Deferred from Early Decision? What to Do Next and How to Get Admitted in Regular Decision
By Rona Aydin
What Does It Mean to Be Deferred from Early Decision?
A deferral means the admissions committee did not reject you but did not admit you either. According to admissions offices at Ivy League schools, deferred students are placed back into the Regular Decision pool for a second review alongside all RD applicants. This is fundamentally different from a rejection: rejected students have no further chance, while deferred students still have a path to admission. However, deferred students now compete in a much larger pool (often 10-15x the ED pool) for fewer remaining spots (since 40-60% of the class was already filled through ED). The odds are steep but real.
What Are Your Chances of Being Admitted After a Deferral?
| School | ED Deferral Rate (est.) | Deferral-to-Admit Rate (est.) | Data Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harvard (REA) | ~75% | ~5-8% | Harvard Crimson |
| Yale (REA) | ~60% | ~5-7% | Yale Daily News |
| Duke (ED) | ~20% | ~5-10% | Duke Chronicle |
| UVA (EA) | 14.7% | ~5-8% | Cavalier Daily |
| MIT (EA) | ~60% | ~3-5% | MIT Admissions Blog |
| Georgetown (EA) | ~30% | ~5-10% | Georgetown Admissions |
Source: Student newspapers, institutional data, admissions blogs, 2022-2026. Rates are approximate.
The strategic takeaway: deferral-to-admit rates are typically 5-15%, much lower than the original ED/EA rate but higher than zero. Your actions in the weeks following a deferral meaningfully influence your odds. For full acceptance rate data, see our Top 25 admissions statistics and Ivy League acceptance rates.
What Should You Do in the First 48 Hours After a Deferral?
Based on guidance from admissions experts, the first 48 hours matter for one reason: emotional reset. Do not write your deferral letter or LOCI while upset or panicked. Take a day to process. Then, within 3-5 days, write a brief deferral letter (sometimes called a LOCI or a “deferral update letter”) stating that the school remains your top choice, you will enroll if admitted in the Regular Decision round, and sharing one meaningful update since your application. Upload it through the applicant portal or email the admissions office per the school’s instructions. For a LOCI template, see our complete LOCI guide.
How to Write a Deferral Letter That Strengthens Your Case
A strong deferral letter has four components. First, state clearly that the school remains your first choice and you will enroll if admitted. Second, share one to two meaningful updates since your application (a significant grade improvement, new award, leadership milestone, or project completion). Third, add one new specific reason why you are a fit for the school that you did not include in your original application. Fourth, keep it under 300 words. Do not rewrite your entire application. Do not list achievements already in your file. Do not express frustration or disappointment. According to former admissions officers, the most effective deferral letters are warm, specific, and short. For essay strategy, see our Common App essay guide.
Should You Apply ED II to Another School After Being Deferred?
If your ED I school deferred (not rejected) you, you are free to apply ED II to a different school while remaining in the RD pool at your ED I school. This is one of the most underused strategies in admissions. Schools that offer ED II include WashU, Vanderbilt, see our Vanderbilt guide, Emory, Tufts, and others. ED II deadlines are typically January 1-5. The ED II acceptance rate is typically higher than RD because it signals genuine first-choice commitment. If your ED I deferral has shaken your confidence in that school, pivoting to ED II at a school where you feel stronger is a smart strategic move. For early round strategy, see our ED vs RD guide.
What Should You Add to Your RD Applications After Being Deferred?
A deferral is a signal that something in your application was strong enough to avoid rejection but not strong enough for admission. Former admissions officers report that the most common reasons for deferral are: borderline test scores, insufficient demonstrated interest, a strong academic profile but weak essays, or an underdeveloped extracurricular narrative. Use the deferral as feedback to strengthen your remaining RD applications. If you suspect testing was the issue, consider retaking the SAT/ACT before January deadlines if the school accepts updated scores. If essays were weak, revise them. If your extracurricular story lacked a clear narrative, rewrite the activities list descriptions. For testing strategy, see our test strategy guide. For recommendation strategy, see our recommendation letter guide.
