What does deferred mean for college?

What is a Deferred College Admissions Decision? A deferral means the college wants to review your application again with the regular decision pool of applicants. While it might feel like a rejection, a deferral is not a denial, nor does it mean there was something wrong with your application.

Do deferred students get accepted?

What Percentage of Deferred Students Get Accepted? Across all highly selective colleges, about 10% of deferred candidates ultimately earn admission to the school that kicked the can on their candidacies. While this percentage can vary yearly and from school to school, it's a relatively consistent general benchmark.

What happens when you are deferred from a college?

A rejection means that the school will not offer your child admission at this time, while a deferral means that your child's application will go into the Regular Decision pool of applicants. They want to compare your child's application against those applicants in the Regular Decision pool.

Is it better to be deferred or waitlisted?

Being deferred from college doesn't mean you've been denied acceptance. Being waitlisted means you are on a list reserve because spots are filled. Very selective colleges defer as many as 70-80% of early applicants. If you take important steps, you still have a chance for admissions.

What is the difference between deferred and rejected?

A rejection means the student was denied admission. However, a deferral means the student's application is still being considered. Being waitlisted, on the other hand, means the student will be admitted if space becomes available. Many perfectly qualified students are rejected, deferred, and waitlisted.

deferred to accepted from cornell | my letter of continued interest

Is it bad if your application is deferred?

A deferral means the college wants to review your application again with the regular decision pool of applicants. While it might feel like a rejection, a deferral is not a denial, nor does it mean there was something wrong with your application.

Is it harder to get accepted after being deferred?

Some estimates say that most colleges will accept at least 5-10% of deferred students in regular decision pools. Others estimate that the deferral acceptance rate is often approximately equal to the regular decision acceptance rate. However, these estimates are overarching and don't apply to all schools.

Is a deferral basically a rejection?

First things first: deferred does not mean rejected. It also doesn't mean waitlisted. It means that your application is being moved to the regular decision applicant pool. In other words, the college wants to wait to see who else will apply before they decide whether or not to accept you.

Why do colleges defer students?

Deferring the application to the regular decision candidate pool gives admissions officers more time to thoroughly review it. Sometimes, a deferral means admissions officers want to wait and see how the student's academic performance shapes up in their senior year of high school.

Is it better to be deferred?

In general, you can assume that your odds are better if you've been deferred rather than waitlisted. Deferred students are reconsidered during the regular decision round and should have about the same chance as other regular decision applicants.

How do I get accepted after being deferred?

Some colleges might request specific information, like an updated grade report or test scores. Other colleges might encourage students to submit additional materials like recommendation letters, updates on extracurricular activities, or a letter of continued interest (LOCI) or deferral letter.

Is it good to be deferred from a college?

College admissions officers also don't know what their regular decision pool of applicants will look like yet. By deferring you, they can better decide if you are a good fit for the school and the incoming student body.

Do colleges defer overqualified students?

While there is some anecdotal evidence that overqualified students get rejected, these students aren't usually turned down because of their better-than-average grades or test scores. Most likely, the overqualified student isn't the right fit for a school or they haven't shown enough interest to admission officers.

What are valid reasons for deferring?

How long can you defer college acceptance?

Most people who defer their enrollment do so for a period between one semester and one year. That being said, some students have deferred for two years. You can always request a two-year deferral and see what the college says.

What is the difference between deferred and wait list?

If you are deferred, your application is reconsidered in regular decision rounds, with a chance of a final decision at a later date. If you are waitlisted, you remain in a state of uncertainty without the guarantee of being reconsidered.

Do you need a reason to defer?

Some colleges grant deferrals to all students who request them, while others make a decision to grant deferrals on a case-by-case basis. Colleges who grant some deferral requests, but not others, are looking for a “good reason” for making the request.

What are the chances of getting into Harvard after being deferred?

Historically, about 10% of students who Harvard defers ultimately earn admission in Regular Decision. While this data point can vary from year to year, it's rarely released by the school. But, over the years, Ivy Coach's sources in Harvard's admissions office have confirmed that 10% is the general rule of thumb.

How do you respond to a deferral letter?

Don't overwhelm them with letters. One letter (or maybe two) from someone who knows you well is all you need. Additionally, you should also include in your message a statement of why you are so interested in attending that institution and reaffirm your commitment to enroll if admitted.

Do you have a chance if you are deferred?

Simply put, a deferral is a second chance at admission. This gives colleges the opportunity to make decisions on strong applicants with the whole view of the applicant pool. For many students, this can be an advantage, as the Regular Decision pool is typically not as strong as the early pools.

What does reason for deferral mean?

A student who applies through either early action or early decision is deferred when a college determines that the student has potential but they want to see first semester senior grades to confirm. So without sounding overly Pollyana-ish, being deferred gives a student a second chance to impress the admissions office.

How long does it take for a college to accept or reject you?

It's not unusual for a college's application process to take four to six weeks. Colleges that have an application portal allow students to go online to check the status of their applications at any time.

How many deferred students get accepted?

Unfortunately, schools ultimately don't accept many of the students they defer. As a rule of thumb, most schools accept only 5-10 percent of deferred students.

How do you increase chances after being deferred?

What is a letter to college after deferral?

Here is an example letter: Dear (Director), I received your recent admissions decision of Deferred status concerning my application. Although this was not the decision I was seeking, I remain very interested in becoming a member of [School Name]'s Class of 2026.