Being deferred is NOT the same as being rejected. It may feel that way for students, but this year, with a record number of early applications, there has also been a record number of deferrals.

A student who applies through early action or early decision is deferred when a college determines that the student has potential but they want to see first-semester senior grades.

So being deferred gives a student a second chance to impress the admissions office.

So how should a student respond to a deferral?

Visit the college. Even if you have visited, a follow-up visit where you sit in on a class and/or meet with someone from admissions can set you apart from other applicants.

Contact your admissions representative. Find out which person in the admissions office handles your geographic territory. Take the opportunity to introduce yourself via e-mail and ask that person if they can share any thoughts on how you could improve your application. Listen to what they say – don’t argue or complain. It is important to be upbeat and leave a positive impression.

Write a letter. Send it to the Director of Admissions and your admissions representative. Focus on your strongest attributes and how you will be able to contribute to the college community. Demonstrate your interest and your commitment. If you are 100 percent sure that if you are accepted you will attend, then say so.

Talk about college fit; why the college is a good fit for you and why you are a good fit for the college. Use the letter to update the admissions office on any new information such as leadership roles, awards, scholarships, etc.

Send your midyear transcript. Most colleges will specifically request that you send your seventh-semester grades. Follow instructions to the letter and get it done quickly.

What not to do:

Whine and complain to the Admissions Office that you deserve to be accepted.

Send volumes of e-mails, snail mail or packages hoping to change their minds.

Accuse the admissions office of making a mistake in their decision.

Compare your SAT scores and GPA with someone else’s.

Boast about small accomplishments. It is not really worth it to share that your SAT score went up 10 points.

Lee Bierer is an independent college adviser based in Charlotte.
E-mail Lee Bierer at: lee@collegeadmissionsstrategies.com
Website: www.collegeadmissionsstrategies.com

It seems once a senior clears the first semester hurdle, they think the rest of the year is downhill and colleges don’t care about what they do. Little could be further from the truth.

Many parents have contacted me seeking approval for their child to drop a course midyear. They are not sure if it is okay, but their high schooler has tried to convince them that colleges won’t see their grades and it doesn’t matter.

Colleges will not see their final grades before the admissions decision is made, but most colleges will request an end-of-year transcript and a dropped course will be noted and may raise concerns.

Guidance counselors, with good reason, are vehemently against dropping courses. Some schools even require parents and students to sign a letter acknowledging the risk they are taking related to college admission.

Some students try to get creative and suggest substituting an online course instead of the one offered at their high school and this too is not looked upon favorably. According to Brown University, “The very fact that they want to take it online instead will raise eyebrows. If they are taking it anyway, why don’t they just stay in class? If there is a scheduling conflict with another advanced course and the school endorses the change for that reason, then we’ll accept that, but if they are simply substituting an online option for an in-class option, we will be less understanding.”

Colleges look at the transcript as a predictor of future performance based on the rigor of the courses taken. If colleges find out that students have dropped classes after they were admitted, it could be considered grounds for revoking the offer of admission. The bait-and-switch plan of signing up for a rigorous course and then dropping it after first semester is not worth the risk.

I checked out what College Confidential ( www.collegeconfidential .com ) had to say. CC is a great Web site with an online forum where students and parents ask questions and share information. Here’s what I found:

Question: I’m thinking about dropping a course so that I could have more time to concentrate on my more important AP courses. Do you think that doing so will have adverse effects on my acceptances? Could they revoke my admissions offer?

Answer: It may. What might happen is that you may not be told you got rescinded for dropping until late fall, too late to do anything. A friend dropped a class senior year and was told not to come to college the week before she was to start classes. It took that long for Admissions to review her final high school transcript and then they yanked her, a cautionary tale.

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