Applying Early Decision: 6 Things to Do When You're Deferred

As applying early decision to selective college has grown in popularity in recent years, so has the number of students whose college applications have been deferred.

The unlucky students with deferred applications must wait months before learning whether their No. 1 schools will accept them through the regular admission process.

The students whose admission decisions are deferred are the ones who applied early action or early decision in hopes of learning their fate around the holidays.

A dear friend of mine's son recently learned that the University of Chicago had deferred his application and he was devastated. Here, however, are six things that you can do to boost your chances of still getting into your dream school:

1. Bounce back. It can be demoralizing getting a wishy-washy response from a college, but remember that you're in the same boat as thousands upon thousands of great kids. Give yourself a day to mope and then move on.

2. Contact the school. Call the admission staffer in charge of your geographic area to find out what you can do to boost your acceptance chances. And please don't let one of your parents make the call.

3. Ask about deferral stats. Some schools routinely dispense deferrals and only reject those who are clearly unfit. According to Sally P. Springer, a coauthor of Admission Matters, Georgetown University defers lots of applicants. In contrast, many schools including Stanford University, defer few applicants. Ask about what percentage of deferred applicants win an acceptance letter to assess your chances.

4. Send a letter. Mail the admission officer for your area a note that explains why you want to attend this institution in the fall and how you would contribute to the college community. After the holiday break, ask your school guidance counselor to also send a note.

5. Update the college. Let a college know if you've received any honors or participated in meaningful activities since you submitted your application. Make sure your high school counselor sends your mid-year grade report.

6. Look elsewhere. There are thousands of colleges and universities in this country and some of them could be just as wonderful as your No. 1 choice. Devote time to perfecting your other applications and learn from any mistakes that you made on the first round.

Lynn O'Shaughnessy is the author of The College Solution, an Amazon bestseller, and she also blogs about college for TheCollegeSolutionBlog.com.

Stanford University image by Josiah Mackenzie. CC 2.0.