“Deferred” And “Waiting List” Applicants? Here Are The Steps.

By Gary Keung

(Admissions Consultant at The Edge Learning Center)

While mid-February is closely associated with roses and chocolates, it is also when the last of the early round results will come out for undergraduate applicants to US universities. With top universities receiving record amounts of applications each application cycle, even qualified applicants could receive a deferred decision letter. Although the regular decision pool will be a much larger and usually more competitive applicant pool, a Deferral is NOT a Rejection, and a letter of continued interest (love letter) can make a difference. For starters, keep the points below in mind when crafting your letter:

1. Follow instructions

Before you begin, look at the college admission website because they may have their form and portal for you to fill in and submit updates. It shows that you are meticulous when communicating with the admissions. For instance, New York University and the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor provide links for update forms in their portals for deferred applicants. If they don’t have a portal, you can send the letter as an attachment via email.

2. Offer them NEW information

It has been a few months since the college admissions received your application. Hence, you should tell them about any new achievement: an artbook you were working on getting published made it to print, you have led your team to win the championship game and received the MVP award, to a recent paper that you have received a stellar grade. If nothing new happened, share something meaningful about the major you applied to, you want to show the college that you have grown from the deferral.

3. Remain diligent and open-minded

If you have received deferrals from more than one college, evaluate all the colleges fairly and do not just get hung up on one college. Last but not least, in addition to writing a love letter, keep your grades high during senior year. Stories of students getting accepted off the waitlist in June because other students lost their spot for failing their senior courses are not mere fairytales.

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