<p>I’m sorta disappointed, but to be honest it’s probably not the right school for me anyways.</p>
<p>Did you guys submit a resume? I did because it explained all my clubs and some community service (so instead of just Journalism with a position they knew what I did, and they knew exactly what service I did, etc). That could help if you didn’t, it just gives more depth to your app.</p>
<p>I left the “special qualities” or whatever section blank so I guess don’t feel obligated to make something up.</p>
<p>Since I applied to SFS I pushed the “international” aspect in all three of my essays, so if your applying to business don’t just say you’re in Key Club, relate it to the school? And your creative essay too. You could say mine ended up being another activity essay, just a little longer…</p>
<p>IDK, trying to help with some advice…</p>
<p>so since the regular decision application is still available do u think that we can re-do some of our essays and they will read them? i know at some schools when you’re deferred you can only send them new scores and grades, but it seems georgetown is giving us the option to redo some of our application, if i’m not mistaken?</p>
<p>I just found out yesterday I was deferred. It wasn’t a complete shock, but I’m really disappointed. Georgetown is my first-choice school, so I’m going to do whatever it takes to get in RD!</p>
<p>I think what probably kept me out were my essays and SAT II. I got 2 very good Subject Test scores, but 560 in Spanish. I think this looked bad and might have made them question my dual-enrollment record, because I got As in 2 honors Spanish courses and won a campus-wide Spanish award. And because the application was due during the single busiest week of my life, my essays were not exceptional. I didn’t have time to get anyone to review them, and I procrastinated so much that I doubt they were very good.</p>
<p>On the bright side, I’ve already retaken the SAT, and I might take another SAT Subject Test. I also have an additional recommendation I can submit, from my old supervisor at my internship, which is extremely positive. I’m also hoping that because some of my records didn’t get there and had to be resent, maybe they just didn’t have time to really review my app?</p>
<p>Does anyone have any ideas for improving their application between now and April? Would something like joining a new club or taking on a new volunteer project help, or would it come across as gimmicky?</p>
<p>I feel like starting a brand new activity wouldn’t really help much - if anything it shows that you’re probably only doing it to get into schools.</p>
<p>But I can’t really think of anything you could do, besides retaking your SATs. Just keep your grades up, and let them know if you win any more awards at school or anything like that.</p>
<p>In the interest of being positive, I’m keeping my deferral letter, and writing all the things I’m going to do to get in and all the other colleges I’m applying to all over it. Feels better than ripping it up, which was my original plan.</p>
<p>I applied to MSB, thinking that SFS would be too difficult to get into since they are renowned for that. If anything, I guess I’ll just see them in grad school! I’m keeping my letter. I have no intention of tossing anything out, just a friendly reminder that sometimes I am too deluded by own self-ascribed grandeur to realize my mediocre actuality. IT’S LIFE. I guess I’ll go to a school that I don’t love as much but is willing to give me a hefty amount of money (Northeastern & Babson so far). Good luck to everyone in the RD pool, I personally don’t think I’m going to make it, considering all of the other more academically amazing students than I am who also got deferred. I’d be honoured to even get put on the wait list. Nonetheless, SEE YOU IN AT LEAST 4 YEARS, GEORGETOWN! </p>
<p>On another side note, I think that I’d be happier down south more but my chances of getting into Chapel Hill are even slimmer than that of Georgetown. Wake Forest, maybe? I have my interview there tomorrow morning. YAY for makeshift flights down South for the weekend+1.</p>
<p>Way to go mmmgirl!! That’s the spirit :)</p>
<p>I guess it depends on the school everyone applied to, because my d had a terrific app, resume and great grades…her SAT 2’s might have been an issue (Eng lit 720; History 660, but she got 5’s on her AP’s and A’s in her classes), but if that’s the case, then it isn’t a very holistic approach to getting in (each school is different). My d also worked for the Dept of State, United Nations, and the Olympics (for the international NGO’s)…can’t get more int’l than that, and she was deferred from SFS. However, her friends at other area schools of the same caliber got into Georgetown college. SFS is hard to get into as well as MacDonough. Hoping Duke will come through…</p>
<p>Hey guys! </p>
<p>Having been deferred this time last year, I understand what you guys are feeling right now and I know it sucks. You might feel angry and want to give up hope. Don’t! Take this setback as an opportunity that you can learn and grow from, so do that! This will not be your only setback in life - and if it is, you aren’t taking enough risks. Learn how to handle setbacks. It’s important.</p>
<p>That being said, I’m now one final away from finishing my first semester here at the Hilltop. The chances that you will come from deferral to acceptance do exist. I wanted to let you know about what I did after my deferral. I have no proof that any of these things helped, as I might have just gotten in anyways - and some students get deferred, don’t do any of these things, and then get accepted. Who knows? But it doesn’t hurt to try.</p>
<ul>
<li>get your guidance counselor to call and ask why you weren’t accepted. You might get a clear answer, which can help you figure out your weaknesses, or you might not. At the very least, it’s a boost to have them call on your behalf.
-assess your strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities to grow, more so for your own sake than for the college process.</li>
<li>keep maintaining good grades and staying involved in what you’re passionate about. don’t get discouraged by this!
-write a letter to your admission officer and mail it out in early February, when they’ll be looking at the applications for regular decision. Reaffirm your interest in the school and let them know about any awards you got, any leadership roles you have, or anything additional to your application of which they should be apprised.
