Yep, you read that right. I just received an email from a school that I applied to Early Decision that informed me that the Admissions Board has deferred my application to the regular decision pool. Better than a flat out ‘Sorry we don’t want you’ I suppose, but it still wasn’t exactly the answer I was hoping for… of course, I was a bit aggravated at first, but then I got to thinking about the whole thing.
I was actually a bit relieved to still have my options open, as an early admittance to this school would be binding. Ironically enough, about a week before I received their decision, I had been second guessing my reasoning for applying to this college. For various reasons, I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching lately and really trying to figure out who I am and what I like to do, more so than the average confused teenager. I feel that perhaps there are some other schools out there that would fit my personality better than this one, and overall, I am oddly at peace with the deferred status of my application. It’s all good. I had my moments of being mad, and then sad, but successful people don’t sit around and wallow, they get back in the game and keep going. So that’s what I’m doing.
What I’ve learned recently:
1) Know what you like in a school, know what you don’t like, and try to find a place that you feel truly fits you and your personality.
2) There’s more than one college in the entire world. Try not to get your heart so set on one particular school that you can’t possibly imagine going anywhere else. Stay grounded.
3) Regardless of what people say or think, apply wherever the heck you want to apply to. If you want to apply to Harvard and everyone around you says it’s pointless, do it anyway. So many successful people started out with others telling them that they couldn’t make it in life.
4) Don’t let letters of deferrence or rejection get you down! Bounce back and move on.
5) Lastly, it always works out. A year from now things will be better than any of us can imagine in the present moment. This entire process may seem chaotic and annoying now, but it will end well.
Maddy
What an excellent blog and a great way to look at the deferral. There isn’t just one perfect school for you…there are several, and you will get into several of them, perhaps even this one. In the end, you will choose the right school for you, and I know you will have a great experience!
http://maplewood.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/15/college-corner-days-of-early-decision/
A great link for those who are being deferred…you are not alone!