What to Do When You Get “Deferred”

Receiving a “defer” decision from your top choice college or university as an early decision (ED) applicant can be a very discouraging, frustrating, and confusing experience. There are two primary reasons why a candidate is deferred:

1) The admissions committee wants to see how the applicant fares relative to the regular decision applicant pool.

2) There is a gap in knowledge about the student’s scholastic performance or personal qualities.

While the final admission decision is out of an applicant’s control (and hopefully this relieves student/family anxiety in some way), there are strategies that students can use to stand out after receiving a "defer" decision*:

1) Students--Send an email to thank the admissions officer for their thoughtful consideration of your application; reiterate that the college or university where you applied ED continues to be your top choice. Ask for 5 minutes of the admission officer’s time to discuss your application so that you can find out if there is particular information (e.g. grades, recommendations) that would help the committee to better understand you as a candidate. Even if you are unable to reach an admissions officer directly, make sure to submit updated materials such as grades, standardized test scores, and new recommendation letters (where appropriate).

2) Students--Ask your high school-based college counselor if he/she is willing to reach out to the admissions office to find out if there are particular materials you can submit to make a more compelling case for admission.

3) Parents--Be mindful that your student, and his/her college counselor where possible, needs to be front and center in following up with admissions officers. It is understandable for parents to want to “do something” during this tumultuous time, but the best thing that parents can do is to allow their students to take the lead.

Please know that admissions officers do consider the needs of students and their families during the process. Nonetheless, students and families sometimes need additional college application support that a college or university cannot provide.

Questions? Comments? Additions? Contact Dr. Aviva Hirschfeld Legatt at vivedconsulting@gmail.com.

*Thank you to numerous colleagues for input on these strategies.