Anxiously waiting for the clock to strike three, I stare blankly at the university’s decision homepage. The time has come. My body twitches. My heart races. My hands tremble. I put my cursor over the “view decision” button. Hoping for the decision that would alleviate the stress of my senior year, I click the button.
Deferred.
Seniors applying to college through early action or early decision programs experience heartache in anticipation of their decisions. While others may claim that a deferral is a better result than an outright rejection, I strongly disagree. A deferral, a statement that an applicant is too qualified to be rejected, but not so impressive that he/she deserves admission, creates this false sense of hope, as students believe they still have a chance. Technically, there still is a chance to be admitted to my dream school, but my chances are diminished, as I get put in the regular decision pool, a pool which consists of more qualified applicants.
“By no means should you interpret the Board’s vote to defer a final vote on your application as a denial of admission,” said Brown University Dean of Admissions James Miller.
Although admissions committees state that deferrals are just a postponement of an applicant’s decision, they in essence stand for delayed rejection. If my application failed to impress the admissions committee now, how is it supposed to impress them four months later?
Students willing to prepare their application, invest time in writing, editing, and rewriting essays early deserve better treatment. We demonstrate our interest in colleges by devoting countless hours to polishing and rewriting our essays, in hopes of standing out. So how do colleges justify their indecisiveness?
“Our decision means that the Board wishes to have additional time to compare your application with those of our Regular Decision applicant pool,” Miller said.
Students who demonstrate genuine interest in their early action or decision schools refuse to let go of their dreams. Despite all the effort we put into our applications, despite how well our essays reflect our personalities, despite all of our academic and extracurricular accomplishments, our chances remain slim.
Accept us or reject us. Deferrals only prolong our suffering.
Contact Irvin at ixu@tphnews.com
