A deferral and a waitlist decision both mean that you have not been admitted yet, but they happen at different points in the admissions process and require different next steps. Understanding which decision you received can help you respond appropriately without putting your other college options at risk.
Deferral vs. Waitlist: What’s the Difference?
Deferred
Your application will be reviewed again.
A deferral most commonly occurs after an Early Decision or Early Action application. Instead of admitting or denying you during the early round, the college moves your application into its later admission pool for another review.
Waitlisted
You may be admitted later if space becomes available.
A waitlist decision usually comes after a college has made its initial admission decisions. The college is not offering you admission now, but it may reconsider you if it has space remaining in the incoming class.
A deferral is another round of application review. A waitlist is a possible future offer of admission if the college later has room.
What Does a Deferral Mean?
If you applied through an early admission plan and were deferred, the college decided not to make a final admission decision on your application during the early round.
Instead, your application is generally moved into the Regular Decision pool and reviewed again alongside later applicants. You usually do not submit an entirely new application.
A deferral does not mean that you have been admitted, but it is also not a rejection. The college has chosen to keep your application under consideration.
Do not confuse a deferred admission decision with deferred enrollment. Deferred enrollment occurs when an already admitted student asks to postpone starting college, such as to take a gap year. That is a different process.
What Should You Do After Being Deferred?
- Read the deferral notice carefully.
The college may tell you exactly what happens next and whether it wants additional information. - Follow the college’s instructions.
If the school asks for a form, midyear grades, an update, or another specific item, submit it according to the instructions and deadline. - Continue with your other applications.
A deferral is not an acceptance. Make sure the rest of your college applications are submitted on time. - Keep your grades strong.
Midyear senior grades may become part of the college’s next review. - Send a meaningful update only if the college allows it.
Significant new achievements, awards, responsibilities, academic accomplishments, or other substantial changes may be worth reporting.
Should You Send a Letter of Continued Interest?
A letter of continued interest, often called a LOCI, is a brief message telling a college that you remain interested after being deferred or waitlisted.
Before writing one, check the college’s instructions. Some colleges invite updates or provide a specific form in the applicant portal. Others tell applicants not to send additional materials.
If a letter is permitted, keep it concise. You can:
- Confirm that you remain interested in the college.
- Briefly explain why the school continues to fit your academic or personal goals.
- Provide meaningful new information that was not available in your original application.
- Thank the admissions office for continuing to consider your application.
If nothing significant has changed, you do not need to manufacture an accomplishment simply to have something new to report.
What Does Being Waitlisted Mean?
A college uses a waitlist when it cannot yet offer admission to every applicant it may ultimately have room to enroll.
Colleges offer admission to a group of students, but not every admitted student chooses to enroll. After the college sees how many students accept its offers, it may use the waitlist to fill remaining places.
Being placed on a waitlist therefore does not guarantee that a space will eventually open. Some colleges admit many students from the waitlist in one year and few or none in another.
A waitlist offer is not an offer of admission. Until the college actually admits you, make your plans as though you will attend one of the schools that has already accepted you.
What Should You Do After Being Waitlisted?
- Decide whether you actually want to remain on the waitlist.
You do not have to accept a place on the list. Stay on it only if you would still seriously consider attending. - Accept your waitlist position if required.
Some colleges require you to opt in through an applicant portal or response form. - Follow the college’s instructions about updates.
Send a letter of continued interest, updated grades, or other materials only when the college accepts them. - Choose another college by its enrollment deadline.
Do not lose a confirmed college option while waiting for a decision that may never come. - Submit the required enrollment deposit to the college you plan to attend.
If you are later admitted from a waitlist and decide to switch schools, you may lose the original deposit. - Continue checking your email and applicant portal.
A college may contact waitlisted students later in the spring or summer, and an offer may come with a relatively short response period.
How Do Colleges Choose Students From a Waitlist?
There is no universal system. Some colleges rank their waitlists, while others reconsider students according to the needs of the incoming class.
For example, a college may have room for students in particular academic programs or may be trying to balance other characteristics of the class. The process can therefore be more complicated than simply admitting the next person on a numbered list.
Check the college’s waitlist information to see whether it publishes:
- Whether the waitlist is ranked
- How many students were offered waitlist positions
- How many students accepted waitlist positions
- How many students were admitted from the waitlist in previous years
- When the college expects to begin making waitlist decisions
Historical waitlist numbers can provide context, but they cannot predict what will happen in the current year because the number of available spaces depends on how many admitted students decide to enroll.
