<p>Hey guys, I've been accepted into the bioscience phd program at carnegie mellon, and the school term begins in august. Problem is, I have some family problems that have propped up and would, if all possible, like to defer my matriculation by one year. </p>
<p>Does anyone know if its common practice at grad schools to allow or disallow such deferrals? I'm also an international student, which might also make a different. Thought I'd get a sense of things around here first before I email them.</p>
<p>I’ve either asked or been told directly about deferral policies from several biomed/bioscience programs. My impression is that they are usually allowed. The difference is that some schools don’t guarantee funding for you when you finally do enroll, due to the fact that they cannot anticipate the number of accepted students for the next cycle, whose funding they DO have to guarantee. There are other schools who do guarantee funding. You should just call the the administrator for the program and inquire.</p>
<p>It’s definitely possible to get 1-year deferrals at bioscience Ph.D. programs, but only CMU would be able to tell you if it’s possible at their program this year.</p>
<p>And as ymmit said, do remember to ask about whether funding would still be guaranteed if you defer.</p>