The Admissions Club

31. Take On Me: What To Do If You Get A Deferred Decision

Elizabeth West

You’re waiting for that coveted college acceptance letter and you get a deferral letter instead. Don’t be deflated if you get a deferral, this is not necessarily the end of your college dreams. What is a deferral anyway? A deferral means the admissions office is waiting to make a decision perhaps past the regular decision deadline or if you have updated information to give them. A deferral is not optimal, but it is not a definite no. Tune in as Elizabeth and Chris break down this gray area of acceptance and offer things to consider if you find yourself in this situation.  

3 Important things to consider if you get a deferral:

  • Call an admission counselor for more information. If you are professional and courteous, you will get a forthright response about what you may need to do to get into the college. Tip: Don’t have your parents call, you need to make the call. Demonstrate that you are ready to be an adult. 
  • New information might be needed. Sometimes a college wants to see new information such as an updated test scores, mid-term grades, or an updated letter of recommendation. If you opted out of an optional essay, the college might want you to fill it out in order to get more information about you. 
  • Use the deferral to demonstrate your interest. Sometimes colleges use deferrals to see how interested you are in the college, especially if you are in the lower half of the students they typically admit. They are looking to see if you are willing to put in the extra effort in order to gain acceptance. This is your chance to shine! 

The Admissions Club Podcast is your one-stop shop for all things college admissions, complete with a nostalgic 80s playlist and Gen X vibes. It’s hard to believe that we’ve traded in scrunchies and Bruce Springsteen posters for walking our kids through the college admissions process!  But, I’m here to share my 25 years of higher education experience, with 10 years of direct college admissions experience, with you and your student so you don’t have to walk it alone.

Connect with Elizabeth!

The Admissions Club Podcast is your one-stop shop for all things college admissions, complete with a nostalgic 80s playlist and Gen X vibes. It’s hard to believe that we’ve traded in scrunchies and Bruce Springsteen posters for walking our kids through the college admissions process! But, we are here to share our experience in higher education and direct college admissions with you and your student so you don’t have to walk it alone.

Connect with EWC!