<p>My daughter got deferred last year and people treated it and her like she was already rejected. Stanford is not like all of the highly competitive schools. I know in that they genuinely only defer people who they want to keep in the pool. Odds are 3x better now on your daughter’s friend’s admission. And he should not despair. He should consider updating them as instructed and keeping the conversation and process alive. My daughter is now a freshman - on The Farm. Don’t lose hope and don’t lose faith in Stanford if it is indeed his first choice. That being said, my daughter also ended up with amazing choices that she would never have considered had her initial deferral not happened. She realized she would be happy at a lot of schools and that she was wanted. Everything happens for a reason. Good luck.</p>