Counselor Edition: "I was Deferred on My Early Application. What Should I Do Now?"
Athena Lao has Recommendations for Round 2
(~2 Min Read)
It’s December.
Which means sometime in the first half of this month, you will receive an email notifying you of the Decision on your Early Application.
The Decision will be one of three: Admitted, Deferred, and Rejected.
While Admitted and Rejected are clear, Deferred status can be confusing.
Athena Lao, College Counselor clarifies all this in my Podcast on College Applications with her.
What does “Deferred” mean?
Deferred means that in Round 1 of the application cycle,
You are not one of the candidates selected for admission, But
Your application will be looked at again in the regular decision round in the Spring.
That’s Round 2!
In Round 1, a lot of times, especially at the top schools,
Students who get in during this round are exceptionally qualified, and the applicant pool is just really super strong.
In addition, there are also recruited athletes, often legacy applicants - students whose families have attended that school for many generations. It's just a very different caliber of students than the general pool.
Stay Positive
Athena says she has had plenty of students who didn't make it into Round 1, but then got in during Regular Decision.
Getting Ready for Round 2
While you are not required to do anything for Round 2, Athena recommends that you share additional information with that schools to enhance the Self-Portrait that you painted in the original application,
About your personality traits,
Your motivation, and
The level of excellence in your academics that this university looks for.
So, you want to provide only those materials that will better define your Self-Portrait.
Additional Accomplishments
Compile accomplishments that align with your story in the application and demonstrate continuance of your level of excellence, between the time you submitted your application in November and January.
Update on your grades - e.g., First Semester of your Senior Year,
Any tests like the SAT or ACT or something else,
New accomplishments in your Extracurricular activities.
Extra Recommendation
You might want to consider a new recommendation to shine a light on a something that enhances the Self-Portrait. (This is in addition to the one to two recommendations you have provided from a classroom teacher).
Someone who is able to highlight your academic excellence;
From someone, maybe outside of the classroom;
Maybe from a biology teacher who talked about how great you are at science and in class, or your other teacher who was talking about how great student you are, etc.;
Or, Pick someone who might be able to talk about that in more depth than, say, your classroom teachers did - about your leadership skills, or showing how much you care about the community, or just something that, you know, a key personality trait.
Remember the goal is to bring more insight or evidence to your Self-Portrait.
Ask Your School Counselor For Assistance
Talk to your school counselor, or the point person at your school who is sending those transcripts and materials to the university directly, to find out what else the university might want to know about you.
Because often, universities are more likely to share with them helpful information than they would with a parent or the applicant.
So your school counselor could
Ask for feedback,
Any more information that the university needs, or,
Any tips from the university about how you might be able to share the most relevant information with them when they're reviewing your application during the regular decision round?
Your To-Dos for Round 2
Review your Self Portrait in the original application and identify parts to double-click on.
Compile the list of Accomplishments and Share in a cover letter to the university.
Pick a new Recommender
Ask the School Counselor for feedback from the university and respond to those information needs.
Wish You All the Best in Round 2!
Something to Crow About
According to Spotify, my Podcast “College Matters. Alma Matters.” is in the Top 1% of the Podcast Content Creators in the Education Category for 2022!
This would not happened without all the Great Guests, Loyal Listeners and Strong Supporters of this Newsletter!
Thank You and Please Keep Supporting!
November 2022 Podcasts Curated For You
1.Ian Curtis of Grand Valley State University: Always Exploring.
Ian Curtis is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Statistics and French at the Grand Valley State University in Michigan.
In High School, Ian was constantly exploring. He took a number of different classes to figure out what he liked and didn’t like. He loved Math, French. He enjoyed being part of the crew in Theater. He was involved in the Orchestra.
When he was applying to college, he didn’t even know that Research was a thing!
Ian joins our podcast to share his undergraduate college journey at Grand Valley, his UG Research experiences, and Advice for college-bound students.
Key Takeaways:
Ian put a lot of hard work in every subject in order to figure out if he liked it or not;
Ian came to College with an interest in majoring in Math. However he had an open mind and discovered he liked Statistics more.
With UG Research, Ian let the “Process of Discovery” lead him to the next thing.
Ian joins our podcast to share his undergraduate college journey at Grand Valley, his UG Research experiences, and Advice for college-bound students.
Listen to Hi5s. Podcast Highlights with Ian Curtis of GVSU. (2.5-Minute Listen).
2.Stacy Okada of UMass Boston: Taking Advantage of a Second Chance.
Stacy Okada is a Goldwater Scholar who graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from UMass Boston.
20 years after high school, Stacy started at MassBay Community College. She decided to study science.
The transition to college was hard, especially while managing a family with two very young children.
Key Takeaways:
Stacy boldly went back to college after a gap of 20 years, to be a role model for her children;
At MassBay she found a great mentor in Dr Jackson who challenged and pushed her to achieve more;
She won the Goldwater Scholarship to pursue UG Research and inspired her to become a researcher.
Stacy joins our podcast to share her undergraduate experiences, UG Research experiences at MassBay Community College and UMass Boston & winning the Goldwater Scholarship.
Listen to Hi5s. Podcast Highlights with Stacy Okada. (2.5 Minute Listen)
3.Prof. Joyce Fernandes of Miami University: A Culture of UG Research.
Joyce Fernandes is a Professor of Biology & the Director of Undergraduate Research at Miami University in Ohio.
Professor Fernandes’ journey into research, took flight while studying Fruit Fly as part of her PhD. It brought excitement and enthusiasm to her graduate program as she created new knowledge.
But, her first encounter with UG Research occurred when she joined the Faculty at Miami University.
Miami University has been supporting UG Research for well over 3 decades.
Key Takeaways:
FYRE - First Year Research Experience - a program to engage UG students early on, to get them trained in the process of research, developing skills, library skills, writing skills, searching for opportunities;
Research Funding for Student Projects;
Students engage across discipline boundaries.
On our podcast, Prof. Fernandes talks about UG Research at Miami University, the role CUR plays, Impact of Research on UG Students, Success stories, and finally Advice for High Schoolers.
Listen to Hi5s. Podcast Highlights with Prof. Joyce Fernandes on UG Research at Miami University. (2.5-Minute Listen)
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Finally, A Big Thank You to all my podcast guests who have been generous with their time and counsel on my podcasts.
Happy & Safe Holidays!
Venkat