000 spots left for the RD round?</p>

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<p>I think eadad's reply to Smile614 is a terrific summary of what the Yale admissions staff attempts to do each year--look for "interesting" people to make up an "interesting" class. Having been through the application process as a senior two years ago (wait listed RD) I had the opportunity at a social gathering last summer to speak with a former Yale admissions staff member who confirmed eadad's idea. To all of you who have been rejected or deferred--hard as this is to take--work to hope for the best, move on, and accept the fact there are other schools that will accept you--and there are other campus's where you will thrive, succeed, and be happy. I applied to Yale while I was going through cancer treatments. Though I was a top student (proud to say I graduated in the top 1% of my class while taking chemo) was the captain of two sports, was an All-America in one, was being recruited, had plenty of great ECs and super recs and a great essay--I knew that maybe I was not interesting enough to be the type of person Yale would think was "interesting." Life is short--really short. I know that, and having just finished my last chemo treatment--and having kicked cancer in the ass--I can say I am a happy, healthy, productive academic scholarship student (almost a full ride) at a great school where I am surrounded by happy, "interesting" people like me. I really hope that all of you who were either rejected or deferred by Yale find a place inside of yourself to be happy--you are talented and bright, and you will find a place on a campus where you will thrive. Hang in there, I'm pulling for you!</p>

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<p>Thanks aberdeen. It is a very difficult time for high achievers who have never faced rejection in anything before and who assume that getting a perfect 2400, having a 4.0 or more and a strong resume is a ticket for admission to any of these highly selective schools.</p>

<p>Every school is looking for something a bit different because they all ARE a bit different which has always led me to question those who apply to all the Ivies. Are they trying to put skins on the wall, Ivy obsessed, or truly clueless? Fit is important for any school that you choose and being a fit at Cornell would not necessarily make one a fit at Penn or Princeton for example.</p>

<p>The good news is that there really is life after deferral or rejection and it really does all work out for the best as you certainly exemplify. Your story of victory after facing such adversity puts everything in perspective and makes the things being discussed here pale in comparison. You made my throat tighten and brought a tear to my eyes. God bless you and best wishes for continued health and success. Have a great holiday season.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
^^What an absurd statement. Every candidate, no matter how stellar, wants an early nod from a top school, assuming one of the top schools is of strong interest. Even if a student's top choice is H or P, an early acceptance from YSM eliminates the need to apply RD to a slew of match and safety schools (unless the student genuinely needs to compare financial aid packages or is a rank trophy hunter).

[/quote]
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<p>Every superstar candidate I know applied RD to only 3 or 4 schools.</p>