Elise London

On Being Deferred

There is good news and bad news about being deferred by an Early Action/Decision college. The good news is that the door to that school has been left slightly ajar - there is still hope. The bad news is that the hope is tenuous.

Colleges defer, rather than deny, students for many reasons:

• Even if the student did not rise to the top of the early pool, the application may nevertheless be sufficiently appealing for the admission committee to want to reevaluate the student within the bigger Regular Decision (RD) applicant pool. And, if that second review confirms a student's relative strength, it may pull the applicant into the class.

• The admission office may just want to acknowledge a student's hard work and admirable striving - a gentle, if ultimately futile, pat on the head. 

• A college may also want to defer students as a hedge against an uncertain yield, since deferred admits yield at a higher rate than RD admits. This too inflates the number of deferred students.

• No school wants to offend alumni families and donors by flatly saying “no” to a less-than-stellar legacy, for example, or deter other strong students from applying by denying a high school's valedictorian early.

What should you do if you’re deferred?

• First, assume the worst. That is, while many deferred students will still be admitted, most will end up being denied in RD. (Colleges are very reluctant, and rightly so, to drag deferred students all the way onto the waitlist at the end of RD.)*

• Knowing this, begin to move on, practically and emotionally, by focusing on your RD schools instead (or potentially identifying a well-chosen ED2 school). Indeed, many students do this so successfully that, in the end, they turn down later admission to their ED or EA school in favor of one that admitted them in RD. 

• In the short time you might have before RD deadlines pass, reassess your college list and make sure you have enough great target and likely schools.

• Colleges know that admitting a deferred student in RD is no guarantee that he or she will attend. So let your deferring college know that it remains your top choice, if this is true. (But if you describe a college lukewarmly as "one of your top choices," they are not likely to feel as warmly towards you as you would like, either!) Many colleges, such as Stanford, will give deferred applicants a template - a series of questions or small essays - with which to express their continued interest, but many will not. Send these schools a short email, addressed to either the regional admission officer or to the college's general admission email address. Be careful though – some schools have explicit prohibitions on sending them anything additional (other than updates to testing and/or citizenship status). Be sure to follow the directions that each school outlines in the deferral letter (and see our article on “Letters of Continued Interest” for more information).

• When you send a note to your deferring college, do not irk them with a repeat of your initial application - they read it the first time! Instead, use the occasion to reflect, very succinctly but warmly, on why the school still interests you. Update the reader with any new developments - awards and prizes, extracurricular success, news of a great first semester, or recent scores.

• Note the emphasis on brevity - the more you waffle on at unnecessary length, the less likely you are to keep the weary reader's attention. Also, don't slather on the platitudes and risk sounding fake.

• Some colleges will welcome an additional letter of support from a teacher, coach or alumnus who can speak to your strengths. But don't blitz the college with supplementary letters from people (no matter how famous) who either do not know you well or who have little of relevance to add. These bits will only obscure what the college does want to know about you!

• And don't forget to thank the admission officers for their consideration. They are working long hours with good intentions, so give them their due!

*A note about the difference between deferrals and waitlists:

Many students and families understandably confuse these terms as they seem to confer the same delayed timeline. But the timeline is, in fact, an important distinction. Deferrals are given to students who applied early, were not accepted early, but will be reconsidered in the Regular Decision round of admission. Waitlists are given to students who were not admitted to the initial class, but may or may not be reconsidered later in the enrollment period if the institution needs more students to meet their enrollment and/or financial goals. Many waitlisted students are simply “released” from the waitlist once the institution is satisfied that they have secured their incoming class. Both results are disappointing to students and can drag out the process, but only deferred students are guaranteed reconsideration later in the process. 

by Elise London

Waitlist Wisdom

It used to be that at the end of the application season, students got either thick acceptance packets or thin envelopes that dashed their hopes. With most decisions now online, there is less warning of what to expect on notification day. But whether the outcome is a happy or a sad one, it offers clarity. The same is not true, however, when you are waitlisted! For many students, this twilight decision between being accepted and being denied can be the hardest. So, what does it mean?  

What is a waitlist?

