I got deferred... Now what?

Applying to College
1

(Reposing from the Northeastern forum. Link here: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/profile/dragonfly26)

Hi everyone -

So Northeastern is my first choice school. I debated on applying ED, but opted for EA simply because of the cost. Last night I got an email stating I was deferred. Boo.

I noticed that in the letter it said to send in any supplemental materials that I believe would be helpful. I would definitely like to send something in to show my interest as well as to strengthen my application, but I don’t know what helps and what doesn’t. I’ve heard that this answer varies from school to school, and my counselor doesn’t know much about Northeastern, so I figured I’d get some opinion from people who do.

My counselor told me I should consider sending in quarter 1 grades (sounds useless to me, considering they’ll be getting my semester grades soon), an updated resume, and a letter reaffirming my interest. Northeastern’s application had an option to upload a resume, but I didn’t, as I was strongly advised not to for the sake of avoiding redundancy. Would submitting this help?

My counselor advised that I DON’T submit a teacher recommendation; however, for my original teacher recommendation that I sent with my application, I picked a teacher that I had for a standard (i.e. not honors) class and got all A’s in. I’m considering asking my current AP Calculus teacher for one, as I had her sophomore year, and I raised my grade up this quarter from an F to a B with a lot of help and extra work. She encouraged me not to drop the class because she thought I was a good student and more than capable of succeeding, which I take as a sign that she likes me enough to write a teacher rec. Classmates have told me that she writes these really fast, and it would be a completely different perspective than my English teacher’s, and would partially explain my low math grades over the last two years. Would this help?

The only other thing I could think to do would be re-take the ACT, but because there isn’t a January test so I don’t think my scores would arrive on time.

I also read online that it’s advisable to call the admissions office and ask what you can do to improve, and also just to affirm interest. Would you recommend this?

I know this is a lot of questions, but any and all opinions and information are welcome! Thanks in advance :slight_smile:

2

Do you have any ECs you expect to show accomplishment or awards in between now and early February? You should email them with them after they happen if you have some, and reiterate your interest then.

3

@dragonfly26: Did your school not submit your first quarter grades for all EA applicants? I am fairly sure the colleges wanted that for their EA determinations, and that may have boosted the information available for them to make an informed (and positive) choice.

It sounds like your AP Calc teacher could have a very strong voice in how your profile looks at this point, and the encouragement to hold on and not drop the class was a sign of faith (and rightfully so, according to your incredible showing) in your ability to work at that level.

After you call the school to find out what it is they would like to see added to your file, definitely get in touch with that AP Calc teacher if that sounds like it is on the list of things you hear in your conversation with the admissions office of the college.

Good luck to you.

4

I’m surprised that your first quarter grades weren’t part of the package. I think your AP Calc teacher would be a good recommendation. If your resume includes more of a description of mystery ECs or an abbreviated version of your role in it, it might be worthwhile for example something like.

XYX Club -
As social committee chair I created a new event that raised xx dollars, more than any previous event.

If it’s exactly what’s on the Common Applicaiton, I agree there’s no point.

Obviously any new awards should be listed. If you had an outside job and someone who could write a recommendation that would also be a good idea.

5

@Waiting2exhale and @mathmom - You might be right about the Q1 grades. My counselor is kind of new to all of this and isn’t in charge of sending out transcripts and what not, so I suspect they were submitting with everything else if most schools require it (which I believe they do).

Thank you very much for your advice! It is definitely appreciated :slight_smile: The college guidance counselor at my school (who is different than my personal guidance counselor) can be quite stubborn with her opinions, and she also advised that I don’t submit an extra teacher rec, but from what I hear it might be worth standing my ground in that. Thanks again!

6

Gonna be honest – an extra rec isn’t likely to make a difference. New accomplishments and really good S1 grades would do more good.

7

If Northeastern is your absolute top choice you could let them know that if admitted you will attend. But I would warn against doing that unless it is true. Other than that send any new achievements, first semester grades etc,

8

Bump. I tried calling the admissions office today but they were close. Could use a few more opinions :slight_smile: