Why am I being deferred or waitlisted? 2/16/25
Many students who have applied early decision (ED) and/or early action (EA), have received decisions that have fallen into these two categories. Understandably both cause immense levels of frustration and worry, because there’s another wait ahead. This wait can go for as short as a few weeks to as long as 6 months.
So, why does this happen??? I had a perfect application!
Here are five reasons why:
The school needs extra time to look at your application, either because they bit more off than they could chew (UT Austin!), or because they want to see how your application compares to the regular decision pool. So a deferral is not a denial.
The school liked you a lot, but had no space allotted at that time for your major. These applications go to the waitlist, which isn’t exactly a denial either, however chances of getting off for these are slim, especially for popular majors.
Colleges are getting record amounts of applicants. The class of 2025 is huge and they’re all applying to the same schools. There’s a huge demand for state schools in the southeast, along with the University of Texas, the University of Michigan, and the University of North Carolina. We’ll get data on the University of California schools in a month, but they’ll be at record highs too.
You are given either status because the school thinks you won’t attend. The admissions officers see your achievements as going above and beyond their typical enrolled students and/or a lack of demonstrated interest compared to accepted students. Yield is very important to colleges and they protect against it by accepting more students than they plan to have in their freshman class. This is why a waitlisted applicant will not be able to be pulled off should an accepted student deny the school before the May 1 deadline.
This last one is going to be very rough to hear. You require financial aid. Colleges are businesses and if they are to accept you in ED, they can expect you to pay the full amounts for tuition and board. These applicants are not as privy to merit aid as regular decision ones. However, Schools will allow you to get out of any ED contract due to financial reasons.
It may be easier for the schools to defer their decisions to see how you stand out against other applicants in the same situation.
All of these reasons are beyond your control. The schools have the upper hand, and you need to follow their instructions, depending on your status, if you decide to be in those pools. You do have the option to wait or not.
Where you can make an effect is through the letter of continued interest (LOCI). This letter should contain 3 main sections: a paragraph stating that you are still interested in attending the school, a paragraph updating any recent awards and/or activities that happened after you submitted your application, and the last paragraph showing how you could be an asset to the school and how it fits into your plans. The school will give you directions as to where and when it should be submitted.
Regardless of your decision, now is a good time to reflect on your list and think about any schools where you have been accepted and any schools that haven’t posted results yet. Maybe your college list can be reprioritized. Maybe you can visit some of the schools where you were accepted (or deferred - which is a good way to show that you still want to attend).
Waitlists are not weighted, so any additional interest shown prior to May 1 will not help.
I hope this sums up the confusion and gives some time to pause and reflect. If you have any questions, please leave a comment on Facebook or Instagram. I’m happy to help with the letter of continued interest and reviewing your list.