<p>Generally speaking, it’s unnecessary to send in anything additional. We assume Tufts is still your #1 choice because if that was going to change between November and April, you shouldn’t have applied ED. And we trust that you did thorough research before applying ED. </p>
<p>As I’ve mentioned in other posts in this threa, it’s rare when an update is the piece that tips the scale. But, I also know that the reasons for each individual deferral can often be opaque. That unavoidable opacity makes it hard to know how to move forward, and some will want to send us new materials/writing, and I understand that.</p>
<p>If you choose to submit additional materials, remember that brevity is your friend. You can send us anything, but be mindful of what you’ve already given us and try to add to that, rather than repeating what we already know. You can be informal, and remember that we don’t need you to prove that you can write (we already know that you can).</p>
<p>Thanks Dan. I very much appreciate your prompt and thorough response. It is helpful to know that Tufts understands that it remains the #1 choice of a deferred applicant. I will show your post to DD and she can decide from there if there is something brief that she thinks would be helpful to submit.</p>
<p>Add my voice to those who really appreciate your contributions to these threads, Dan. We are a Tufts legacy family (I attended the medical school and other members of my family are alumnae and/or faculty). It really broke my heart that my daughter decided to apply to another school ED. We haven’t received word yet on her application but expect to hear any day. That being said, it’s possible that she’ll be rejected or deferred which means she may reconsider her current feelings about Tufts. Larry Bacow told me that he has learned all too well over the years that parents really need to stand out of the way of their kids’ decisions about college choices. So that’s what we’re doing. Anyway, thanks again for demonstrating what makes Tufts such a special place.</p>
<p>Is there anything extra that the Admissions Committee looks at more closely the second time (when a student is deferred). I know that my alumni interviewer did not get her report in on time, and unfortunately, that was one of the only parts of my application that stated my double legacy to Tufts. For some reason (though it was on my application), Tufts did not recognize this (or at least it was not on my interviewer’s “profile” of me that was sent from Tufts). </p>
<p>Also, my senior year has been much better than my three previous years, averaging to an A in all of my AP classes, instead of a B+/A-. Will this help, or be considered as a major component of my application when being re-looked at by the Committee?</p>
<p>Apologies for reviving the dead thread ONCE again, however I have just been deferred from ED II. Instead of moping and mourning about the decision, I have decided to do everything I can to show the admissions committee that I am still committed to Tufts. However, after reading this thread I have noticed that most advice (e.g. sending midyear reports, new achievements) are for ED I candidates.</p>
<p>Because of the fact that ED II and RD is so close, I was wondering if there are any advice you might have for a deferred ED II candidate? As my mid year report has already been sent and I only have less than a month to brush up on my ECs, I am worried as to what I can do.</p>
<p>Actually, when I saw the thread I thought, “Oh good! Someone brought it back.” It’s a relevant thread and I was going to bump it myself, so no apologies necessary. </p>
<p>So what you’ve said is true. Because ED2 carries the same deadline, a defer out of ED2 is less frequently the result of wanting to see what new grades arrive and more often the result of space. We cap the number of ED admits we’ll make to prevent our process from becoming inappropriately focused on Early Decision. It’s really easy to like our ED candidates, and the cap helps us (the admissions officers) be more conservative than we’d like. </p>
<p>Most often, though not always, candidates deferred in ED2 are ones that someone really like, but we deferred because regular decision offers clarity and the committee felt it important to see if the enthusiasm present in ED is still there in regular. (Does this make sense? Sometimes I worry that I forget what it’s like not to be in the room). Sometimes regular decision provides a perspective that leads to a denial, sometimes the love is still there and that acts as confirmation that we should admit. </p>
<p>There are - as there always are - more reasons to defer, but this, anecdotally, feels like the most common reason. So given this, what can you do? I’d suggest writing/emailing a SHORT letter - trust me when I say that length is your enemy. And I’ll quote myself now:
If you write a super-stuffy letter, it’ll sound exactly the same as every other super-stuffy letter. Do something something informal, fun, confident - something that that can remind us (because we already know) of how interesting you can be.</p>
<p>Dan - Tufts is at the top of S2’s list. His most recent report card/grades were released last week - his best semester ever. Will admissions see them? Just hoping every little bit helps…</p>
<p>@Lspf72: Absolutely. Senior grades are EXTREMELY important.</p>
<p>@eyevand: Honestly, I’m worried that prescribing a set length would detract for my original point: do what you want, be confident, enjoy yourself. I will, in lieu of that, give you a sense of what “Too Long” is. If you have more than a page - single spaced - it’s probably Too Long.</p>
