College Blog
So we’ve discussed what to do if you are deferred or waitlisted already, and now we’re at the Letter of Continued Interest. There are two possible uses for a LOCI: expressing interest in the event of a deferral, or expressing interest in the event of a waitlist. We’ll talk about how to approach both, but the approach will be fairly similar.
So your child has been deferred. It’s definitely disappointing, but again: if your child’s college list was designed properly, it will happen. Deferrals and denials are a natural part of this process. But what do you do now? Do you email your school counselor, the admissions office, the admissions rep for your region? What do you say? What else do the colleges need in order to move your application over to the regular admission round? Let’s go over the steps that you should take.
You did it! Your family got to the other side of the application deadlines, and you survived! But now, if you applied early action or early decision anywhere, then decisions have begun rolling in. And while a deferral may be disappointing, it’s worth remembering that a deferral is not a no! Here, we’ll unpack the difference between a deferral and a waitlist, how deferrals and waitlists work, and where you should go from here.
The fact of the matter is that, even when you apply ED or EA, not everyone will get in. A fraction of students are denied acceptance outright in the early round of admissions, but many more students are deferred to the regular admissions round. Depending on the college or university, 40–90% of students are not admitted early, resulting in either denial or deferral. Some schools do not deny early applicants at all, they either accept or defer only.
If a student’s application is deferred, don’t worry! We’ll cover the next steps: what is a letter of continued interest, do you send one, when do you send it, and how? What do you include in your follow-ups with colleges and save your spot in their admissions pool or on their waitlists and maximize your chances of being admitted?
