Deferred? Here’s How to Take Control of Your Next Steps!
Some of you might be facing deferrals from one or more of your top-choice schools. First, I'm sorry. My daughter was deferred from her top choice when she was applying a few years back, so I understand all too well the stress and frustration that causes.
Second, even though things might seem bleak, I want you to take a moment to embrace that sadness and frustration, and then I want you to take action.
As an essay coach, I help many students each year with writing their letters of continued interest and deferral essays, but I can also give you some great resources and tips that will help you do it on your own, too.
Deferrals Aren't No's
A deferral may feel like a “No,” but it isn’t. Not yet. As UVA says,
“If you were deferred to Regular Decision, it means that we feel your application deserves another review. You possess many of the strengths we expect our admitted students to present in their applications but we cannot offer you admission at this stage. In many cases, we want to see how deferred students are doing in the classroom during their senior year.”
So if a school is offering you the opportunity to share some information with them that will complement your application, let’s do it! And I’m here to help.
While some schools accept only limited new information (e.g., UVA accepts midyear grades and new standardized test results only), other schools will let you submit a little more. FSU, for example, lets you write a short essay/submit a short video and add details about grades, testing, and activities/accomplishments.
This article will focus more on schools like FSU and how to present your supplemental information in a way that will give your application the best advantage.
Resources to Bookmark
Here are a few blogs that I often refer students to:
- Steps for Writing a Letter of Continued Interest | Julia Byrd: Essay Coach. OK, so this is me, but I've got to give myself a shoutout in my own blog, right? This is my go-to reference to walk students through writing their letter of continued interest and talking through what to include.
- How to Write a Great Letter of Continued Interest: Guide + Example | College Essay Guy
- How to Get off College Waitlists (by Writing a Letter of Continued Interest) | College Essay Guy (video: 6.5 min.)
- Tips For Writing A Letter of Continued Interest | College MatchPoint
- 3 Tips for Writing a Successful Letter of Continued Interest | PrepScholar, includes sample letters
- Deferred or Waitlisted: Tips for Writing A Letter of Continued Interest | College Vine
Tips to Keep in Mind
Now that you've got your deferral resources handy, let's review some top tips for writing this deferral letter or Letter of Continued Interest.
- Follow the school’s instructions when it comes to next steps. Schools will be very clear about what they do/don’t want. Send the schools exactly what they ask for and nothing more. You want to show that you can follow instructions! Some schools won’t accept additional information (e.g., UVA), while others accept only limited new information, so make sure you understand their asks first. Sometimes they’ll ask for essays; sometime they’ll ask for a Letter of Continued Interest. Refer to your deferral letter or applicant portal for this.
- Don’t rush to submit the deferral essay/LOCI (but don't procrastinate, either). Getting your deferral submission in right away isn’t going to help your application if the letter isn’t well-thought-out and doesn’t add to the application the school already has in hand. If you think something might happen in the next few weeks before the deadline that will enhance your application (job shadowing over winter break, a new award, you earn admission into a summer program related to your major), then start to draft your response … but don’t submit it until you’re truly ready. (Of course, that doesn’t mean you should wait until the last minute. You should have a good sense of what new information you’ll be able to add.) For example, FSU released Early Action decisions on Dec. 12, 2024, and they offered deferred students until Jan. 10, 2025, to submit any new information to FSU. It’s OK to take some time to really work on this deferral submission, but it’s also important not to submit it the day it’s due.
- Share why they’re the right fit for you. FSU offers you the chance to submit a “brief video introduction or written statement sharing why you believe FSU is the right fit for you. This is an opportunity to share with us what draws you to our campus community, highlighting what interests you such as our academic programs and student life.”Top Tip: The key here is to dig deep into the website and course catalog to show why you’re the right fit for FSU and why FSU is the right fit for you. Get tips for writing this response here.Think of writing it like this:
- What I want to take/get involved in at FSU. →
- What I hope to get out of that (questions I want to answer/skills I want to develop/change I want to make). →
- What I’m going to contribute (what similar experience do I have in a related field that will make this thing at FSU better?).
- Provide updates to your extracurricular activities, honors, or accomplishments. We want to make sure we’re sharing with the school new information about you that will make you a more compelling student to admission officers. (Remember, they deferred and not denied you, so they’re interested! They just need/want more information.) Here’s some of what you might include:
- Academic: Highlight improved/strong first-semester grades, new test exam scores, or awards.
- Extracurricular: Add leadership roles, job shadowing/internships, community service, or competitions. Use numbers when you can to show success (I grew the Chess Club from 2 to 150 members in one year, I raised $10k for Habitat for Humanity with a bake sale).
- Personal Projects: Show initiative with relevant projects, certifications, or creative work.
You can learn more about writing this Letter of Continued Interest here.
Need More Help?
I know this all feels frustrating and overwhelming, but you can do this!
I do support students with their deferral materials. Check out my blog Steps for Writing a Letter of Continued Interest for DIY tips, or you can check out my Pricing page for more information on my 1:1 coaching services.
If you want to schedule a time to talk more about your individual situation and how I might be able to help, please fill out this contact form.
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Oh, and my daughter? She took the opportunity offered her in her deferral letter to apply Early Decision 2, and was accepted under that application.
