How to Handle a Waitlist or Deferral

Understanding a waitlist placement

Being placed on a waitlist means the college has reviewed your application and found you admissible, but does not have space to admit you in the current round. After the National Candidates Reply Date (traditionally May 1 — verify the current date on each college's site), colleges know how many admitted students have accepted their offer and may then draw from the waitlist to fill remaining seats.

Waitlist outcomes vary substantially by institution and by year. Some colleges admit a meaningful number of students from their waitlist; others admit very few or none in a given year. Most colleges publish historical waitlist data in their Common Data Set (Section C2), which is the most reliable way to understand a school's recent waitlist patterns.

What to do if you are waitlisted

First, confirm whether you wish to remain on the waitlist — most colleges require you to take an active step (typically completing a form or sending a written confirmation) to indicate that you want to stay on the waitlist. This step usually has a deadline; check the waitlist instructions from the specific college.

If you remain on the waitlist, a brief, professional letter of continued interest sent to the admissions office is appropriate. This letter should state that the college remains your first choice (if that is true), provide a brief and genuine update on any significant academic or extracurricular accomplishments since you submitted your application, and be professional and concise. One well-crafted communication is appropriate; repeated follow-up communications are generally not.

• Confirm your place on the waitlist by the college's stated deadline (usually via a form or email)
• Send one concise letter of continued interest if the school remains a genuine top choice — include one meaningful update since your application
• Continue to pursue other admission offers seriously — waitlist outcomes are not guaranteed
• Enrol at another college by May 1 to secure a place for the upcoming year; you can withdraw if admitted from the waitlist later (subject to the other college's withdrawal policy)

Understanding a deferral

A deferral means your Early Decision or Early Action application was not admitted in the early round but has been moved to the Regular Decision pool for a full review alongside the broader applicant pool. It is not a rejection — it is a continuation of the process under a different timeline.

If you are deferred, re-read your original application materials and consider whether any meaningful updates have occurred since submission: a strong set of semester grades, a significant award, a new leadership role, or a completed project. A brief, factual letter that communicates these updates — without restating everything already in your application — is appropriate to send.

Practical planning while you wait

Whether waitlisted or deferred, the most important practical step is to fully engage with the other options available to you. Accept a firm offer at another institution by the May 1 National Candidates Reply Date to ensure you have a confirmed place for the upcoming year. Declining to enrol anywhere while waiting for a waitlist outcome carries real risk.

If you are admitted from the waitlist or deferred pool after you have already committed elsewhere, review the enrollment policies of both schools carefully before making any decision. The college you committed to will typically have a deposit that may be non-refundable, and there may be withdrawal deadlines. These are matters to handle directly with both colleges' admissions and enrollment offices.

What not to do

A few approaches consistently fail to help and may create an unfavourable impression:

Sending multiple or lengthy follow-up communications is not helpful — one professional, concise letter is appropriate. Calling the admissions office repeatedly is not advisable. Asking teachers or counsellors to send additional recommendation letters unless the college has specifically invited them to do so is generally not recommended. And misrepresenting the strength of other offers ("I have been admitted to X and will go there if you don't admit me") is not an effective strategy and lacks integrity.