It’s not the decision you were hoping for. You poured time and energy into your Princeton ED application, clicked submit, and crossed your fingers. Now, instead of a yes or no, you’re stuck in the middle: deferred. It’s a frustrating place to be, but it’s not a dead end. A deferral means they’re not finished considering you. You’re still in the running.
We know how disheartening it can feel. It’s easy to take a deferral personally, but it isn’t a judgment on your worth, intellect, or future. You’re a stellar student. That hasn’t changed. This outcome has much more to do with the sheer volume of top-tier applicants and Princeton’s incredibly tight admit rates than anything you did or didn’t do.
A Princeton deferral doesn’t mean your application was flawed or that you did something wrong. It simply means the admissions team needs more time, and they’re not ready to say yes or no. Princeton’s Single Choice Early Action (SCEA) acceptance rate sits somewhere around 15%, while Regular Decision is closer to 5%. The number of deferred students who eventually get in? Hard to say – Princeton doesn’t release that data. But we do know this, getting in post-deferral is possible. We’ve helped students do it, and we’ll help you, too.
Step One: Double-Check Your College List
If Princeton was your main priority and the rest of your apps are still blinking at you from your Common App dashboard, now is the time to move. Those Regular Decision deadlines are creeping up fast.
First, make sure your list is smart and strategic. Most strong applicants apply to 8 to 12 colleges with a good mix of reach, target, and safety schools. Use last year’s data to understand where your GPA, test scores (if submitting), course rigor, and extracurriculars land in comparison to each school’s admitted student profiles.
And don’t build your list just around clout. Princeton likely appealed to you for specific reasons, maybe its residential college system, commitment to undergraduate research, or unique senior thesis requirement. Think about those factors and search for other schools that check similar boxes.
Step Two: Revisit Your Common App
This one’s critical. With a little space between you and your initial application, revisit your Common App essay with fresh eyes. Does it feel personal and distinct? Could it only have been written by you? Or could it have been submitted by thousands of other high-achieving seniors? If the latter, now’s your chance to revise.
You don’t need a story of triumph or tragedy to impress other colleges. In fact, we recommend steering clear of the “life lesson” genre altogether, and you don’t need to rehash trauma to get into college. What makes essays memorable is specificity, personality, and voice. Prompt #7 is always a reliable option if you want flexibility, but any prompt can work when executed with thought and clarity.
Watch out for common pitfalls: vague storytelling, summarizing your resume, or writing too much about someone else and not enough about yourself. You don’t need a life-shattering story to write a compelling essay. You just need a slice of your life that says something real.
Need to completely revamp your Common App essay? Don’t hesitate to reach out to us.
Step Three: Other Applications
Welcome to crunch time. If it’s mid-December to early January, this is the most intense stretch of application season. First order of business? Finalize your Common App essay. Then, scan your activities section. Is it current? Are your entries descriptive, efficient, and prioritized in a way that highlights your strengths? Add any recent awards or roles that didn’t make it in before.
Next up: supplements. These matter, maybe more than you think. Each school’s prompts are a chance to show why you’re a great fit, and that you’ve done your homework. Some will want to know about your intellectual interests, others about your character, values, or goals. Don’t wing these. We’ve got breakdowns and advice on our blog to help. And whatever you do, don’t wait until New Year’s Eve to submit. Give yourself room to breathe.
Step Four: Update
Here’s what Princeton says about deferrals:
“Some of you will receive a letter saying that we have deferred a decision on your application. This means that we want to review your application again in the context of the overall pool and will give you a decision with our Regular Decision applicants. Again, I recognize that this decision prolongs your waiting. But I encourage you to ensure that your school counselor sends us your midyear grades when they are available. We don’t require any additional recommendation letters from you, but if there is someone who you think provides a different perspective, please feel free to upload the letter into your student portal. While there are no set numbers of students deferred from Restrictive Early Action who are admitted at Regular Decision, please know that it does happen.”
Not exactly overflowing with detail, but we’ve got you covered. Here’s what we recommend you gather:
Mid-Year Report/Mid-Year Transcript:
Ask your school counselor to send this when grades are finalized. Follow up to make sure it happens on time.
Updated Test Scores:
Only if there’s an improvement worth noting.
Additional Rec Letters (optional):
Send only if the recommender can speak to new achievements or perspectives – don’t duplicate content from existing letters.
Your Letter of Continued Interest (LOCI):
This is the big one. Let’s break it down below.
The Deferral Letter—letter of continued interest
This letter, commonly called a LOCI, is your formal reintroduction. It’s your chance to say, “I’m still all in on Princeton” and give them more reasons to let you in. And it does seem that getting deferred is not uncommon at Princeton based on this blog post – this second impression can really work.
The letter should accomplish three things: confirm your ongoing commitment, highlight new developments, and strike a confident, enthusiastic tone. This isn’t a place to wax poetic about your dream school or beg for reconsideration. It’s about clarity, maturity, and substance. Keep it around 300 words, or up to 400 if you have major news.
Start with a formal greeting. You can use your regional officer’s name if you know it, otherwise, “Dear Princeton Admissions Committee” is perfectly fine.
In the opening, say plainly that Princeton remains your top choice, and that if admitted, you will attend. This needs to be explicit, they want to admit students who will enroll and positively impact their yield rate.
From there, transition to updates. Academic wins, new extracurricular involvement, research, internships, awards, leadership developments are all fair game. Choose two or three meaningful updates and present them succinctly. No fluff, no filler. Just real progress that adds value to your app. And make sure these updates are significant and real, not just “I got an A in this class” or “I am on the soccer team now.”
Conclude with a final note of appreciation and a brief, explicit reiteration of your enthusiasm for Princeton. Sign off respectfully, upload, and move on.
You’ll upload the letter to Princeton’s applicant portal. If you’ve been in contact with your regional admissions officer, you can also email them a short, polite heads-up that you’ve submitted it.
Step Five: Wait
Waiting is rough. We know. Once your letter is submitted and your RD apps are in, your job is done. No need to keep following up, sending more updates, or swinging by campus in person. We promise, they’ve gotten it.
Princeton will release decisions alongside the rest of the RD batch in late March or early April. In the meantime, stay focused. Keep your grades strong, finish your essays, and keep an open mind. You’re not out of the running yet, and even if things don’t work out with Princeton, there are incredible schools still on the table.
You’ve done everything you can. We’re rooting for you. And if you need a hand refining your materials or making your next move, we’re here to help.
We can help you bounce back from a deferral or rejection. Reach out to us today to learn more.