Waitlists are a way for colleges to hedge their bets against the uncertainty of knowing how many students will accept their offer of admission. Because of such uncertainty about their "yield," colleges create a list of admissible students who can fill the gaps left by those who decline their offers of admission. Your chances of being admitted from the waitlist, therefore, depend on how many accepted students will say yes to that college. 

Because yield matters to colleges – too many students and they end up with crowded dorm rooms and laboratories; too few and their budgets suffer – they rely on waitlists. Last year, about 43% of all colleges used one. In addition, colleges can use the waitlist to “correct” for their institutional goals. Do they “need” more male humanities students from the Midwest? Female mathematicians? First-generation or rural students? When admission officers waitlist students, it can also be a way for them to recognize students whom they deeply admired, even if they were not the strongest in the applicant pool.

From the perspective of a waitlisted student, though, the practice looks a bit different. Nationally, colleges admitted about 20% of students who chose to remain on waitlists. But, according to NACAC, the national admission organization, among selective colleges, only 7% of students remaining on a waitlist were ultimately admitted.

Those figures suggest that the waitlist is indeed a long shot, but also that at some schools in some years, there is at least a window of opportunity! 

What should you do?

First, carefully review all the colleges and universities that have sent you acceptance offers and re-evaluate. Even if you still have a corner of your heart set on the waitlist school, please give yourself a solid backup plan by accepting the best offer of admission that you have already received. Send in a deposit, with the understanding (and parents’ agreement) that you will forfeit that deposit if (and it is a very “big” if!) your waitlist school accepts you from its Waitlist. Knowing that, no matter what, you have a place to enroll in the fall will greatly reduce your stress!  

You may want to get out of the waitlist purgatory altogether and move on with your life by allowing yourself to be excited about a college that values and wants you, and has accepted you! Remember, there is no one institution that is the perfect (and only) “fit” for you; there are many. So, fully invest in another school and move on.

If you do stay on a waitlist, remember you may not hear back from this school about a final decision until well into the summer. Be sure that you understand each college’s unique policies before accepting a waitlist offer. Find out if there would be a change in housing options or in your financial aid package. Also, financial aid may not be available to waitlisted students, as the accepted students will have their needs met first. If you are accepted to a school off the waitlist, you sometimes will have only 24-48 hours to decide whether or not to attend. Therefore, only stay on the waitlist of schools of high interest to you!

Next, let the admission office of your waitlist school know that you will remain on their waitlist and will attend their school if accepted – some colleges ask that you do it online or by returning a signed card. But then follow up with something more personal and passionate – a letter or email that makes your commitment explicit and sets out the reasons why the college remains your top choice and what you have to contribute. Include any updated information (along with documentation) about your strong spring grades, new awards, work experience, or extracurricular activities. A (new) letter of recommendation from a teacher, guidance counselor, or alumnus could be helpful, as could an interview and/or a personal college visit, even if you have already completed those steps. You might even consider saying that you would be willing to enter in January, after the first semester has passed, and either take or not take courses at another college during that term, as they prefer. For many students, this may not be a good option, but some colleges do offer the opportunity.

Above all, continue to keep a positive attitude, study hard, get good grades, and stay involved with all of your extracurricular activities. Enjoy your last days of high school -- soon they will be in the rear view mirror as you race off to your future at a college you will quickly call home! 

by Elise London

What does “optional” mean, anyway?

Every fall, I find myself responding to one question more than any other: The college says this is “optional” – how do I know if I’m really supposed to do it?

The world of “optional” in college admissions has expanded far beyond “test optional” – the optional submission of SAT or ACT scores. Working through an average-length college list of 8-12 schools, a student might be confronted by any number of “optional” aspects of the application. Among them:

• • Optional resume
  • Optional supplemental essay(s)
  • Optional test scores
  • Optional upload of your “unofficial” high school transcript
  • Optional Common App essay

• Optional “my space” page to include “anything else that might add to your application”

And even after the student submits the application, they might be confronted by a new list of “optional” credentials in the application portal. Among them:

• Optional completion of a Self-Reported Academic Record (or STARS)
• Optional “getting to know you” video, through Glimpse or another platform
• Additional optional supplemental essays
• Optional alumni interviews

With so much noise and confusion, how should students make rational decisions about what to do? How can they decide what’s worth their time? How can they eliminate what can be avoided? And, how can they make choices that won’t negatively impact their decision?

