 |
| Notre Dame welcomes communication from deferred students |
Harvard College deferred 4673 applicants to regular decision out of 6173
students who applied “single-choice” early action this fall.
Brown deferred
63
percent of its 3030 binding early decision candidates, while
MIT deferred 4776 of its 7767
early action applicants and Yale deferred 53 percent of its early applicants.
Georgetown
deferred
all
students not accepted to the early action program to the spring review.
Duke, on the other hand,
deferred 663 students out
of 3455 applicants to regular decision, Middlebury
deferred
74 applicants out of 685, and
Stanford deferred
only 701 students out of 7822 restricted early action candidates.
Although each of these schools has its own
enrollment management
strategy for dealing with deferred students,
it’s clear that way too many who applied early
this fall are finding they’ve been neither
accepted nor
rejected, but
deferred to the
regular admissions pool.
And if you find yourself in this position, please know that you’re not
alone.
Because many colleges received record numbers of early applications, it
stands to reason that unless acceptances increase, you have considerable
company—mostly very disappointed.
But try to put the best face on your disappointment. Think of deferral as a
kind of holding pattern. Colleges are sending a signal they need to know a
little more about you before making a final decision. Often they want to see
your application in the context of the entire applicant pool or they simply
want to see how well you’re continuing to do senior year.
You can also interpret the message as an opportunity to regroup or
reconsider your application strategy.
For some students, a deferral can be a wake-up call. Make sure you are
applying to a solid mix of schools, including a sufficient number of colleges
where there is a good or better likelihood you will be admitted.
If you continue committed to the college that deferred you, don’t despair. Although
there are no guarantees, you can either respond to the challenge or wait for the
next round of decisions to come out in the New Year.
I recommend responding. And here’s how:
1. Do not crash—finish those applications. There’s no
question this is a setback. It’s normal to feel disappointment, but don’t allow
it to be crippling. Most importantly, don’t let this relatively minor bump in
the road delay completion of the rest of your applications. Finish those
remaining essays as soon as possible and try to submit well in advance of due
dates.
2.
Understand and follow the rules. Before
doing anything, be sure to review and understand deferral policies. Some
colleges are quite clear that deferred applicants should not call, write, or
send additional materials. Others will
welcome
communication.
Know the policy and
form a plan of action to appropriately address the deferral.
3. Contact Admissions. Try calling or emailing the
admissions representative for your area. He or she most likely read your
application and possibly remembers you. It’s a busy time of year for
admissions, but if you’re lucky you might get personal feedback and a sense of
how your application stacked up against the rest of the early pool. You might
also get ideas on how to strengthen your candidacy by clarifying
misunderstandings or by submitting additional test results, information, or
recommendations. But whatever you do, resist the temptation to complain or
badger the staff.
4. Update your application. Although colleges require that
official
midyear
grades be sent directly by your high school, take the initiative to forward
a copy of your semester grade report with a cover letter firmly restating your
commitment to attend if admitted—
only if that’s truly the case
of course—along with as succinct statement as to why you think the college is
the best fit for you. Include reference to any new and improved standardized
test scores, additional leadership positions, new memberships, recent events or
community service activities in which you have been involved, and any special
awards you received. Consider sending an additional writing sample or essay.
And feel free to add relevant supplementary information such as links to videos
or newspaper articles. Remember colleges really only want to know what’s
happened
since you submitted your original application, so
don’t rehash the past. And don't snow them with paper. Be deliberate in what
you send.
5. Consider a campus visit. If you haven’t already spoken
with the area representative, try to make an appointment to meet sometime in
January or February. This can be an opportunity to make your case for admission
face-to-face. If the rep is not available, don’t be discouraged—it’s peak
reading season and time is limited. Instead, visit a class, have lunch, and
take a closer look at the campus. You may find subtle changes in your feelings
about the school that open you to other possibilities.
6. Send another recommendation. If permitted, make
arrangements to have another
recommendation
sent on your behalf. Look for someone who can speak to qualities other than
those represented in recommendations the college already received. Consider
asking a coach, your employer, a faculty sponsor for one of your membership
organizations, or a senior year teacher who has gotten a chance to get to know
you. Do not flood the admissions office with hundreds of additional
recommendations. This won’t help.
7. Try retesting. If test scores appear to be a barrier to
admission, try retaking either the
SAT (January)
or the
ACT (February). Who
knows? Your scores may improve significantly enough to make a difference in
your admissions prospects.
8. Make academics your first priority. Now is the time to
reveal your true character by working even harder to improve class standing.
Don’t be lured into
senioritis.
Colleges on the fence about your candidacy will be impressed by a continued
upward trend in
grades.
9. Step-up community or school involvement. This is
definitely NOT the time to quit participating in school- or community-based
activities. Instead, you should seek out leadership opportunities and have a
continued impact on your community. Colleges want to see a
commitment
to service that doesn’t just end because the paperwork was submitted.
10. Complete scholarship, financial
aid and/or honors college applications. Don’t stop now. If the college has
supplementary scholarship or honors college applications, make sure they are
completed and submitted before deadline. This includes the
CSS
PROFILE.
Be aware that completing
these documents—especially after a deferral—shows a significant level of continued
interest.
11. Talk to your school counselor. Be sure to provide your
counselor with the most up-to-date information on additional accomplishments
that may be relevant to your application and ask for these accomplishments to
be included along with mid-year grades. If the college remains your first
choice, suggest your counselor make this point somewhere on the form or
possibly in a cover letter. In some cases, a call from your counselor to the
admissions office will help, particularly if he or she has a strong
relationship with the college.
12. Move on. Consider your deferral an opportunity to
explore other options. It’s hard not to be miserable over a less-than-positive
response to all the hard work you’ve put into being the best possible candidate
for admission. But once you have done everything possible to persuade the
college to admit, turn your attention elsewhere and don’t dwell on the
negative. Even with this small detour, remain confident in your prospects.
For a college perspective on deferral, read advice provided by the
University
of Notre Dame and
Tulane
University.
Posts
