Early Decision Defer FAQ
While a defer decision may be disappointing, it is not a negative decision. Each year we receive applications from a strong, competitive group of applicants that exceeds the number of seats available for Early Decision.
A thorough and thoughtful review is conducted of each applicant. A defer decision signals that we believe you may be competitive for an offer of admission, but we would like to see the majority of the applicant pool for the major you selected on the application before making a final decision.
If you receive a defer decision, your application will be re-reviewed during Early Action. You are no longer in a binding decision and your application is fully re-reviewed.
Deferred applicants will receive a final decision at the Early Action notification, which is no later than late-February.
No, Early Decision and Early Action applicants are not rolled over to Regular Decision.
Since we are looking to see more of the applicant pool for the major selected on your application before making a decision, there are no additional actions to take to increase your chances of being offered.
No, students who receive a defer decision are not able to change their major. We will re-review deferred applicants during the Early Action timeframe using the major that was selected on the application.
Additional test scores will not be considered during the re-review of your application.
No, senior year grades are not considered during application review. Since schools operate on different timelines and grades may not be available by our review deadlines, we do not use them.