<p>DS got deferred from his ED choice (as a legacy). I have heard that deferral is just a "soft" way to let alumni parents down easily (rather than a flat out rejection). Also, I have heard that usually the deferral won't translate into an accept later on since the applicant pool is so much larger. </p>
<p>Although we are disappointed, I would like to get the straight scoop so that we can move forward. I don't want DS to hope that he can still get into the ED choice if it really is a rejection. I would rather him start to look forward about what school is a better fit for him. Also, is it a good idea to let the college know that he is still very much interested as a first choice, or would this just be annoying to the adcoms?</p>
<p>I think it is fine to let the adcoms know he is still very interested. However, once that is done it is time to mentally move on from the ED school and seek out other good options.</p>
<p>What you have heard could be true sometimes for some students at some schools. But not always. Yes, some deferrals are “courtesy” ones, but just because a student who has some connection, some “hook” at a school is deferred, it doesn’t mean that student got a “courtesy” deferral. I personally know a number of cases where it clearly was not so, because the students got accepted RD. Also, at some schools, it’s not as though the categories of “courtesy” and “plain old” deferral are firm. New materials, and info are taken into account for both. No way of knowing whether any particular school operates that way or not. </p>
<p>You can find out what the differences are in ED and RD accept rates by looking at common data stats on the subject. More important is how many students have been accepted RD after getting deferred ED. That will give a good idea what the chances are of getting accepted RD at a particular school. </p>
<p>Usually, once deferred, the chances are lower for an accept. ED is giving the school an exclusive on a student, and the school is turning it down, in hopes of getting better in the RD pool. Doesn’t mean they’ll get it.</p>
<p>My son applied ED to his first choice school that he really liked. It was a stretch for him, selectivitywise, and if he did not get accepted, he would have to study for SAT2s and take them, get great grades this first semester, and show some other reason for the school to take him. I would not expect him to get accepted unless he did all of those things. Fortunately for him, he is happy with his 2nd choice school, as well as other choices, that he already has through EA. So he’d give it a go with first choice without being too stressed, and maybe not bother with working to get into first choice school. Your son and his GC should go over his app, and perhaps you can help in this regard too, about what he could do to enhance it. He has a second chance at it. Have GC call and ask the admissions office for some insights as well.</p>
<p>But he should also start looking at other choices. The improvements he can be making to his apps would also enhance his chances to get into other schools. ED deferrals and rejections are early litmus tests as to what selectivity of schools would be a match. </p>
<p>What is your relationship like with your GC? This is where your GC makes a call to the regional admissions person (the one who took the application to committee) and finds out any concerns that they have with the application. Your GC could ask his her peers for a copy of their letters and read them ( you would be surprised at the number of recommendation letters that really does the kid no favors) and perhaps even give them some feedback. Your son will send his mid year transcript, any additional awards he has won, perhaps a couple of new better written letters(especially if the first ones are kind of flat), even retaking the SAT or SAT II (there is still time to register for the January exam)</p>
<p>But regardless of the message, your son needs to move on to Plan B. Getting in (maybe better grades in January? stronger letters? a new prestigious award?) might happen- but better to have it be a wonderful surprise rather than have him hankering for months. He needs to get invested in some of this other schools quickly.</p>
<p>My son was deferred from his ED choice. He had his applications ready for the other schools he was interested in applying - he moved ahead with those applications and was accepted to several schools, at least two that he was really excited about. In the meantime, he stayed in touch with his ED school. He received an honor from our state that he forwarded on to his ED school and he later asked his coach to write an additional letter to the college coach with a CC to his admissions counselor. A couple of weeks before admissions decisions came out for RD, he wrote his admissions counselor and the coach letting them both know he was still very interested. He ended up being accepted RD. Who knows if any of this helped - it’s such a mystery - but he did end up attending and is very happy where he is. </p>
<p>That said, he was waitlisted from my and DH’s alma mater and ultimately was not admitted. He was well qualified - we still don’t quite get why he wasn’t accepted but it’s fine and water under the bridge at this point. I always wondered if being waitlisted was the kinder, gentler way of letting down alum kids. It kind of makes me chuckle.</p>
<p>My older son was deferred from two schools EA (MIT and Caltech) - he added a couple of extra recommendations and let the colleges didn’t know about other awards he got it. He didn’t get into either EA school, but he did get into Harvard and the computer science school at Carnegie Mellon which is where he ended up going. I suspect the extra info was helpful, but mostly it was just that with schools that are accepting so few students it’s hard to know where you’ll get lucky. Most schools don’t give you enough info to figure out how many kids that are deferred end up being accepted, but at MIT it was about 25% the year my son wasn’t accepted which was more than the 15% accepted in the early round and more than the over all admissions rate. </p>
<p>plan b should be up and running ASAP. move on. digest it and quickly move ahead with a positive attitude about whatever school your child attends. (it is so important to go in gung-ho to school they attend! no regrets , no this is my second choice, I do not really want to be here…I can always transfer etc…) a deferral probably does mean rejection, so I would not sit around waiting to hear from the school. Think of it is a life experience.
also, just curious as with all legacy students…is this your sons real first choice or yours? </p>
<p>Thanks for all the responses. I don’t have a good relationship with the GC, but I will ask this week if this is something that they would do. My feeling is no - we are at a large public school and the GCs are overworked as it is. I have actually heard some alums contacting their regional director to find out themselves, but I feel like this is crossing the line. </p>
<p>@zobroward, Actually this is my son’s first choice. I was surprised by this. I would not have chosen the school for him since it is an Ivy and known for being a very stressful place. I know when I went there, I felt very, very stressed. However, once he had decided he wanted to go, I was supportive of his decision. </p>
<p>FWIW, a friend of mine is a Dartmouth alum, and this person’s child applied early to Dartmouth, was deferred. Kid badly wanted to go and stayed in touch, nicely, with Dartmouth, sending them news of accomplishments. Kid also went to meet with an uncle or family friend or something like that who was a Dartmouth alum, active in alumni organization, the idea being that through this person, a positive report would reach Dartmouth. End result was admission in the regular round. Who knows if all that stuff made a difference but I guess it didn’t hurt. </p>
<p>My son was very happy at Carnegie Mellon and is now working at Google. We have no complaints about how things turned out. MIT would have been a shorter drive, but I think CM was an even better fit.</p>
MIT would have been a shorter drive, but I think CM was an even better fit.</p>