Should I defer?

Parent Cafe
1

<p>I throw myself on the mercy of the parents' board, as I keep going back and forth on a decision.</p>

<p>I applied to a graduate program straight out of undergrad which does not usually grant deferrals. I do not feel ready to go, and there are a few academic issues I would like to take care of in undergrad that would require me to defer.</p>

<p>I may be able to convince them to let me defer because of these technical issues---if I take care of them, my undergrad transcript will look a lot better. But I'm having second thoughts.</p>

<p>How do you decide whether or not to defer? Does "not feeling ready" and missing out on a few good things on the transcript (such as credit for work already completed) count for enough?</p>

2

<p>I will be surprised if the university allows you to defer admission for the reasons that you described. As long as the university is happy with your undergrad transcript, your concerns about it aren’t reason to defer. If you’re just not ready to go, that also doesn’t seem like a strong enough reason considering that the graduate program would be holding a space for you in the next class, but if you defer due to being ambivalent about attending, you may decide not to go next year either.</p>

<p>Since there’s no indication that you’ve been accepted yet, to me it would make sense for you to withdraw your applications, and then reapply next year, if you still wish to go to that grad school. No reason to go to gad school now if you’re ambivalent because it may be that what’s really going on is that you aren’t really interested in that program or that school. A year or two gapping after college may help you be more clear about what carer you’re interested in, and then be better able to select a graduate program or other option</p>

3

<p>I am assuming that you know you really want to go to this school/program, but you are unsure about next year.</p>

<p>I cannot say whether you personally should defer, or what, in general, constitutes “enough” to seek a deferral. </p>

<p>I can wonder about a few things. Don’t know whether or not they apply to you.</p>

<p>One cannot always defer. The excellent promotion or job assignment cannot typically be deferred because one does not feel ready or because one has some unfinished personal business. So, eventually, one must come to terms with the fact that there are limits, that an active, imaginative person will always have things that didn’t get done, that didn’t quite the way he/she wanted to, there just wasn’t quite enough time. That kind of person often has more plans/ideas/opportunities than there are hours in the day. </p>

<p>Also: to enroll in grad school itself involves a narrowing of the horizon. As an undergrad, one can consider law, business, medicine, an M.A., Ph.D., study abroad, all things seem possible. But enrolling in a particular graduate program involves the recognition that some things either are not going to happen, or will become significantly costlier to accomplish. </p>

<p>There can be a sense of loss in the narrowing of the horizon.</p>

<p>There can also be a tendency to forget that the closing of some doors brings the opening of others. You may not be able to fine-tune your undergrad transcript, you may not feel ready just now, but the new place will bring its own new opportunities–especially for someone who tends to seek, find and grasp every new and excellent opportunity. Consider the possibility that six months from now you’ll be wondering why you hesitated.</p>

<p>It is going to cost you a year of your life to defer. You’ll no doubt use the time well, but you’ll still be a year later in your overall career plans. A year is a significant amount of time to devote to “not feeling ready”. Imho, make sure that that feeling is worth that year.</p>

4

<p>I suggest not going to grad school next year because so often, people waste their time and money by going to grad school straight after college when often they haven’t had the life experience to know what they want to do as a career.</p>

<p>Taking a year to work a job – any job – so as to get a better idea about your interests and what kinds of professions would make you happy – would be a good investment in your future, far better than spending time and money to go to grad school, and then finding that you aren’t interested in pursuing careers in that field.</p>

5

<p>There’s much wisdom here in responding to your question of deferral.</p>

<p>Another important consideration–if your graduate program is highly competitive, you must take extra care to insure your deferral year will be one that will add real value to your future application. </p>

<p>If you are unsure about this field of work, then Northstarmom’s post is totally on target. However, if you know this “narrower horizon” that Adad spoke of so eloquently is the ONE for you, consider carefully your reasons to defer…
Being a little afraid you won’t be academically prepared is normal, but you can trust that most graduate programs are quite adept at assessing who’s ready and who isn’t. If you were accepted, they believe you will be successful.</p>

<p>Here’s hoping for your own “aha” moment of personal clarity to truly understand what’s at the heart of your question. Best of luck to you.</p>