I've Been Deferred After Applying Early - What Does This Mean?

Students who are confident in their applications and would like to receive a decision from their chosen college(s) earlier can apply early - either through early action or early decision

Read our article "Early Action, Early Decision and Regular Decision - What's the Difference?" to learn more about application types

If you apply early – in mid December you should have an outcome. You will either be:

• Accepted: you have successfully gained admission to your chosen college

• Rejected: you have not gained admission to your chosen college

• Deferred: The admissions committee have moved your application to the regular applicants pool.

Why was I deferred?

There are various reasons why a student would be deferred; some include:

• The admissions committee want to review your application alongside regular applicants – (possibly an advantage as the regular pool is typically weaker)

• The admissions committee want to spend more time reviewing your application

• The admissions committee want to see how you perform further down the year (see below)

If you have been deferred, it’s not time to relax!

This is the perfect opportunity to boost your application by improving your grades and winning awards. Here are a few ways to enhance your application:

• Improve your grades (or maintain them if they're as good as they can be)

• Take part in a science Olympiad or the UK maths challenge

• Continue to develop your extracurriculars (it might be slightly suspicious if you took up a new EC all of a sudden...)

• Remember to only send in NEW information, admissions officers already know what you've previously told them.

Colleges often require a 'mid-term report' from your school in February which is when you can update the college with your latest achievements