Early decisions program

Q) I am a local high school senior who applied to Brown University early decision and I was deferred. What do you recommend I do now?

A) As is the case with any university, if you applied early and were deferred, you should meet with a college counselor regarding how and when to proceed. Much will depend on what the deferral letter from the university states.

For last year’s high school graduating class (the college graduating class of 2011) Brown University accepted 523 of the 2,307 early decision applicants (a 22.7% acceptance rate), rejected 293 applicants (approximately 12.7%), and deferred the remaining 1,491 applicants (64.6%). As you can see, the vast majority of last year’s early decision applicants to Brown were deferred.

Many students today are applying for early options, which are usually early decision or early action. If a college offers an early decision program, students usually apply before November 1 st and are notified of the school’s decision (accept, deny, or defer) by mid to late December. Early decision is binding, meaning if a student is accepted, that student must withdraw applications to all other schools and must attend the school to which they have been accepted under the early decision program.

Early action, on the other hand, is similar to early decision except it is not binding.

Students are drawn to these options for a number of reasons. Some students have been excited by a particular college or university for years, know it is their first choice college, and therefore decide to apply early. Others simply want to get the college admissions process out of the way early, in order to enjoy their senior year of high school. This can work out very well if they are accepted in the early pool; however, if they are denied or deferred it can make senior year more stressful.

One of the fastest growing reasons students are deciding to apply early is that they believe this will give them a competitive edge. Although it is true that many of the elite institutions have higher acceptance rates during the early round, this may be because more qualified students are applying during the early round, which makes the competition stiffer.

Because you were deferred, not denied, don’t give up hope. Meet with a college counselor to discuss your options regarding your first choice school and to figure out other schools that would be a good fit for you if your plan A does not work out.

Reprinted by permission, Palo Alto Daily News. Jason Katz ©1.19.2008 All rights reserved. This article may be printed for your personal use, but may not be reprinted in whole or in part in any publication or website without permission. www.jkatzcollegecounseling.com