Is A Statement of Persuasion Worth Submitting After Deferment?
If your child was deferred from a highly selective university in the Early Action / Early Decision round, doing nothing is a great way to earn a rejection letter in the Regular Decision round.
Many schools, especially highly competitive schools, defer a large portion of their early applications. For more context, take a look at these statistics from the 2020-2021 early round:
Brown University admitted 16% of early applicants, and 30 percent of Early Decision applicants were deferred for review in the Regular Decision process.
Dartmouth University accepted 21% of early applicants, and 5 to 10 percent of candidates deferred in Early Decision were admitted.
Duke University admitted 16.7% of early applicants, and 65.85% were deferred.
Harvard University admitted 7.4% of early applicants and deferred roughly 80 percent of early applicants to the regular admissions round.
What To Do If Your Child Has Been Deferred
The first action a student MUST take once they receive a deferment is to craft a Statement of Persuasion. Also known as a “Letter of Enthusiasm” or “Letter of Continued Interest,” this critical piece of writing is a valuable opportunity for a student to prove to admissions officers that they have something unique and exciting to bring to the college. This letter is a student’s way to tell the school that it would be remiss not to offer them a spot. In other words, the Statement of Persuasion is a written advertisement for a student and aims to convince, make a case, and sway.
To ensure a cohesive and compelling narrative, the statement should build upon the information a student initially submitted to the college with their application (and simply including an updated GPA and awards list won’t cut it). Below are a few more tips from our team to help inspire your student in crafting a powerful statement and help convert the deferral to an acceptance:
Students should thank the reader for reevaluating their materials and reaffirm that X school is the place for them. If the college is still your student’s number one choice and they would attend if admitted, say so.
The fact that a student applied early is evidence enough that they are enthusiastic about attending that college. Telling admissions officers that University X is their absolute dream school and that they can’t see themselves anywhere else isn’t going to get more than an eye roll.
Don’t brag. While your student definitely wants to use the statement to make them stand out from other prospective applicants, don’t come off as cocky. Now is not the time to list all the “extra” things your students did during high school. If it weren’t worth putting in the activities list the first time, it would not help now.
Don’t exaggerate. Admissions officers have well-honed b.s. radar and they will quickly stamp your student’s application DENIED if your student claims their speech at Model UN got a standing ovation.
Crafting a compelling statement of persuasion is not an easy task, so don’t be afraid to ask for help! Ivy Link advisors have worked with hundreds of students to turn a deferment into an acceptance. Contact us today to get started!
