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A deferral means more time is needed.

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Early round application decisions have gradually begun to arrive in the form of admission; deny or deferral. Admission and denial are pretty clear cut. Applicants know where they stand. Deferrals, on the other hand, are a little less clear.

While not an admission, understand that a deferral decision is not a denial! Colleges defer when they are not quite ready to make a decision about an applicant. Admissions may need more information such as updated grades. In other situations, the college may want to review the applicant again in the context of a larger applicant pool, especially if there is an expectation that there will be many more students coming through the Regular Decision cycle.

What's next?

First, if you have been deferred, hang in there. Some schools defer broadly -- it's just their MO, plain and simple. Wondering what to do next?  Consider the following:

• Are there updates to your Activities list, or special honors or awards to share?

• If you have not engaged with schools that count interest, consider being in contact, as appropriate, through a campus visit; request an interview; sign up for a webinar; etc. 

• Look at your current list one more time with a realistic lens. Do you need to make some readjustments to your college plan?

• How are your senior first semester grades looking? These will be an important part of your application re-evaluation.

• Above all, keep up your good work so deferring colleges can re-read your solid application later on in the broader application pool.

 Waiting can be hard sometimes and the suspense is real, but hang in there and stay strong during the waiting season!