What Does “Deferred” Mean?
Happy New Year! If you applied Early Action, Early Decision, or Rolling in the fall, you’ve likely received some college decision letters by now. Terms such as “accepted” and “denied” are pretty straightforward, but you may have been confronted with some language you were not expecting, like “deferred” and “waitlisted.” So what do these mean and what should your next steps be if you have been deferred or waitlisted by one or more of your schools?
What it means to be deferred: A deferral is not a denial, rather, it means that your application will be reconsidered in the Regular Decision (RD) pool of applicants. The deferral designation is reserved for students who applied Early Action (EA) or Early Decision (ED) to a college.
What you should do if you are deferred: Your next steps vary depending on the institution deferring you. Make sure you carefully read and re-read your deferral letter for instructions. Your applicant portal should also include information for next steps, particularly if the school wants you to submit any updates to your application. The colleges’ admissions websites also often include this information. Common follow-up requirements are:
Check a box or fill out a form that confirms you would like to continue to be considered for admission
Upload updated test scores or course records (grades)
Upload a Letter of Continued Interest (LOCI) or other statement with updates to your academic or extracurricular record (like getting a higher position in a club or winning a competition since your application was submitted)
Check out Clemson’s procedure for an example of what to do if you are deferred- halfway down the page
This is just an example and you should check your college’s info page or deferral letter for your specific procedure
Data: Some schools will post their admissions statistics, and I find data helpful in understanding admitted student profiles. It may not be too helpful in the way of what you can do to increase your changes in the next round, but it could show you what might help (i.e. if your test scores could still be improved/submitted).
Feel free to reach out if you want to make sure you have followed your deferral procedures correctly, or if you want any help on creating or submitting your follow-up materials!
