What to Do If Your College Applications Are Deferred

If you applied to college under any Early Application deadlines this year, you’re probably anxiously checking your email to learn the result. Early Application decisions will be released by schools shortly, and there are a few things that could happen Best Case Scenario:Â  You’re accepted! If you applied under an Early Decision deadline, it means you are bound to attend, so it’s time to buy the school t-shirt and start planning your next steps! If you applied under an Early Action or Restrictive Early Action deadline, it means you can keep this acceptance in your back pocket and choose to explore other options if you’d like. Either way congratulations! Worst Case Scenario:Â  You’re denied. This stinks, and it will probably be really disappointing news. Take time to process your feelings and accept your fate, and then focus all of your energy on finishing compelling applications to the rest of the schools on your list. Scenario 3: You’re deferred. If you’re deferred, it means that the admissions committee thinks you are a competitive applicant, but they want to see how competitive you are against the applicants who apply under Regular Decision. They are deferring your application to the Regular Decision round, and now you will get their final admissions decision in March. There are a few things you can do in the next few weeks to boost your candidacy. First and foremost, do not inundate your admissions representative with emails and questions. Take the time to craft your strategy and send them just one communication. When you reach out, you should highlight any and all of the accomplishments and updates in your candidacy from when you submitted your application until now. Did you win an award? Did you earn straight As in your classes? Were you chosen as the Captain of a sports team? All of this information should be shared with them, as they can take it into consideration when reviewing your application against the Regular Decision applicant pool. In the end, it’s not the end of the road if you are deferred. It’s important to make sure you submit other competitive applications in the meantime, but there is still a glimmer of hope that you’ll get an admit decision soon!