I applied ED to Cornell and got differed. Cornell is my dream school so I’m wondering, realistically, my chances are? I’ve heard that after getting differed your chances aren’t very good but I don’t know if that’s true or not. Also, what should I do to supplement my RD application. I can send in some new documents so what would you recommend sending?
I was deferred to Cornell as well, it was my dream school too. I was actually wondering the same thing so I’m in the same boat as you
@dobiegerl @soulswimmer13 Sorry you didn’t get the news you wanted. I do know a student who was deferred last yr at ED but got in at RD. But then ended up choosing a different school altogether from a lot of really great choices.
You should check your school’s naviance to see if anyone has gotten deferred and then accepted. You can also ask your guidance counselor to call admissions to get some perspective as to how to strengthen your application. Finish out the semester strong and then you will have a good set of first semester grades to send as well.
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@wisteria100 thank you for the suggestion! My school uses Naviance; also out of about 700 seniors only two from my school applied early and we both got rejected. But since so many students don’t apply to Cornell, there aren’t any stats to go off of
People can speculate, but there’s not much hard evidence to be had.
My guess is Cornell is with its Ivy pals, deferring most everyone who wasn’t taken. Some colleges think they are doing the kids a favor, it lets the kids think “they’ll take another look” when in all probability the college already knows what the answer will be for most of those they “deferred.”
I clicked on your name to see other posts and ironically it turns out you are big into horsemanship. If you are pretty good (eg. nationally ranked) that may have let you be recruited at Stanford, which has a great program and like any athletic team is always beating the bushes looking for more riders.
It is ok to be deferred and even rejected. I know it is no solace for high achieving students like you but all you can do now is continue to get good grades and if you do something worth mentioning (published a paper, major recital, art show, competition win) then send those details to Cornell - along with your grades AND mention you are still interested. Once that is done, you have done all you can do. After that, make sure you get at least 7 more dream schools. Again, I know it is disappointing to not get news you want but deal with it rationally. Hope this helps.
@dobiegerl @soulswimmer13 Hey guys, I was also deferred this year so I’m in the same boat as you both. Cornell is also my dream school. Anyways, if it makes you feel better, I’ve gone back through the ED results threads from the past 2 years and most of the deferrals eventually ended up with spring admits or guaranteed transfers at the very least.
Additionally, I’ve heard that, unlike @mikemac suggested, not as many students are deferred as you’d think. I’ve heard this from my friends who currently attend Cornell and also read about a ~20% from a 2007 deferral thread. (Seeing recent admissions trends, if this information is accurate I’d expect the deferral rate to be similar or lower)
So basically, a deferral is not a rejection! Stay hopeful! If you’re applying to a contract school it would appear that you have a very good way of either getting admitted or receiving an alternative method of admission. Now, what’s important is to stay focused and make sure your senior grades are as good as can be. Send a letter of continued interest and if you’ve received any additional awards that you haven’t told Cornell about, tell them! Stay hopeful and I wish you both the best of luck!
Feel free to message me anytime. (There’s even a deferred student group message if you’d like to talk to other deferred students)
@NotAMathlete Do you think we can contact our respective colleges and find out the reason for our deferral? I’m really curious as there are only two possibilities for me A) they want to see more grades due to my terrible freshman year or B) my supplement was not very good (which it wasn’t) and didn’t demonstrate proper interest.
BTW I am a HumEc deferred student
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@rhdhtai Yes, you can contact your colleges and attempt to find the rationale behind your deferral; however, I tried this and was told that they would “call me back” and they never did.
Instead, I would suggest that you ask your counselor to call them in your stead as it seems as if that approach yields the best results. Don’t worry, I’m pretty much in the same boat as you. My freshman grades were not as strong as they could’ve been and I’ve been worried that my supplement doesn’t demonstrate fit too well.
If you’d like to ask anything else, feel free to message me!
@rhdhtai @NotAMathlete Don’t contact the college yourself; the admissions officers will probably not tell you directly why you were deferred. Instead, get your counselor to do the job for you, as the adcoms are more comfortable telling counselors the reasons why (if there are any). In addition, you should send Cornell an update on accomplishments in mid-January — although the deferral acceptance rate isn’t as high for schools that defer most of their early applicants, anything that will help you stand out has the ability to slightly increase your chances in the regular round.