My advice is simple:
Complete the optional items that genuinely help you tell your story, and skip the ones that create more stress than benefit.

To break it down even further, try a “decision tree” with these three questions:

Is this an "easy" ask for something I already have in hand?

Will doing this allow me to shine?

Can I complete it thoughtfully without getting overwhelmed?

Let’s take the optional resume as an example…:
Some students have a resume that is easily accessible and on hand. These students should go ahead and upload their most recent resume document. Other students might not. For these students, will the resume they write simply  repeat the required Activities List? If so, then it doesn’t provide any additional context to allow the student to shine, and therefore they should skip it. However, should a student have additional context to provide that the Activities List did not provide the space to cover, then the resume should be made and uploaded.

What about the optional alumni interview…:
Students definitely don't have an interview “on hand” for an easy upload. However, for almost all students, an opportunity to have a conversation (in person or on zoom) with an alumni of the college would be a wonderful opportunity to shine and show their personality. Students can next ask, “Would this 30-45 minute conversation cause me great stress and anxiety?” and if the answer to that is “no” or “only a little bit,” then they should go ahead and sign up for that interview.

In conclusion:
No doubt about it, “optional” options add to the stress, chaos, and confusion already woven into the college application process. When you are confronting whether or not to submit an optional item, think carefully about the value-add and the “cost” of your time. Check in with your counselor or other trusted adults to see what they think. Keep in mind that in this, as with most things, there is no single “correct” answer that applies equally to all students. Just do your best and trust yourself!

by Elise London

"Do you have any questions for me?"

A guide to one aspect of your college interview:

Often, at the end of a college admissions interview, the alumni (or student) interviewer will turn to the candidate and say: “Do you have any questions for me?” This is a wonderful moment for you to seize an opportunity, so do not let it pass you by!

First, what NOT to do:

• Say “no, I don’t have any questions” about this college
• Ask a “yes or no” question whose answer could be easily Googled (“Does College X have a French major?”)
• Ask any question whose answer could be learned from your explorations of the college’s website (“Where do you have study abroad programs?”)
• Ask a question whose answer is generally mundane (“How good is the math department?”)
• Ask a “stock” questions that sound like ChatGPT wrote it for you (“What do you think makes College X unique compared to other schools, especially in terms of its student culture or academic opportunities?”) *ChatGPT did write this one!

What SHOULD you do:

• Ask a question that makes a clear connection to YOU 
• Invite your interviewer to tell you a story from their experiences as a student

How do you do this?

Prepare in advance!

Think of a few things that are central to your interests, your character, and your application and craft thoughtful questions connected to these interests BEFORE you go into your interview. Be sure to keep the question short, but also make sure it includes enough depth and detail to highlight your interest in the area at hand.

Here are a few examples:

• Sustainability is really important to me and my work with our school’s Green Team has been among my favorite extracurricular activities. I was really proud of our recent “Weigh the Waste” contests to reduce dining hall waste at lunches. I’m curious if you can tell me more about how students at College X are involved in environmental sustainability initiatives? What types of projects have students spearheaded at College X to make the campus greener and improve the school’s environmental footprint?
• My high school’s small size has been really important to my growth as a student. I love building relationships with my teachers both in and out of the classroom. College X is a lot bigger than my high school, and I want to make sure that I can still get to know my teachers. Can you tell me about some of your favorite professors at College X? How did you get to know them outside of lectures? 
• The best projects I have done in my classes have been collaborative ones, where each member of our team contributes their own expertise to our success on the project (and maybe give a little example). Given how selective College X is, I’m worried that the school might foster a more competitive than collaborative environment. Can you tell me about how you found the school to be on the spectrum from competitive to collaborative? Was the same also true for your friends?

You can write your questions down on a notecard and bring it with you to your interview! When the interviewer asks if you have any questions, it is ok to pull out your card and read one! Having your questions in advance shows that you are thoughtful and prepared.

Want to know more about college interviews from the “inside”?

Check out this great episode of the Inside The Yale Admissions Office podcast (“Interviews” – 28 minutes)

by Elise London