If I get accepted to a UC, can I defer the fall quarter and start winter quarter instead?
No, they don’t do deferments.
Here is the answer I received from UCB for this same question 5 years ago:
“Congratulations on your admissions to UC Berkeley, that is great news.
With regards to deferring your admissions, the college transfer forum is
right, UCB does not really have a process for deferring admissions. I have
know them to request that students reapply the following year. The
students who are admitted to Spring are not usually there because of
deferrals, they are admitted now to Spring instead of to Fall. So, it is
something of a risky proposition to request a deferral. Do you have a
strong and compelling reason for this? Sometimes, that can help but there
are really no guarantees”
I’m currently pursuing a vocational course while attending CC (I want to work as an LVN-RN while I pursue a Bachelors in Public Health) My course ends on Oct 2016 and would save me a year of waiting if I apply while still completing my vocational course and start right away for winter 2016-17. If I apply for a UC during 2015 and get accepted for fall 2016, can I wait till winter 2016 to start my classes?
This is what I posted on another thread you bumped.
"Generally UCB does not allow people who are accepted in the Fall to defer to the spring. (UCB is semester, so only Fall and Spring, no winter)
If you have an extenuating circumstance, maybe? Why don’t you wait and see what happens in April, then you can call UCB and ask."
I think extenuating circumstances are medical emergencies, natural disasters, etc. They will likely tell you to apply for the next round if you are accepted but unable to attend.
It doesn’t sound like it. Some colleges take spring transfers but it can throw off course sequences and require extra semesters to graduate. Why not apply in the fall of 2016 and spend that gap year working and saving money?
Thanks for the feedback @luckie1367 !
@austinmshauri that is my back up plan. I was just wondering if it was possible to apply 2015 and wait till the winter/spring term to start classes.
Also, anyone know if there is a way to let UCB know that I would prefer being put as a spring admit?
Have you contacted the school directly?
You cannot defer, but at least at Berkeley there is a little known secret that you can withdraw for as long as you want and come back when you’re ready, with no reapplication process. This may be true at the other UCs as well. My counselor told me that she knows people who have withdrawn for 40 years and come back. I would talk to a counselor at whichever school you decide to go to about this, as you could probably just withdraw for the fall semester.
@music1990
Heh, it’s pretty much the same with UCLA. One guy I talked to said that he withdrew and was on break from school for over a year and was told by his counselor that he had to reapply to get in, as does everyone else who takes a long break from UCLA. The reapplication process is merely a formality, though, since he was told that he’d be guaranteed to get back in at UCLA, and he did when he reapplied. His counselor said something similar to what your counselor said, that you could be gone for many many years and be readmitted and pick up where you left off with your schooling.
Like Berkeley, UCLA doesn’t say that it admits all students who used to go to the school who are reapplying, but they do. lol
I guess UCSD does too. Isn’t collegedropout taking time off?
is withdrawing dropping out or just not registering for classes for the quarter?
You have to send some sort of request for withdrawal. You’ll need to google it.