What to Do When Colleges Defer Your Application

1. First, read the deferral letter carefully to determine your next steps. Some schools will give you specific instructions. You will want to follow them exactly. No exceptions. In particular, make note of things they say NOT to do. For example, if they say, “Please do not submit any additional recommendations,” then this is definitely not the time to bother your distant third cousin Reginald from the Class of ’31 to get him to write you an extra letter of rec. If any part of the deferral letter is unclear, show it to your counselor. Don’t guess.

2. Call the admissions office. This call should always be made by the student, and never by the parent.

Now, I have to give you a caveat: while calling a college is sometimes very helpful and can certainly never hurt, sometimes it doesn’t’ do anything at all. From January through March, admissions officers are so busy reading files that many of them will read applications at home and go weeks without stopping by the admissions office. So don’t’ be discouraged if you’re not able to speak with an actual admissions officer. Also, While many smaller private colleges may welcome your call as a chance for an admissions officer to have direct contact with a potential student, at large schools like University of Michigan, you’re not likely gather any helpful information because they simply have too many students to evaluate.

If you do choose to call the admissions office, you will probably get a receptionist. Tell this person your name, where you are from (example, Northern New Jersey) and ask if you could speak with someone who would be familiar with your application. If you already know who covers your high school or the area you’re from, you should look to contact that person directly.

The receptionist will likely offer to have someone call you back. This usually happens because an admissions officer will want to have a chance to review your file before speaking with you. If you do receive a return phone call, it’s important to be respectful. Thank the officer for returning your call and tell her that you received your notice that your early application has been deferred. (If you don’t receive a return call, just move on to the remaining tips that follow below and direct any materials to the admissions office in general.) Explain and that you were just calling to find out if there might be anything specific you could address that would improve your chances of admission. At the end of the call, ask the person if it would be OK to send him/her an update on your academics and activities. Verify the spelling of the person’s name and if you’re comfortable, ask for her email address as well. Since admissions officers will rarely tell you something specific that kept you from being admitted, the purpose of this phone call is primarily to show the admissions officer your level of maturity and your sincere interest in attending the school.

The most important thing to remember is to be polite and respectful to whomever you speak with on the phone. Whether you get a receptionist or the Dean of Admissions, be courteous and thank each person for taking the time to speak with you. They are taking your call as a courtesy and deserve to be thanked for their time.

3. Ask your high school counselor to call the admissions office. Admissions officers will sometimes be more forthcoming with guidance counselors about the reasons a student was not outright admitted. This may or may not be something your guidance counselor can do, but it is worth asking, particularly if you are highly interested in the school that has deferred your application.

After both you and your guidance counselor have spoken with the admissions office, you should meet to compare your findings. Again, it’s not likely that you have uncovered anything specific, but it’s certainly worth trying if you sincerely want to attend this college.

4. Write a letter to the person with whom you spoke. The letter should be broken into three basic parts:

• The opening paragraph should thank them for taking the time to speak with you (be specific and mention the date you spoke on the phone) and explain that you are sending this letter to update the office on your progress. Feel free to express your disappointment at not being accepted but keep the tone upbeat and optimistic as you share why you want to attend this college.
• Then, list your academic and extracurricular updates in bullet-point form. Resist the urge to repeat too much information that was in your application. Instead, focus on recent developments.
• In your third and final paragraph, state that the school is your first choice (if it actually is) and that you will accept a place in the class if you are given the opportunity (if that’s true). Thank them for taking the time to consider your application.

5. Nothing will affect a deferral more than your first semester grades. Good grades will help. Bad ones will hurt. You should contact your counselor about this directly as these updated grades should be sent with the Mid-Year Report.

6. Be thoughtful about submitting additional material. Some students want to send copies of awards, poems, videotapes, graded papers, etc. But quality is much more important than quantity. Admissions officers don’t want to sift through lots of extra material. If you have a senior year teacher who has wonderful things to say about you that any recommendations you submitted previously didn’t, then that might merit some consideration. (This should be sent in the same envelope as your letter.) Otherwise, don’t send in additional materials—especially if the college tells you explicitly not to.

7. Schedule an interview. If the school offers an opportunity to interview and you didn’t during the early cycle, look to see if you can still schedule one. It’s a chance to show interest as well as add new information to your file.

8. Don’t forget about the other colleges to which you’ve applied. While you’re expressing your love to the college that deferred you, don’t’ forget about all the reasons you like or even love the other colleges on your list. Don’t set your heart on just one school.

9. If you are eventually admitted, call your admissions contact to express your thanks. Very few people ever take the time to do this.

-Rhiannon Schade lives in Bernardsville with her husband and serves as the Director of College Counseling at Collegewise of Millburn.

356 Millburn Avenue, Suite 4

(908) -899 -1430

This content is copyrighted as of 2008 by Collegewise LLC