Congratulations? You Got A Deferral? - Merit Educational Consultants
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Congratulations? You Got A Deferral?

It used to be that students either received that large envelope – you know the ones – with “CONGRATULATIONS” written for everyone to see when you were accepted, or the small #10 envelope with a single sheet of paper kindly telling you how qualified you were but how they regretted their decision to deny your acceptance to their college. But today, many colleges are “deferring” students as a third option.  What does this mean, and what can you do to get admitted?

What does Deferral mean?

Some decent colleges will defer students that will ultimately get in if they do not fill their incoming class with students on May 1st.  Most colleges will move this “deferred” group into the regular decision pool for consideration.  Other colleges offer admission to a small group, rejection to another small group, and deferrals to thousands of students knowing that most of these students will not be accepted.  I find this cruel because these students continue to be strung along with hopes for something that will never materialize.  But for others, a deferral is easier to swallow and may be a nice way to buffer the rejection.

Every college is different so you’ll need to do some digging to find out what your real chances are of getting in.  Northwestern defers less than 2% of their applicants, while Georgetown defers everyone who wasn’t accepted during their early application process.  Last year, MIT deferred over 6,000 students and only admitted 248.

What can you do to bump your chances of getting in on a deferral?

  1.  Write a letter to the admissions committee
    1. Thank them for this opportunity
    2. Update them on your progress with projects and other activities
    3. Comment on your current grades
    4. Explain why you’re a perfect candidate for admission
    5. Add new information that is not on your application or essays
    6. Get another letter of recommendation from a different source
  2. Update your Resume or LinkedIn page
    1. Add new accomplishments since your application was submitted
    2. Add photos or videos
    3. Add links to articles, interviews, or other publications
  3. Give new documents
    1. Check first because many colleges explicitly state that they do NOT want more documents, and sending them will actually hurt your admission chances.
    2. Give only documents and information that is not on your application or essays
    3. Get another letter of recommendation from a different source

Continue to apply to colleges to increase your chances of getting into your top picks.  This will help fill your time so you’re not anxiously waiting for a few colleges’ admissions decisions.  Remember, there are over 4,000 colleges just in the United States, and I’m sure there are many colleges that would love to have you start next fall!