Getting deferred from Swarthmore after applying Early Decision can be a tough pill to swallow. You did everything right  – wrote and rewrote your essays, poured your energy into the application, imagined yourself in Parrish Hall – and now you’re in limbo. Not admitted. Not denied. Just… waiting.

Receiving an Early Decision rejection from Dartmouth is more than annoying. It can be disheartening, frustrating, and can even be confidence-crushing. But it doesn’t need to be.

If you received a rejection from Princeton in the Single-Choice Early Action round, this wasn’t how you wanted it to go. You should have gotten a deferral, at minimum, no? Princeton receives over 40,000 applications each year, and has admitted less than 5% in recent years. The fact that 75% of admitted first-years choose to go to Princeton is an immensely impressive yield rate. This is, notably, without locking in a high percentage of admitted students through Early Decision.  

We know, this wasn’t the email you wanted to open. You submitted your UT Austin EA application with hope, and now, instead of a clear yes or no, you’re in limbo. Not admitted. Not denied. Just… waiting. And that stings! Take a moment. Be mad. Eat something warm and carby. Then, when you're ready, let’s talk about your next steps.

If you just received a rejection from Michigan in the Early Action or Early Decision round, or if you are pondering what to do after a postponement, we can help. This moment is understandably frustrating and overwhelming, but there are things that you can do to turn your application experience around and get into a seriously impressive school. First, though, let’s dig into Mich a little.

Receiving an Early Action rejection from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is understandably early-shaking. This is not the way things were supposed to go. You knew MIT is exceptionally hard to get into — but you expected a deferral, at least. The big question in this moment is: what comes next? 

Getting deferred from Rice isn’t what you hoped to see – especially after months of work, polish, and pressing submit with fingers crossed. You imagined yourself on that Houston campus, but now you feel... stuck. Not in, not out. Just waiting. It’s frustrating, confusing, and yes, disheartening.

Getting deferred from Notre Dame stings – no sugarcoating it. You spent months building an application that told a story you were proud of; you hit “submit” with fingers crossed, and instead of a yes, you got a maybe. It’s a frustrating middle ground that leaves a lot of students wondering what went wrong.

If you recently learned that you were rejected Restrictive Early Action by Harvard, you aren’t alone in your frustration. We are widening the scope for this post, though. Harvard defers most REA applicants, yet very few deferred applicants get in. This guidance, then, applies for both rejected and deferred REA applicants. First, though, some statistics.

This probably wasn’t the outcome you envisioned. You submitted your USC Early Action app with optimism, maybe even confidence, and hoped for a yes. Instead, you’re sitting in limbo. Not an acceptance, not a denial. Just... deferred.