Deferred in Early Decision: What 20 Colleges Ask For, and What They Don't Want

A deferral in December comes with instructions, and every college writes its own. Some want a form back by a date or they stop reading your file. Some welcome a letter of continued interest; one says an extra letter "will not impact our review." Five say in writing that you are no longer bound by your Early Decision agreement. Fourteen of the twenty we read don't say either way.

We read what 20 colleges tell students deferred from Early Decision, on their own admissions pages. The closest they come to agreeing is midyear grades: fifteen of the twenty ask for them.

What each college says

Three colleges make you answer

At NYU, a student deferred from Early Decision I "must complete our Deferral Response Form online to confirm that they are still interested in being considered for admission." The form is also where updates go.

At Virginia, the instruction is to "fill out the defer form in the MyUVA Applicant Portal to be considered again in the Regular Decision process," by January 15 for Early Decision students. Those are, in UVA's words, the only action items, along with midyear grades by February 15.

At Northeastern, last year's deferral FAQ gave students until February 4 to choose between its Early Decision II pool and Regular Decision. Students who didn't respond by then "will no longer be considered a candidate for admission." Northeastern encourages students for whom it is still the first choice to pick Early Decision II, which is binding. This year's version of the FAQ isn't posted yet; last year's went up in December.

Still bound? Five say no in writing

Penn: "Deferred applicants are released from the binding commitment of early decision once they are moved to regular decision consideration." Cornell: "you're no longer subject to the Early Decision agreement. We encourage you to apply to additional colleges and universities." Vanderbilt: deferred students "are released from the binding nature of the Early Decision application." Tufts: "admission will no longer be binding." Columbia: deferred students later admitted "are not obligated to accept Columbia's offer of admission." Dartmouth implies the same by giving deferred admits until May 1 to reply. Outside our twenty, Bowdoin and Michigan say it too.

The other fourteen pages don't address it, and neither does the Common App's 2026 Early Decision agreement form, which covers only what happens if you are admitted. If your deferral letter doesn't say, ask the admissions office in writing. It matters most if you plan to apply Early Decision II somewhere else in January.

The letter of continued interest

Six accept some form of it. Brown: "You are also welcome to submit a letter of continued interest during the Regular Decision admission process if Brown remains your college of choice." Cornell accepts one at most of its colleges, focused on your fit for the college and major you applied to. Johns Hopkins lists "a written statement of interest in Hopkins" among the optional updates, alongside letters of recommendation, a resume and new test scores. Dartmouth welcomes "brief updates on recent notable academic, extracurricular, and personal accomplishments." Northeastern allows an additional personal statement. Emory describes a letter stressing your interest as "not something all deferred applicants need to do or even should do," and wants anything you send by February 1.

Two say they don't need one. Virginia's defer form "takes the place of a Letter of Continued Interest," and "declaring a commitment to attend will not influence our review, so writing an extra letter will not impact our review." Northwestern's letter to counselors last December put it this way: "we neither require nor expect deferred candidates to submit additional information or letters of support." NYU takes updates on its response form and asks deferred students not to send "additional letters of recommendation, artistic materials, etc."

New test scores

Dartmouth, Johns Hopkins, Emory and Northeastern accept new scores after a deferral. Virginia accepts them only "if you applied with testing." Duke lets deferred students who chose not to have scores considered change that choice by February 13, so the scores count in Regular Decision.

Midyear grades come closest to a rule

Fifteen of the twenty ask for them. At Boston University a deferred student "will be considered for admission only after submitting your mid-year grades." Several give a date: Tufts February 15, 2027, Virginia February 15, Northwestern mid-February, Johns Hopkins mid-February. Brown gives two different late-February dates on two pages, and Penn's page still says "recommended by February 15, 2026," last year's date. Usually your counselor sends them, so ask in January rather than waiting for February.

What the colleges ask you not to do

Emory: "please do not inquire as to why you were deferred," and since it doesn't track demonstrated interest, "repeatedly contacting admission staff will not increase your chances of admission." Virginia: "Please do not email updates to admission officers." Carnegie Mellon stops accepting updates from applicants after January 15, though counselors can still send documents.

What a deferral says about your chances

Most colleges don't put a number on it. A few give a direction. Emory: "Statistically, most deferred applicants will not be offered admission at Regular Decision because of the strong competition and selective review." Northwestern's letter last December anticipated "admitting a small number of these deferred candidates." Boston College's wording cuts the other way: "Highly competitive candidates not admitted through Early Decision will be deferred," while candidates who wouldn't be competitive in Regular Decision are denied. Virginia says it has no target or quota for deferred students.

Read together: a deferral gets a real second reading, and at the two colleges that describe the odds, most deferred students aren't admitted in the spring. Given those odds, put January's effort into your other applications first. The general checklist is in our guide for deferred students.

Where this comes from

Each college's own admissions pages and FAQs, read on October 9, 2026. Three of the sources are from last cycle: Northwestern's December 2025 letter to counselors, Northeastern's deferral FAQ for fall 2026 entry, and Penn's midyear date. Expect new versions around December's decisions, and the letter you receive overrides anything here. "Not addressed" means the college's pages don't speak to students deferred from Early Decision.

Start with the school you're leaning toward: what it published, and your estimate there, are free. The full answer for your whole list is the paid document.