-I also sent an additional letter of recommendation, this one from my mentor at my internship. Only send it if you think it will show something else about you that they didn’t know before. Otherwise, it’s a waste of time.
-Realize that a deferral says nothing about your self-worth or who you are as a person.
-Enjoy senior year because it goes by really fast, I swear it does.</li>
</ul>
<p>How soon is too soon to send an update letter? I’ve started writing one that explains in detail why I love the school (basically everything I should have said in the “future goals” essay), that also includes some very basic, kind of obvious new information, such as that I made straight A’s again, and what classes I’m planning to take next semester. I’m also going to attach an additional rec letter from my internship supervisor. The big news is that I retook the SAT this month (thank god for foresight) and I think I significantly improved my score. Should I send a letter as soon as I know my new scores, or should I wait a month or two, or is it better not to send a letter at all and just update my app with the appropriate information?</p>
<p>I called the admissions office this morning (I’m homeschooled, so no GC). It wasn’t very productive. I asked to speak to my regional admissions rep, but she wasn’t available so I had to talk to the officer on duty. She didn’t even pull up my app, so she couldn’t give me a specific answer on why I was deferred. Which sucks, because I know there’s a possibility that my school report and transcript got there too late, and there was an issue with my fee waiver that never really got cleared up. She did tell me that they liked to receive new grades/scores, new teacher recs, and information about new activities or awards. She also said that I could rewrite my essays!! YAY!!! Normally I wouldn’t be so quick to second-guess myself, but my essays really were terrible and I can do so much better this time around.</p>
<p>No way am I giving up on my favorite school without a fight! My grades were perfect this semester, I think I did way better on the SAT, I’m going to rewrite my essays, redo my resume (include a few things I left out, make the info more concise, explain more clearly what each activity means to me), and submit at least two more recommendations. I’m also hoping to visit the campus next month, I might get a job soon, and I’m going to do a community service project or internship once I finish my other college apps. I know it sounds superficial, but I was an intern for a political campaign, almost full-time, for a year and now that it’s over I really need something else, for my own sanity.</p>
<p>I know that EA admits only students with high stats. I read somewhere that recs/essays weren’t heavily considered this round. is that true? it would make sense, since admissions only has around a month to review applications, whereas RD allows 3-4 months. can anyone confirm? recs/essays were definitely the strongest part of my application (counselor said essays were some of the best she’s read…) and I know my recs are very strong. my stats, however maybe a little under for GU. is there more hope for RD?</p>
<p>@thextractor: if you look at the stats page, highly possible that stats were heavily considered… same boat here :/</p>
<p>Stats alone though are not the complete story. Son got deferred from College with 770 CR, 770 M, 750 W, 780 US Hist, 750 Math I, 5’s on the 4 AP tests taken so far, and above 4.4 weighted (top 2%). In addition to stats, I suspect GU looks heavily at leadership activities, what you want to study (hint: lots of pre-meds), and where you are from (lots of NOVA and MD applicants). </p>
<p>With such a small percentage of EA admits, there are bound to be some terrific applicants who just issed the cut. The good thing is that GU takes more deferreds than other places and agree with charrien, re good idea to keep in touch with admissions and supplement the initial application. </p>
<p>On a slightly different ntoe, doe anyone know why GU went with 14% Ea this time, as oppsoed to 16% which was the number being tossed around by The Hoya a few weeks ago and represents the percentage of admits last year?</p>
<p>13%… no idea.</p>
<p>The trick to improving your application, mmmgirl, is to shore up your academic gaps (i.e. improve grades, retake low test scores) AND take your extracurricular strengths and emphasize them even more. Colleges aren’t looking for well-rounded people - they’re looking for people that have passion and talent in a few key areas. Everything I updated them about was just an expansion on things I had already shown them that I was interested in - I was just letting them know more about the degree of interest and proficiency that I was capable of. For example, I took on a huge leadership role and got an award in a club I was already really involved in and I let them know about that. I was interested in business and my recommendation from my supervisor showed the business skills that I was acquiring at my internship. </p>
<p>Don’t send an update letter now because 1) it’s only been a month or so since you first submitted the application, and thus not enough time to significantly improve your application and 2) they won’t consider it until February anyways, so why not send it later and give yourself more time to add significant information.</p>
<p>You shouldn’t include your grades on it as you are required to submit a mid-year report to them by February and that should include all the grades for your first semester of senior year.</p>
<p>Thanks, charrien! The admissions officer I spoke to said it was fine to rewrite my essays, so I think I’m going to focus on that. My grades can’t get any higher, and I already retook the SAT (waiting for scores), so I think I’ll focus on explaining my courses and ECs better and reiterating why I love the school.</p>
<p>who is the admissions officer that you are supposed to contact? (Or, how do you know who to ask for deferral information?)</p>
<p>@mmmgirl, if you could help that’d be great.</p>
<p>When I called the office, I asked for the name of my region’s admissions officer, and then asked to speak to her. Since she wasn’t available, they let me speak to the “admissions officer on duty”, who turned out to be pretty helpful, and answered all my questions. Since there’s just one phone number for the entire office, it’s impossible to call the regional officer directly, but I do know the email address of mine. </p>
<p>I don’t think it matters much who you speak to, if you have general questions. I wanted to speak to this person because I’ve spoken to her before, and because since she was the one who read my app she might know why I was deferred.</p>
<p>yea. exactly, i want to talk to the one who read my app to see my weaknesses. I guess i shall call the admissions office and ask for the officer then as you suggested. thanks</p>