College admissions is stressful, and a deferral from a dream school doesn’t help. When Northeastern deferred you, it probably felt pretty icky. It’s not a no — which is awesome! But it’s also far from a yes and now you’re in this uncomfortable middle-ground where you can’t count on anything, but you also can’t count yourself out.
Deferred by MIT Early Action 2024-2025
Deferred by Duke Early Decision 2024-2025
This was not the plan. You were going to get into Duke Early Decision, and that would be it. But that isn’t how it worked out. You’ve been deferred, and now you’re in a really awkward spot. You’re not rejected, which is awesome. But you’re also not in, which is awkward. What you do next will chart the course for your future in college, so let’s move carefully, but with confidence.
Deferred by the University of Chicago 2024-2025
You applied to the University of Chicago early, and it hasn’t worked out like you expected. A yes is ideal, but at least a no is definitive and clear. Being deferred, though, is like the worst of both worlds. You aren’t in, but you also can’t grieve not getting into a dream school. That said, we don’t want you to wallow for too long. It still is possible to get into the University of Chicago after a deferral, and it’s absolutely possible to have an outstandingly successful college application experience—if you’re willing to put in the work.
Deferred by Stanford Restrictive Early Action 2024-2025
Stanford University is widely recognized as one of the best universities in the world, and they only offer one early application option. Restrictive Early Action at Stanford is extremely competitive. All admissions options to Stanford are insanely competitive, to be honest, and now you’re on the receiving end of one of the most frustrating possible outcomes: a deferral.
Deferred by Dartmouth Early Decision 2024-2025
Deferred by Princeton Single-Choice Early Action 2024-2025
If you received a notice of deferral from Princeton, you aren’t alone. The renowned Ivy League university has historically deferred a large number of single-choice early action applicants, . This is frustrating, because you still don’t know where you stand and don’t even really have a hint towards how they feel about your application.
Deferred by Yale Single-Choice Early Action 2024-2025
Once upon a time, deferred a massive number of early applicants. As a result, being deferred didn’t really tell the applicant anything about the status of their application. But now you’ve been deferred, and you’re probably wondering what this means. Luckily, things have changed in recent years. As the number of first-year undergraduate applications to Yale soared, they had to change their strategy. Instead of deferring of early applicants, they began only deferring applicants who truly have a chance of getting in through the regular decision round.
Deferred by Harvard Restrictive Early Action 2024-2025
If you’ve been deferred by Harvard, your frustration is palpable. Getting into Harvard is hard. With an acceptance rate of you can be astronomically smart, caring, and inspiring, and still not get in. What you do after receiving a deferral decision, especially from Harvard, is going to make or break your college admissions experience. You can wallow in self-pity and let it negatively impact your chances of eventually getting into Harvard, or into any of your other top picks, or you can let it catalyze you into action. We suggest the latter.
Deferred Early Decision by Columbia 2024-2025
Getting deferred from Early Decision is really disappointing. You picked a school, College or the School of Engineering at Columbia, and said “yes, this is my perfect fit.” Then you went through the effort of applying Early Decision — and it didn’t pan out. You are well within your right to be frustrated and disappointed. But you also weren’t rejected. You have the chance to turn this around, or to launch into another great option. Basically, the stage lights are still on, and the curtain hasn’t dropped. You’re still in this.
Deferred by the University of Chicago (2023-24)
If you’ve been deferred by the University of Chicago, you’re probably pretty disappointed. The college application process can feel like it slogs on forever, and it would have been really nice to have an acceptance to a top-tier school under your belt — or even to be done altogether if you’d applied Early Decision. The bad news is that you got bad news. The good news is that you didn’t get the worst news. You weren’t rejected, so you still have a shot.
Deferred by Cornell (2023-24)
By this time, you were probably hoping that you’d be making big plans for cheering on Big Red as a proud Cornellian next fall. Instead, you have no idea what’s going on. You’re not yet deemed worthy of a yes, but also not a hard no. You are somewhere in the middle, and that’s super annoying. But what you do next will determine whether you have a successful college admissions experience.
Deferred by the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) (2023-24)
If you received a deferral decision from the University of Pennsylvania, or Penn, or UPenn, you have every right to be annoyed. You put in the work, and you crafted a strong enough application to not get a â€no’ — but something just didn’t click. For some reason, Penn wasn’t sold on making you a Quaker. The good news is that you still have a shot, and we’re here to help. First, though, some stats.
Deferred by Princeton (2023-24)
If you received a notice of deferral from Princeton, you’re probably pretty bummed out — and rightly so! A yes or no is simple. You’re either in or you’re not, but a deferral offers a nebulous possibility of a potential future yes without any of the confidence of a yes nor the finality of a no. You’re fully in your right to take a few moments to wallow in frustration, perhaps aided by ice cream, but it’s important to not stay stuck in that headspace for too long. There’s work to be done, and we’re here to help!
Deferred from New York University (NYU) Early Decision
Deferred from University of Virginia (UVA) Early Decision (2023-2024)
Deferred from University of Southern California (USC) Early Action (2023-2024)
Deferred by Columbia Early Decision (2023-24)
So, you’ve been deferred by Columbia University. That’s a huge bummer. Instead of throwing yourself into action right away, we highly recommend giving yourself a moment to wallow. Eat a pint of ice cream, cry into your pillow, or cuddle with your pup. Allow yourself to feel all the feels, so that you can move on to getting things done.
Deferred from Duke Early Decision (2023-2024)
If you find yourself here, we’re sorry you got deferred from Duke. First things first, that's tough, and we feel for you. Take the time to let those feelings sink in – be it sadness, frustration, or whatever you're experiencing – because it's valid! But once you've had a moment to regroup, we’ve gotta get to work on your regular decision strategy, and that deferral letter too.