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It’s normal to be a little disappointed that you didn’t get a simple “yes” from your school of choice. 

If your application has been deferred, you have been moved from the early pool of applicants to the Regular Decision pool. You will be competing against all applicants who submit their applications Regular Decision. However, there are many things you can do to increase your chances of acceptance in the Regular Decision round. 

Being deferred is a sign that you are qualified for the school; it usually means there is a weak spot in your application profile, or you need to find a way to distinguish yourself more. This is the time to pull out all of the stops, and go the extra mile to gain acceptance!

Step 1.  Read the college’s deferral letter. Sometimes, they will give you specific things you can do to improve your application and specific things NOT to do. Then, reflect on your application – could your personal statement have been tighter? Were there any typos in your application? This won’t help your application to your deferral school, but it will help with your Regular Decision applications that will be due soon. You should also identify any additional leadership opportunities that could enhance your application. 

Step 2. The next thing to do is to get on the phone and call the admissions office directly. Ask to speak to your Regional Admissions Officer; usually you need to leave your name and number and they call you back (remember to specify when you are available to take the call). You want to accomplish two things with this phone call:

1. Find out how you can improve your chances of admission
2. Make a connection with the officer, and reiterate how the school is one of your top choices and you would love to attend.

Stay positive throughout, and don’t make any excuses; simply try to get some information. If you can, briefly tell them about one or two new developments, and ask if you can email them updates. That’s all; a short conversation is totally fine, but YOU need to call–not a college counselor, and not your parents. 

Step 3.  Write your first deferral letter, and send it out by January 15th. To write this letter, start by reiterating that the school is your top choice, and you are still committed to attending. Follow this statement with 2-3 updates on any defining accomplishments you have achieved since you submitted your application. Conclude by thanking the admissions committee for taking the time to review your letter. Keep an eye out for an upcoming post in which we will describe how to create this letter, and what to write in it!  

This step is extremely important. You should also plan to send another of these letters in late February with additional updates, so make sure to keep your grades up, and rack up special accomplishments if possible. 

Step 4.  Turn your attention to recommendations. A good package of recommendations would include the following.

• 2 letters from Alumna of the school. If you have any family or friends who are Alumna, ask them to write you a letter of support and send it to your Admissions Officer. The purpose of this letter is for them to “vouch” for you, but it doesn’t have to be a lengthy recommendation. Make sure to remind your recommenders to include their contact information within the letter itself. 
• A recommendation from a Senior year teacher, coach or mentor. This will be a more formal recommendation to add to your file, and they should tailor their letter to this school.

Step 5. Talk to your Guidance Counselor about sending a Mid-Year transcript with your most recent grades (assuming they are good!). Colleges will be re-evaluating your application packet when it is time to decide who is admitted and who is not. Showing them that your grades have improved since you first applied will give admissions offers a good impression of your commitment to your studies. It may earn you more points towards being placed in the “admitted” category.

Being deferred means you’re still in the running. These steps will give you what you need to distinguish yourself. And, learning to advocate for yourself in the right way is a valuable life-skill! While you certainly do not want to overwhelm or harass admissions officers, showing your continued interest– and your persistence when it comes to achieving your goals– can improve your chances of moving out of the deferred pile into “accepted.” 

In the meantime, finish up your other applications. Even though you may feel disheartened, make sure your Regular Decision applications are as strong as possible. Don’t neglect these just because you’re holding out hope you’ll get in to your first choice school. You’ll need options– and who knows, you may end up with a change of heart later on! 

You have accomplished the most amazing challenge you have ever undertaken in your life – you have been accepted to college! All your efforts have been rewarded with those magic words, “we are pleased to inform you of your acceptance”. Congratulations!

So what do you do now?  Or maybe the question is, what DON’T you do?

To avoid succumbing to Senioritis, keep these in mind:

Good Grades Matter

Think of your entire high school career as an audition for college. You can’t give up before the final curtain.  Keep those grades up and GPA in good shape.  You may be a second semester senior but don’t lose your focus.  You’re still a student!

Acceptance is not a guarantee

It can be very tempting to sit back and relax and not expend too much energy on anything. But don’t be fooled into thinking that once you’ve been accepted, you’re in no matter what. Your entire senior year is important. Once you complete your senior year and receive your diploma, college are still going to look at your grades – including the ones from your senior spring semester. If your GPA drops significantly it can tell colleges that you don’t care about academics. And they can rescind your acceptance. That’s right–you essentially get “un”accepted!

A good GPA leads to good scholarships and grants

Many scholarship and grant opportunities–as well as other forms of financial aid–often have requirements that include a certain minimum GPA level. The higher your GPA is, the more scholarships and grants you could qualify for.

Set short-term and long-term goals for yourself.

Having clear goals is the simplest way to stay motivated. Write down your goals for this semester, and be specific about how you’re going to achieve them. For example: What grades do you want in each of your classes? Do you need a specific GPA to maintain a scholarship or financial aid? What skills do you want to improve on before heading off to college?

Focus on earning college credit.

If you’re taking Advanced Placement or other college-level classes, you may need a certain grade or test score to get college credit. Doing well in these classes can help you place into more advanced courses, graduate early, and spend less on tuition—all very good things. Studying hard now can make a big impact on your college career.

Stay active and challenged

A lot of time is spent on completing applications, writing essays, going on college visits, researching majors and campus life.  Now that you’ve been accepted you’ll have more free time. While you continue to focus on academics, there is also time now to do fun (and enriching) things.

By senior year you have most likely taken most required courses and there should be room in your schedule for elective classes. Elective classes are those that you take not to fulfill a requirement, but because they interest you. So much of our motivation to learn lies in intellectual curiosity, and it can thus behoove seniors to indulge this instinct.

Taking courses because they are easy is a tactic that many students use, but this is not an effective way to avoid senioritis – your lack of effort in your easy classes may bleed into your challenging classes and threaten your grades. Signing up for courses that make you want to work hard may just increase your motivation in all of your studies.

You can also use your extra time to pursue your passions or hobbies, join a club or organization that you are interested in, cultivate your relationships with friends and family (you’ll miss them when you leave for college), read a good book, and plan your summer. Second semester is a great time for all of these things.

Get prepared for college life

You’re about to be on your own and you’re going to have be fully independent.  Second semester senior year is the time to figure out and practice things like how to have a balanced and healthy diet to sustain you through hours of tougher homework, how to deal with the extra free time that results from the less-structured college life, how to manage your money, how to do your laundry, and how to clean you room!