Distinctive

By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D.

“Let us, then, be up and doing, with a heart for any fate; still achieving, still pursuing, learn to labor and to wait.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Getting deferred can be demoralizing. You’ve waited months hoping and wishing for an acceptance, only to find out that you have to wait some more.

Some students even take a deferral as a rejection. Trust us – it’s not! It’s a request for more information, and you’ve got to pick yourself up and provide it. So what are your options?

The best place to start figuring this out is in the deferral letter itself. You should read it through carefully and heed its requests. In some cases, colleges very clearly state what they do and do not want from you. For example, the University of Michigan, which strangely defers nearly all applicants from the Washington, DC area every year, has recently asked students to compose a 250-word essay about how their educational goals align with the university’s mission and values. In other cases, like Harvard, which basically defers everyone whom they do not accept, colleges may invite students to submit new information regarding significant new achievements. MIT, on the other hand, has its online February Update Notification (aka FUN), in which there are clear parameters set for what they want to see.

If the college that has deferred you has not set out clear indications of what it wants, then don’t sit there in silence. That’s the worst thing you can do. You’ll end up communicating to colleges that you don’t really care and/or are not doing much with your time. Instead follow Longfellow’s advice and follow these steps:

Ask your school counselor to call your admissions rep to advocate for you and to ask if there was anything in your original application that can be improved upon. This serves the double benefit of showing that you really care and getting information that you can use to act upon.

Arrange for another of letter of recommendation to be sent on your behalf. This can come from another teacher, a club advisor, the school principal, or even the janitor. You must, however, pick someone who knows you well and who can add a different, positive dimension to your original application.

Write an update letter and send it absolutely no later than February 14th. Think of it as a Valentine’s Day love note! In it, you should talk about your latest and greatest academic and extracurricular achievements, and connect them to opportunities available at the college. You can also make reference to new contacts that you’ve made since applying, such as with an interviewer or a tour guide on a recent campus visit. Above all, you must maintain a positive tone. We know you’re disappointed that you weren’t accepted straight off the bat, but your letter is not the place to show that. Let colleges see that you possess the maturity to handle setbacks. 

To help you envision what a deferral letter looks like, here’s a fabulous example from a former student (his name has been changed to protect his identity):

Dear Ms. Mary Johnson,  

I wanted to thank you for all of the time you have spent reviewing my application. I’m delighted that you are still considering my candidacy for admission, and I want you to know that Hopkins has long been, and still is, my top choice school. It is a place where I can see myself reaching my full potential, either in the Whiting School of Engineering, or the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences.

Hopkins’ focus on leadership and collaboration will provide me with invaluable training in skills I desire to be successful in the workforce. Personally, I enjoy the challenge of working on complex group projects. At the beginning of April, I worked with two other Civil Air Patrol (CAP) officers and successfully ran a weekend-long school designed to train 30 new cadets in fellowship, leadership, and success. As the Chief-of-Staff, I was charged with directing 15 support staff members in health services, public affairs, and food services, while co-designing the sequence of events. In the end, I managed to help initiate each cadet for their first year in CAP.

When I look around my world, I constantly see ways in which I can improve the way we do things with the resources at The Johns Hopkins University. On one of my recent shifts as an ambulance EMT, I transferred one of my patients to the ER nurse. I noticed that she used an infrared vein finder that projected veins onto a patient’s skin. Seeing that, I thought, “Now that is an engineering project that I want to work on. This device could be made more portable, easier to use, and cheaper.” I want to work on projects that will make a difference for real-world problems. With Hopkins’ unbeatable biomedical engineering program and a focus on hands-on research, I know that it is the ideal place for me to explore my passions. 

If given the opportunity, I plan on developing impactful projects with my fellow students at Hopkins. Thank you for your consideration. I can’t wait to become a member of the Class of 2019. 

Sincerely,

Michael Dillon

As you can see, the letter shouldn’t exceed more than one page in length. After all, admissions reps are very busy and you don’t want them to dread reading your letter because it runs three pages-long! You should also look up the name of your admissions rep. If it’s not available, call the office to ask for it. If they won’t share that information, then address your letter the dean of admissions, whose name you can invariably find on any college’s website.

Visit (again). Especially at schools that value demonstrated interest, this can help tip the balance in your favor. While you’re on campus, look for opportunities to sit in on classes, interact with students, and engage with admissions staff. You can then write a short email to your rep, indicating what a positive experience you had and how it reinforced your desire to attend. Colleges want to feel loved, too!

Keep achieving. Keep pursuing. Until you send in your deposit to the college of your choice, you need to keep your grades up and your involvement in your activities high. You never know if you’ll be placed on a waitlist in spring, on which you could stay through August (yes, we have had students get off waitlists then)! To make sure that you give yourself the best chance possible of getting accepted, look for new opportunities to grow. Colleges view that very positively.

We’re confident that if you follow these steps, you will increase your chances of getting in during the Regular Decision round. So hang in there, stay positive, and rest assured that, no matter where you go next year, if you’re the type of person “with a heart for any fate,” you’re going to be successful no matter what.