Strategies For Dealing With Early Decision Deferrals

Willard Dix , Contributor 

I cover the college admission process and how it affects families. 

Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

 

You had your heart set on that one amazing college, that one stellar university, and you applied Early Decision or Early Action. It's a great chance to get noticed in a smaller pool than the one that'll overflow in Regular Decision. Unfortunately, instead of an acceptance, you received a polite "not now," a deferral until the regular decision round in the spring. You've been thrown back into the pool.

Again, unfortunately, many colleges are reporting big upsurges in applicants applying early in whatever form, meaning that word has gotten out that it's "easier" to be accepted then. The result, of course, is a significant drop in the percent being accepted and an accompanying rise in competitiveness. The website College Connection keeps track of those numbers, which you can see here.

Here are some ways to cope with the disappointment and keep moving forward.

1. Take some time to be disappointed, but give it a limit, too. Take a few hours or a day and then get back on the application horse. Hopefully, you've made a list of colleges and universities with applications ready to go in case this happened. Polish them up and send them out pronto.


2. It's most likely not you, it's the numbers. The more applicants, the more decisions have to be made. Admission offices bump up against the limit of how many students to take ED, too. Some schools are filling more than half their classes this way, but others may not.
3. It could be you. You may have had a rocky junior year or had a setback in some other area. In that case, you need to demonstrate that you've not only recovered but also significantly exceeded your previous performance.
4. Don't automatically get into Groucho Marx Mode: "I'd never be a member of a club that would have me." If you loved the school before, don't let this brush-off turn into resentment; you're still in the mix, it's just a setback.
5. If your ED school became your paradigm for the other schools on your list, you probably have other good options. Revisit them and remind yourself what put them in the plus column. Look more deeply into them and their programs.
6. Don't call demanding to know why you were deferred. I guarantee you'll only look bad and that the answer will be some variation of, "We just didn't have room enough at this point to take everyone we'd like to take."
7. Instead, if you're still interested in attending your ED school, write a letter to your admission representative or the dean expressing your disappointment but emphasizing your enthusiasm for the school and, if you're still gung-ho, letting that person know you'll enroll if they take you. A mature response with positive actions you'll take to meet the school's criteria can be very helpful. And when I say write a letter, I mean just that: paper and pen, envelope, and a stamp. Emails are too easy and ubiquitous; a letter stands out.
8. When your first semester grades come out, be sure to send them for your file. Send anything else that enhances your application as well. But don't inundate the admission office with extra recommendations, portfolios, or weekly contacts. Be judicious: You want to be seen as an applicant, not a stalker.
9. Another note sent during reading season (February-March, mostly) reiterating your devotion can bring you back to top of mind.
10. Often, the enthusiasm for your ED school does fade after a deferral, so you can simply keep moving on your other schools, making sure you have a good selection to work with.

I can also tell you that students are often relieved at their deferrals because during the process they've found a school they like even better or because they ended up feeling boxed in by the commitment.
I'll be honest, students deferred in the early rounds have the odds stacked against them in the regular pool. You'll be swimming with bigger, smaller and same-sized fish, so you'll have to take a dispassionate view of the process. But there's no harm in swimming as strongly as you can to reach your ideal school.

See my blog at collegeculture.net for essays about the college admission process itself.