I have a friend who was recently deferred after applying early to Princeton. He told me that deferral “basically means that they’re waiting until the spring to reject him.” Is there really no hope after being deferred or do they seriously consider giving early applicants a second chance?
@thebandmachine Hi, fellow Princeton deferee here! What your friend believes is actually not true; several people who are deferred get accepted in the spring. There is hope! If you look in the 2019 RD decisions thread, you’ll see that at least 4 applicants on CC were accepted in the regular round after getting deferred.
Most schools have a policy where their RD acceptance rate has to be higher than their SCEA acceptance rate, so admissions officers sometimes “defer” applicants that they know they will accept during the regular round. A user explains it brilliantly here: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/10875162/#Comment_10875162
The defer→acceptance rate for most schools is around their normal acceptance rate. This may be lower for Princeton because they defer more early applicants than their peers. However, your friend still has a second chance! It’s not the end yet. Just tell him to send Princeton any updates on any accomplishments if he has any new information that may help his application out in the regular round.
Good luck! 
^Actually, there’s no such policy. Acceptance rate for ED is actually higher or equal to RD, but never lower (it wouldn’t make sense for the college since their goal is to lock in as many students early as possible).
However, yes, being deferred means you get a second chance.
In the meanwhile, it’s important to find 2 affordable safeties and several affordable matches (meaning acceptance rates are 30% or higher).
“Is there really no hope?” The deferees and RD pool face about a 4-5% statistical chance of admittance. Little hope, not no hope.
The only school I’ve heard of with a policy to keep EA acceptance rate below RD acceptance rate is Georgetown, I don’t think Princeton has this rule since their SCEA acceptance rate is significantly higher than RD. I agree with comments 2 and 3 that there is still a chance, a pretty small chance, but still. Good luck to your friend!
Several commenters are correct–Princeton has no such policy.
The truth is that Princeton uses deferrals as “polite rejections” in most cases. Very few early apps are straight up rejected–the vast majority are deferred–so while it’s true that every year a few kids get accepted after a deferral, it’s almost vanishingly unlikely.
I’d also say that a deferral at one school is not the same thing as a deferral at another school. For example, Stanford rarely defers its REA applicants, whereas Princeton defers ~80% of its SCEA applicants. Stanford deferrals have a 10-20% chance of acceptance, whereas Princeton deferrals face a 4-5% chance of acceptance.
Moreover, your deferral chances also come down to the applicant. Are your test scores weak? If so, consider raising your test scores to increase your chances. If your grades are low, continue to show an upward trend.
Absolutely right. Worth noting that Stanford is the outlier among HYPS.
I think your friend’s attitude is good. He should move on to apply to other schools if he has not done so. His EA result indicates that he is not an ideal candidate for Princeton. He may have a chance to be accepted in the RD round but there is no point to dwell on that thought.
^I made a typo in the first post. The policy is that the school has to admit more people in the RD round, and not that the rate should be higher. Sorry about that!