Key Takeaways:
- Admitted: You’ve been accepted! Compare your offers and commit by the enrollment deadline, typically May 1.
- Deferred: Your application will be reconsidered during Regular Decision. This is common in both Early Decision and Early Action.
- Waitlisted: You may still be accepted if space becomes available. Waitlist acceptance rates vary by college and year.
- Denied: Your application was unsuccessful, but you can pursue other colleges or explore transfer opportunities.
- Next Steps: Follow each college’s instructions carefully. Learn more about why colleges defer students and how to respond.
After putting together your applications and submitting them by the deadline, there are four decision outcomes that come from this process. Below, we will go through each outcome, what it means, and what to do next
Admitted:
Congratulations! This is the outcome we are most looking forward to. An admit means that you were accepted into the school. You will likely continue to receive communications from the school specifically for admitted students, such as admitted student events and decision days. If you are awarded a scholarship, this is usually disclosed as part of your admit letter.
Other than attending events and utilizing resources for admitted students, you do not need to take any action until May 1, which is the official enrollment deposit deadline. Before then, take time to think through all the schools you were admitted to and decide which one you would like to officially commit to.
If you were admitted through Early Decision (ED1 or ED2), you must withdraw your applications from any other schools you applied to. Failing to do so can take opportunities away from other applicants. If you do not withdraw and later find out you were admitted to a different school in a subsequent round, this can create conflict between institutions and could result in both offers being rescinded.
Deferred:
A deferral occurs in either Early Decision round. It means the school is deferring a final decision on your application until later in the cycle. This usually happens because the admissions committee wants to review your application again after seeing the full applicant pool.
Sometimes schools want to see how you compare to additional applicants from your school or region. Sometimes they believe you are a strong candidate but want more context before making a final decision. Other times, they may be waiting to see how their institutional priorities shape up across the full pool, or they may need additional information before evaluating your file.
If you are deferred, you do not need to take immediate action. Especially if you were deferred from Early Decision to Regular Decision, colleges already know they remain one of your top choices since you applied ED. At this stage, reaching out to the admissions office will not meaningfully change your chances, since a deferral is essentially a hold on your application for later review.
The three possible outcomes after a deferral are admission, waitlist, or denial.
Denied:
A denial means that you were not admitted. Students often try to appeal or request feedback, but due to the high volume of applications most schools process, they typically do not provide individual reasoning and decisions are final.
If you are denied, your next opportunities are to reapply in a future cycle or pursue transfer admissions. If you were denied in Early Decision, the binding agreement is released and you are free to apply to and attend other institutions.
One thing to keep in mind is that every decision in the college admissions process is made carefully, with multiple readers involved. While it can be difficult to accept, there is nothing to do at this stage other than move forward with your other options.
Waitlist:
Being offered a place on the waitlist means you were not given a formal acceptance, but could potentially be admitted later depending on how the class shapes up. Waitlisted students are strong enough to be admitted, but were not included in the initial class, often due to institutional priorities.
This could mean the school wanted more students from a different region, already admitted many students from your area, or needed to balance the class in other ways. Colleges do not usually disclose the size of their waitlists, which makes outcomes unpredictable.
Schools wait until May 1, when all admitted students have submitted deposits, to see how many seats remain. They then turn to the waitlist to fill gaps in the class, whether that is academic interests, geography, or other priorities. At some colleges, waitlist decisions are released in waves as students accept or decline offers. Some schools only go to the waitlist once.
The most important thing to do if you are waitlisted is to follow each school’s instructions carefully. Some require you to confirm your interest in remaining on the waitlist through a portal. Others explicitly state not to send additional materials.
If a school does not provide clear instructions, the best course of action is to communicate continued interest. This is typically done through a letter of continued interest, including any meaningful updates since your original application, and reiterating your strong desire to attend if admitted.
Some schools also track engagement with the admissions office, meaning thoughtful communication may help demonstrate interest. If a decision comes down to you and another student, demonstrated enthusiasm and engagement can sometimes make a difference.
FAQs:
Does getting deferred or waitlisted mean I did something wrong in my application?
Nope! This has more to do with the competitiveness of the pool. It does not mean you did something wrong. Often, it simply means you were not strong enough to be admitted in that particular round or institutional context.
What should I include in my letter of continued interest?
Include any meaningful updates since submitting your application. This can be changes in grades, new extracurricular leadership, awards, or anything not included in your original application. You should also clearly reiterate your interest in attending the institution if admitted.
Can I update my application after being deferred or waitlisted?
It is harder to meaningfully update your application after a deferral, since not much has changed in the short time since submission. You can reach out to the admissions office, but it typically will not move the needle at this stage. If you are waitlisted, you can send updates through a letter of continued interest and, if allowed, direct email updates to the admissions office.
Should I send additional recommendation letters after a deferral or waitlist offer?
If a recommender is willing, you can submit an additional letter by having them send it directly to the admissions office. However, it may not significantly impact your chances. Stronger letters usually come from people who can add new, high-context insight, such as a research mentor or competition coach, rather than someone who already wrote a general recommendation.
What are my real chances of getting off the waitlist?
There is no way to know exact odds. Many factors influence waitlist movement, including the size of the waitlist and how many admitted students choose to enroll. One helpful indicator is a school’s yield rate, which is the percentage of admitted students who enroll. Schools with lower yield rates typically have more waitlist movement than those with higher yield rates.
Is it okay to visit or contact the admissions office after being waitlisted?
Yes, it is absolutely okay to visit or contact the admissions office, but keep in mind that it may not increase your chances of getting off the waitlist.
What happens if I am admitted off the waitlist after May 1?
If you are admitted off the waitlist and choose to attend, you will need to make all necessary arrangements, including housing, finances, and course enrollment. You will also need to notify the school you originally committed to that you are withdrawing. Keep in mind that enrollment deposits are typically non-refundable, so you will not receive a refund from your original school.
Sources:
- https://www.solomonadmissions.com/post/decisions-decisions-decisions/
- https://www.solomonadmissions.com/post/why-do-colleges-reject-good-students/
- https://www.solomonadmissions.com/post/dont-panic-your-college-decisions-are-in-fact-coming/
- https://www.solomonadmissions.com/post/why-do-universities-defer-students/
- https://www.solomonadmissions.com/post/deferred-or-rejected-which-is-better/
- https://www.solomonadmissions.com/post/what-happens-rejected-early-decision/
Former Admissions Officer at Johns Hopkins University
2 Years in Johns Hopkins University Admissions
10,000+ Applications Read and Evaluated
Olivia Han is a former Admissions Officer at Johns Hopkins University, where she managed recruitment and yield initiatives across domestic and international regions. She evaluated first-year and transfer applications, conducted high school visits, and led large-scale presentations and workshops on essay writing and storytelling.
