Deferral

Events What to Know About Deferrals: Understanding Deferrals and the Next Steps to Take DATE AND TIME On Demand Free Watch Now ABOUT THIS EVENT As Early Decision and Early Action notifications are released, it can be discouraging to receive a deferral from your top-choice school.  However, it is important to keep a positive attitude and remember that a deferral is a second chance to highlight your strengths and what you have accomplished during your senior year. Join IvyWise college admissions counselors as they share insights on what a deferral is, why some students are deferred, and, most importantly, what next steps you should take if you received a deferral decision.

For students expecting early decisions, it’s easy to imagine how they’ll react to their admissions outcomes — whether it’s an acceptance or a rejection. But there’s another possibility on the table that many students forget to prepare for: a deferral. Rather than rejecting good-fit students with strong profiles, some colleges will defer select early applications to the Regular Decision round.

While it is disappointing not to have an acceptance in hand, a deferral does not mean that you’re out of the admissions race! In fact, a deferral should be considered a second chance to highlight your strengths and what you have accomplished during your senior year. You might feel like you've been rejected if you receive a deferral, but all it means is that your application will be reviewed again in the Regular Decision round.

As early application decisions are released this December, some students may encounter a strange outcome that isn’t as clear-cut as an acceptance or denial – a deferral. This can be a confusing end result after working so hard on your early application, but luckily there’s a lot you can do to understand exactly what a deferral means and how to improve your chances of admission. A deferral is an admissions outcome wherein an early applicant, for various reasons, has been sent to the regular admissions cycle for reevaluation, and will receive a decision in March or April with the other regular applicants.

IvyWise counselors Victoria and Christine break down the college admissions rubric and discuss examples of different hard and soft factors that admissions officers evaluate on the college admissions podcast, giving listeners expert insight from former admissions officers. Listen Now! When making admissions decisions, colleges and universities in the US don’t just look at grades and test scores.

Getting deferred from your top-choice school can be disappointing, but don’t despair! There are a number of steps that students can take after a deferral to improve their admission chances in the regular round. Students who are not accepted during the early application round are either deferred or denied.