Common Mistakes After Being Deferred
The three most common mistakes are: first, doing nothing (no deferral letter, no updates, no engagement). Silence signals that you have moved on. Second, sending too much (multiple letters, additional recommendations the school did not request, parent calls to the admissions office). Over-communication looks desperate and annoys admissions officers. Third, neglecting your other applications. Many deferred students become so fixated on their ED school that they submit weaker RD applications to other schools, resulting in worse outcomes across the board. Write your deferral letter, submit your RD applications at full strength, and move forward. For profile building, see our summer programs guide and high school internships guide.
Final Thoughts: Deferrals Are Not Rejections
Being deferred is disappointing but it is not over. 5-15% of deferred students are admitted in the RD round at most top schools. Write a deferral letter within 5 days. Consider ED II at another school. Strengthen your remaining RD applications using the deferral as feedback. At Oriel Admissions, our team of former admissions officers from Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia has helped deferred students earn admission in the Regular Decision round. Schedule a consultation to discuss your specific situation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Historically, Ivy League schools admit 3-10% of deferred applicants during the Regular Decision round. Princeton does not publish its deferral conversion rate, but peer institutions like Harvard and Yale have admitted roughly 5-8% of deferred applicants in recent years. The odds are low but not negligible – being deferred means you were not rejected, and your application will be re-evaluated alongside the RD pool. The most impactful action is sending a strong update letter with a meaningful new development (new grades, awards, or completed projects) and a clear statement that the school remains your first choice.
Yes, write one within 2-3 weeks of the deferral notification. Include: a clear statement that the school remains your top choice, one or two meaningful updates since your application (fall semester grades, a new award, completion of a project), and a brief reinforcement of why the school is the right fit. Avoid: repeating information already in your application, making emotional pleas, writing more than one page, attaching extensive supplemental materials, or sending weekly follow-ups. One well-crafted letter is sufficient. Multiple letters or excessive contact signals anxiety, not commitment.
Do both simultaneously. A deferral releases you from the ED I exclusivity agreement, allowing you to apply ED II elsewhere while your original application continues through RD. This is the optimal strategy: apply ED II to a genuine second-choice school (with its meaningful acceptance rate advantage) while sending an update letter to the ED I school. If ED II accepts you, you withdraw from the deferred school and commit. If ED II also defers or rejects, you still have the original deferred application plus your full RD list. The families who fare best after a deferral are those who act immediately rather than waiting passively.
It varies by school. Some schools defer a large percentage of their early pool (Harvard defers 70-80% of REA applicants), making deferral more like ‘we need to see you in the full context of the RD pool.’ Other schools defer a smaller group of genuinely competitive applicants they want to reconsider. In neither case is deferral a soft rejection – schools that intend to reject you simply reject you in the early round. A deferral means your application was competitive enough that the committee wanted to keep you in consideration. The 3-10% conversion rate is low, but it reflects genuine second chances, not false hope.
A counselor call can help if your school has an established relationship with the admissions office. Experienced college counselors at competitive high schools often have direct contacts in admissions offices and can advocate for deferred students by providing context the application may not fully convey. However, the call should be strategic, not emotional – the counselor should communicate new information (updated grades, a meaningful accomplishment) and reaffirm fit, not simply plead for reconsideration. If your school counselor handles 300+ students and does not have a relationship with the specific school, the call is unlikely to move the needle.
A Harvard deferral does not predict outcomes at other schools. Each school evaluates independently, and a deferral from Harvard means only that Harvard wanted more time – it says nothing about your child’s competitiveness at Stanford, MIT, or anywhere else. That said, a deferral from a 3.5% school should calibrate expectations: if Harvard deferred rather than accepted, the applicant profile is strong but not guaranteed at comparable schools. This reinforces the importance of a balanced school list with genuine match and safety options. Do not assume that a Harvard deferral means all similarly selective schools will also defer.
At most schools, a brief counselor call confirming that the school remains the student’s first choice is appropriate. This is not lobbying. It reinforces the signal from your deferral letter. One call is sufficient. Do not have parents call.
Not always, but often. Common deferral triggers include borderline test scores, insufficient demonstrated interest, strong academics but weak essays, or an underdeveloped extracurricular narrative. Use the deferral as constructive feedback to strengthen your RD applications at other schools.
