Weekly Column Patrick OConnor Early Admissions Decisions: Don't Let A Deferral Grinch You
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The smoke is finally clearing from Early Notification Week, when students who applied Early Action or Early Decision heard the news from many of their colleges. Students and counselors are reporting a record number of deferrals this year, where colleges wait until winter to make a decision on the student’s application. I know—you applied early because you wanted to hear early, choose a college, and get back to the business of being a high school senior, and suddenly the decision you thought would be over one way or another, isn’t. That’s not especially soothing… … but on the other hand, it’s pretty cool. A dozen years ago, almost all early applicants were either admitted or deferred, but no longer—at most colleges, an early applicant who wouldn’t be successful at that college is now being told no in December. That means if you were deferred this year, the college sees some potential in your application… …now, you just need to build on it. Most deferral letters asked students to submit seventh semester grades; now that those requests have been passed along to school counselors, most students think there’s nothing left to do but sit and wait—and they would be wrong. First, if the college wants to see your grades, they’d better be your rockin’ best—so focus your neurons on something besides DJ Hero 94 and figure out what you can do to make your grades sparkle. If you’re still in school, this means making the rounds with your teachers to ask if extra credit or make-up work is possible. I’m not trying to go all Ebenezer on you, but there’s bound to be some down time around the 28th or 29th where an hour or two of school time can send you on a trip to A Land. If the college that said “show me something” means anything to you, it’s worth the effort. Second, unless the college says otherwise (like MIT, who only wants to hear from you once), you should write a letter back to the college now to tell them about all the great things you’ve been up to since you sent your application in. This is a small way to demonstrate continued interest in the school, but it’s big enough to separate you from the students who won’t write anything at all. Don’t feel obliged to make stuff up (“It was an honor to accept the Nobel Prize on the President’s behalf”), but don’t be shy--and speak from the heart. Third, this is no time to pine—and I’m not talking about your Kwanzaanukahmas tree here. A record number of students are applying to college this year, and a higher percentage of those applied early—that overwhelmed the colleges. If you were hoping one person would ask you to the New Year’s dance, and thirteen people popped the question, you’d want some space to sort things out, right? Colleges are no different—it’s a banner year, and they want things to work out in the best possible way for everyone. Time—and your continued communication with them—will help them do that. It’s hard not to take “tell me more” personally, but if you see this is more about the college than about you, the best thing to do is to give them exactly what they want—more of the very best you that you can offer. Jump at the chance; be clear, smoke your grades, don’t go crazy, keep the big picture in mind, and the next leg of your college journey will be sweeter than walking in a winter wonderland.
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