Can You Improve Your Chances on a Waitlist?
There is no action that guarantees admission from a waitlist. Your best approach is to follow the college’s instructions and provide useful new information when permitted.
Appropriate updates might include:
- Strong new grades
- A significant academic award
- A meaningful new leadership role
- A major accomplishment in an activity
- New research, work, or academic achievements
- Other substantial information that was unavailable when you applied
If the college accepts letters of continued interest, you can also clearly state that you remain interested. Only say that you would definitely enroll if admitted if that statement is genuinely true.
What Should You Not Do?
- Do not bombard the admissions office. Repeated calls, emails, or minor updates are unlikely to help.
- Do not ignore instructions. If the college says not to send additional materials, do not send them anyway.
- Do not automatically send another recommendation. Submit one only if the college permits or requests additional recommendations and the letter would add genuinely new information.
- Do not resend your original application materials. The college already has them unless it tells you otherwise.
- Do not make exaggerated promises. Be accurate when describing your interest or new accomplishments.
- Do not neglect your other options. A deferral or waitlist should not prevent you from meeting deadlines at colleges where you have a confirmed opportunity.
Deferral and Waitlist Side by Side
If You Are Deferred
- Your application remains under review.
- You are usually moved into a later admission round.
- You generally do not need to reapply.
- Midyear grades may be considered.
- Updates may be allowed.
- Continue applying to other colleges.
If You Are Waitlisted
- You have not been admitted.
- You may need to opt in to the waitlist.
- Admission depends partly on space becoming available.
- Updates may be allowed.
- Timing may extend into spring or summer.
- Plan to attend another college unless an actual offer arrives.
What About Early Decision After a Deferral?
If an Early Decision application is deferred into Regular Decision, the original binding Early Decision commitment no longer applies to the later review. You are free to continue applying to and considering other colleges.
If the deferred college eventually admits you during Regular Decision, you can compare that offer with your other options rather than being required to enroll under the earlier ED agreement.
Financial Aid and Waitlists
Financial aid deserves special attention if you remain on a waitlist. A student admitted late may have less time to review an aid offer, and the availability of institutional grants, scholarships, housing, or other resources may differ from what was available earlier in the admission cycle.
If you receive a waitlist admission offer, find out:
- Your actual enrollment deadline
- The complete financial-aid offer
- Your estimated net cost
- Whether institutional grants or scholarships remain available
- Whether campus housing remains available
- When a deposit is required
Do not give up a confirmed college enrollment until you have received an actual waitlist admission offer and understand the new school’s cost, financial aid, housing, and enrollment requirements.
If You Are Admitted From the Waitlist
An offer from the waitlist creates a new decision rather than automatically replacing the college you previously chose.
Compare the two schools again. Consider:
- Academic programs
- Total cost and financial aid
- Housing availability
- Location
- Student support
- Career opportunities
- Personal fit
If you decide to accept the new offer, follow both colleges’ instructions carefully. You will generally need to notify the college where you previously enrolled that you will no longer attend, and you may lose the deposit you already paid there.
When Is It Time to Move On?
Staying on a waitlist does not mean putting the rest of your college planning on hold.
Once you have selected a school that admitted you, begin treating that college as your actual destination. Complete housing forms, orientation requirements, financial-aid paperwork, placement steps, and other enrollment tasks on schedule.
If the waitlisted college eventually offers you admission, you can reconsider at that point. Until then, focus on the opportunity that is already available to you.
The safest strategy is simple: hope for a favorable deferral or waitlist decision, but continue making plans that do not depend on receiving one.
Deferral and Waitlist Checklist
- Read the college’s decision notice carefully.
- Follow all instructions in the applicant portal.
- Meet any deadline to accept a waitlist position.
- Submit updated grades when requested.
- Send additional information only when permitted.
- Keep your senior-year grades strong.
- Continue with applications and decisions at other colleges.
- Commit to another college by its enrollment deadline if you are waitlisted.
- Continue monitoring email and your applicant portal.
- Do not assume a future acceptance until you actually receive one.
Deferral and Waitlist Resources
College Board: Deferred Admission
Review what a deferral means when an early application is moved into the regular admission process.
College Board: What to Do if You’re Waitlisted
Review practical guidance on deciding whether to remain on a college waitlist and planning for another college while you wait.
NACAC College Admission Terms
Review definitions for deferred admission, waitlists, Early Decision, Early Action, and other college-admission terms.