<p>So I have a close friend who was deferred from Vassar ED today. She's absolutely devastated and thinks that she has no chance now, and I'm having trouble knowing what to say to help. I applied to college two years ago and didn't do any ED applications, so I obviously don't have a lot of experience with this stuff and my advice isn't very helpful. I've been telling her that it's great to even get deferred from Vassar because it's such a competitive school, that she still has a chance and she shouldn't give up yet, that if she really had no chance of getting in RD they would have rejected her. But at the same time, I see her point of view: What's going to change between now and March that will make them accept her next time around? If they really thought she should get in, why did they defer her at all? I know that people get deferred and then accepted (otherwise they wouldn't defer anyone), but I have to admit that I have trouble understanding the whole process, and I understand why she's getting so down on herself, even though I wish she wouldn't. Does anyone have any advice or personal experience with this? Know anyone who got deferred from somewhere and then got in? Did they just wait it out or did they make a big effort to get in contact with admissions, etc? Any info would be helpful. Thanks!</p>
<p>I think the main reason colleges defer people is that they want to see their first semester grades. If your friend can get straight As first semester, she might have a shot. Otherwise, though, your friend is correct in that the college needs to see a big change between now and March in order to change their mind about her. She should definitely apply regular decision, but she shouldn’t get her hopes up too much or she’ll be disappointed all over again. You say that “she still has a chance and she shouldn’t give up yet,” but it would actually probably be better if she accepted the fact that she probably won’t get in and moved on to other schools. There are so many wonderful colleges out there and I’m sure she’ll end up somewhere great! She should still try Vassar RD though, because you never know…</p>
<p>Thanks for your response. I certainly don’t want to tell her to give up because she really loves Vassar, but I know that she isn’t going to get her hopes up too much because getting deferred really took her down and she’s not feeling very optimistic about RD. She got straight A’s her first quarter and is on her way to getting straight A’s again for the second quarter, but aside from that I don’t know what kind of “big change” you have in mind. There isn’t much going on for high school seniors between now and March aside from their gradesshe’s continuing with the same extracurriculars she has been doing and isn’t going to take any more standardizes tests. But regardless, thankfully Vassar wasn’t her only top choice school. She’s very interested in another school with a much higher acceptance rate that would be a great fit for her, and she has applied there Early Action, so I hope that she will feel better about herself if she gets in there (which I think she is very likely to). But she’s definitely still applying to Vassar RD, and hopefully her strong first semester grades will push her over the edge. If not, I know that she would be happy somewhere else, it’s just that getting over the shock and disappointment of being deferred can be difficult. Thanks again!</p>
<p>^^
It isn’t necessary for your friend to reapply. ED deferrals are automatically converted to RD applications. They will be reviewed again during the RD admission process. There are students who are deferred ED and are subsequently admitted RD–otherwise it would be illogical and cruel to defer students. </p>
<p>Here’s an article that should be of some benefit to your friend.
[You</a> Got Deferred. Now What? - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/09/defer/]You”>You Got Deferred. Now What? - The New York Times)</p>
<p>Would you mind informing me of the college your friend applied to EA? I’d be interested to know what students deem as Vassar crossover colleges. You’d be helping prospective students as well.</p>
<p>Thanks for your response, CrewDad! I’ve forwarded the article along to her, so hopefully she will find it helpful. I thought there were some nice tips in it. She does know that her application will be automatically put into the RD pool. And the college she applied EA to is Clark University, which I know is not a common crossover with Vassar, but for some reason when she did her research and college tours, those were the only two schools where she could 100% see herself being happy. From the little I know about Clark I think it’s a great school and a nice realistic choice for her, so even if Vassar doesn’t work out she won’t be at a loss for good options.</p>
<p>My friend’s daughter was deferred. I will pass on this information to them. Thanks.</p>