Getting deferred Early Decision is a uniquely frustrating experience. You’re not accepted, but you’re also not rejected. You still have a chance, but should you keep your hopes up? You can’t re-do your application, but guidance on what you can do is hard to find. Before we get into what you need to do after being deferred, let’s look at why it happened in the first place.

Obviously, if you’re reading this, we haven’t seen your specific application, but there are three primary reasons for deferral that the vast majority of deferred ED applicants fall into.

Reason 1: You’re on the cusp.

Some people in the admissions office want you as part of their next class, but not everyone agreed, so they decided to set your application to the side for now. 

Reason 2: You’re applying for an especially competitive major.

Schools cannot accept an entire class full of English majors, or math majors, or chemistry majors, or really any single major. They need to plan for an even distribution of majors, accounting for any particular department’s size. If you are applying to a school that is well-known for U.S. History as a history major with a particular interest in the U.S., you may be deferred simply because they have too much interest in the program. This is totally out of your control and, yes, wildly frustrating.

Reason 3: You’re a perfect fit for the school…and that’s a problem.

A few years ago, a student of ours who was a perfect fit for Columbia was deferred. We weren’t surprised, and neither was she. We’d told her it wasn’t just a possible outcome — it was likely. She was simply too good of a fit—too quintessentially Columbia. Colleges need diversity. They need each class to reflect a variety of backgrounds, belief systems, professional aspirations, and personality types. If you fit too closely to a school’s stereotype, you may be deferred because they need to make sure they don’t fill their school with more of the same. The good thing is, this story has a happy ending. Our student ended up being admitted to Brown in the Regular Decision round!

Reason 4: It really is random.

There is sometimes a frustrating degree of randomness in the process, and it is something you need to embrace. Deferrals don’t always make sense, and more often than not, this is the category students fall into.

If you were deferred ED, you can’t just sit around and wait to see what happens. You need to be proactive, which means doing two very (extremely) important things. 

If the school is still your first choice, you need to reaffirm your interest. Some schools will ask you to submit additional materials or an update letter informing them of what has happened between your October submission and the deferral decision. Other schools won’t ask for anything specific, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t reach out. It’s important to send one simple, respectful, and concise email update. This must be less than 500 words, must be in the body of the email unless requested in a different format, and absolutely must not be aggressive or argumentative.

When you are reaffirming your interest, you also have an opportunity to address any flaws or errors in your ED application. This doesn’t apply to all students, but, for a select few, addressing issues with your application head-on is the difference between an RD acceptance and a flat-out rejection. If you are curious about how to address flaws, send us an email.

Once you’ve reaffirmed your interest, you need to work towards alternative options proactively.

First, you need to revisit your college list. You cannot just move forward like nothing happened. Build more security into your list by adding a few more targets and safeties.

Then, you need to reevaluate the core components of your application. This does not always mean that you need to trash your Common App essay, but it is possible that your Regular Decision applications will fare better with a different core strategy. This is especially true if you rushed through your early applications.

Finally, you should consider applying Early Decision II. Yes, you may still get into your first-choice school, but you weren’t an easy ‘yes’ in the first round, so nothing is guaranteed. Early Decision II isn’t widespread, but it can be a great option if your second-choice school does offer it. 

For many students, the best decision after an ED deferral is to call in some help. Most of the students we begin working with after an ED deferral or rejection were confident that they could do the college admissions process on their own. They didn’t want help, and they didn’t accept assistance. We understand that impulse, but there’s a reason we write these blog posts besides a slightly unhealthy obsession with college admissions — students need help. This isn’t like an SAT where you could go to prep classes, take practice tests, and sit the exam more than once. You don’t get a ‘re-do’ on your applications if you don’t get the outcomes you’re hoping for. You have one shot, and it helps to have guidance from people who’ve done it before…literally hundreds of times before. Asking for help isn’t admitting defeat; it’s acknowledging that this stuff is tough. College admissions is complicated, and sometimes getting the best results requires bringing the best people onto your team.

If you’re ready for a helping hand, check out our “It’s going to be Okay” package and then send us an email. We’re here for you, from deferral to dream school.