If you applied to the University of Michigan Early Action, you were probably fairly confident that you had a chance of getting in. You certainly weren’t expecting a rejection, but even that may have been easier to handle than a deferral — or what the University of Michigan calls a “postponement.”
Deferred Early Action by USC 2024-2025
Until recently, you couldn’t get deferred by USC. They only recently introduced an early action option. However, since 2023, The University of Southern California (aka USC) has started deferring students from their EA round to the RD round. Since it is such a new program, they are still figuring it out, and the rules have changed since last year. If you have been deferred from USC, don’t worry; we are going to walk you through it.
Deferred by Cornell Early Decision 2024-2025
Deferred by Barnard Early Decision 2024-2025
If you’re reading this post, Barnard was your dream school. This wasn’t the plan. You were hoping to get in, and may have had a backup strategy if you didn’t, but it’s likely you were not planning for a maybe. A deferral is just that — a deeply dissatisfying maybe. You might get in, but you can’t count on it. There are things you can do to nearly guarantee you aren’t accepted in the regular decision round, though, and things you can do to greatly improve your chances of admission.
Deferred by the University of Pennsylvania Early Decision 2024-2025
Getting deferred can be a real bummer. You worked hard on a great application to one of UPenn’s four undergraduate schools: The College, Wharton, Engineering, or Nursing. You took your time to research the school and write your essays. More importantly, you probably fell in love with Penn (at least, enough for it to be your early decision choice). For all that work to be met with a deferral letter feels really disappointing. However, we want to highlight the silver lining here: you weren’t rejected. You still have options here, and there are a few steps that you 100% should take.
Deferred by Tufts Early Decision 2024-2025
If you are reading this post, a deferral was not part of the plan. You applied to Tufts early decision because you wanted certainty. If you got in, you’d be set. If you didn’t, you’d know Tufts wasn’t in the cards. But now you’re on the receiving end of a deferral decision and it’s not a yes or a no, but a very unsatisfying maybe.
Deferred by Middlebury Early Decision 2024-2025
You were a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed prospective college student when you applied to Middlebury Early Decision, or something like that. Now, the struggle of getting into a top college has thrown you for a loop and you’re on the receiving end of a deferral. Boooooo deferrals. A no is at least certain. You know where you stand with a no! This deferral business is so much more unstable, but it’s important to know that it is not a soft ‘no’. A deferral from Middlebury means you still have a chance.
Deferred by Notre Dame Restrictive Early Action 2024-2025
If you are reading this post, you were probably recently on the receiving end of notice of deferral from Notre Dame. First, let’s wallow in how this is a huge bummer for a second. You wanted to get in and you didn’t want to have to think about this whole college application thing anymore. You aren’t rejected, and you do still have a chance of getting into Notre Dame, so it’s time to get out of that puddle of disappointment and reorient yourself towards action. Before we begin on what comes next, let’s talk statistics.
Deferred by Northeastern 2024-2025
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.