<p>Sorry for bringing this up once again, but a final question.</p>
<p>I have sent in an update letter after receiving my deferral in Feb. Would sending another update letter telling of what I have been doing extra circularly, since I sent my last update letter be too much and detract from my application?</p>
<p>Thanks for all your time and effort on this board, Dan!</p>
<p>If you’ve already sent one update letter, no need to bother. Unless you’ve, like, set a new Olympic record in the two-man luge since the last one. Then you should let us know.</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>By the way: my two favorite winter Olympic events. The skeleton and ski cross.</p>
<p>I also applied ED II to Tufts and was deferred. It is really encouraging to read this and be assured that deferral is not necessarily the end.</p>
<p>I sent a brief update letter to the admissions committee a little while ago and am hoping for the best. I’m excited to hear from Tufts at the end of the month. Thanks so much for all the helpful info, Dan!</p>
<p>I got deferred from E2, and it was so nice to hear from Dan the deferral can possibly mean that they think we are a competitive applicant. </p>
<p>I sent in my letter, and a supplementary letter of recommendation from my AP psychology teacher. </p>
<p>Tufts is my dream school, and I’d be crushed if I didn’t get in. I’m just waiting to hear back!</p>
<p>Dan, do you know when we might hear? I also have one question, I have ADHD (just found out last month) This may be one reason why my test scores aren’t high enough. I also didn’t mention anything about my struggle with bipolar disorder. Did I do the right thing in not informing Tufts?</p>
<p>Again would like to thank you for all your time on Twitter and CC, not a lot of schools do this and it really allows us to get information that is actually TRUE. I am a student that was deferred for ED II and have already sent in an update letter, and I’ve enquired about the possibility of sending another update letter and you mentioned that I should only do that if I’ve done something significant (like the two-man luge record) and I also understand this is a crucial period and sending ‘useless’ information in would cause confusion and what not.</p>
<p>However, in light of the tragedy that happened in Chile a few weeks ago. I have very recently begun to raise funds and awareness for emergency relief efforts in Chile. And in a week I have so far managed to raise ~4200 USD. I sort of feel that this is an achievement that might aid admission officers however not sure if it is ‘significant’ enough to warrant another update letter.</p>
<p>At this point, there’s isn’t much point to gathering additional materials to send in. I can certainly appreciate your impulse, but as we round the corner into he 2nd half of March, the decision making process starts to wrap up in our office and the value of additional materials quickly wanes. </p>
<p>I can tell by your posts that you’ve taken the time to do everything you can; be proud and know you have nothing to regret. If you get in, then celebrate! And if you don’t, your experiences (particularly the fundraising) will still prepare you to take college by storm - whether at Tufts or somewhere else. Relax, to the extent you can, stay positive, and be awesome.</p>
<p>I started this thread two years ago for the deferred students then, and resurrected it for 2009. I’m bringing it back because the information and questions in it are still relevant and helpful (I hope). </p>
<p>Several of you on the boards have already noted one of the major reasons for deferral: sometimes, we really want to see midyear grades before making a decision. This can be because the quarter grades in 12 were rocky and we’re hoping they improve, or because other pieces of the transcript or application raise questions that we hope the midyears answer. </p>
<p>The other major reason we defer an applicant is that occasionally it is difficult to make a decision in November. We were given instructions before we entered committee, “Pretend this is March.” I mentioned this in the [blog</a> post from the first day of committee](<a href=“http://tuftsblogs.com/thecommittee/2010/12/02/live-blogging-ed-committee-2010/]blog”>http://tuftsblogs.com/thecommittee/2010/12/02/live-blogging-ed-committee-2010/), and it’s an instruction we all took seriously. Sometimes, one of the admissions officers around the table would ask, “is this an admit we’d still want to make in March?” If the answer wasn’t clear, the likely decision was deferral. </p>
<p>For students in both groups, I want to make something clear: we liked your application. Travelicious, in another thread, is worried because he/she isn’t sure where his/her app could improve between now and regular, and for many deferred students, there is no need for improvement. For students in the second group I outline above, nothing about your application needs to improve, but there are reasons to wait before making a final decision. I know this doesn’t make your own waiting any more pleasant, or the deferral any easier, but every student deferred is expected to remain competitive for admission in regular decision. Traditionally, though this is not the case every year, the admit rate for students deferred to regular decision is close to the admit rate for those who applied to regular decision in the first place.</p>