Being deferred is never satisfying because it isn’t a conclusion. It’s not a no, and you’re still in the running. But it’s also far from a yes. In this post, we’re going to help you bounce back from a deferral. First, let’s run the numbers.
MIT loves statistics, so they make their admissions numbers more transparent and available than probably any other university in the United States. The overall acceptance rate for the class of 2028 was 4.5%. In the Early Action cycle, they received 12,563 applications and admitted 661 — or a slightly higher 5.3%.
Let’s look even deeper, though. Of those 12,563 applications, 8,051 were deferred. This is a massive number of deferrals, and far more deferrals were sent out than rejections. This means that being deferred by MIT really doesn’t mean anything about the strength of your application. You’re not such a weak applicant that you have been rejected, but you’re not in an especially strong spot either.
Later, 206, or 2.6%, of these deferred early action applicants were admitted regular decision. So, it is possible to get in after a deferral. In fact, the acceptance rate for deferred students in the regular decision cycle is about equal to that of students submitting their applications for the first time regular decision.
But the big difference between those first-time applicants and a deferred applicant like you is that you have a chance to say more. In this post, we’ll help you say the most you can to increase your chances of admission to MIT while also laying out what else you need to do to ensure a successful college admissions process.
If you are overwhelmed by the college admissions process, contact us. We help top students get into their dream schools, even after a deferral.
Before you deal with MIT, you need to get your other ducks in a row. We advise applying to 10 schools total, including MIT, so that means 8 more applications unless you have an early acceptance or two under your belt already. Assuming you don’t and right now you have no confirmed options for college, this is what to do.
Review Your College List
First, you must review your college list. You need options, and right now MIT is a possibility, but not an option. Nothing is an option until you have an acceptance, so let’s get you options. To do this, you need to build a well-balanced college list that includes a small number of “foundation” or “safety” schools, and larger number of “target schools” — which, for a competitive MIT applicant, will have an acceptance rate over 15%. Then you have your reaches, which includes MIT. We recently had a student ask us whether it would be a good idea to apply only to reaches. The answer is no. Don’t do that. It’s really bad idea. Your list must have balance, and if you’re struggling to find it, we can help.
Reassess Your Common App Essay
Next, it’s time to give your main application essay some love. It’s possible that your essay is fabulous, but it’s also very likely that there are places you could improve, or even overhaul, to increase the likelihood of an acceptance. Before you dig in and start moving things around, though, you should give our 2024-2025 Guide of the Common App Essay a read. This post lays the groundwork for a strong essay. If yours doesn’t measure up, there’s work to be done.
Press Submit
When your essay is polished and your supplements are written, you need to pull everything together and prepare to submit. Don’t wait for the deadline to press send, though. Submitting early does not increase your chances of admission simply as a tactic, but we find that the worst editing — editing that actually makes an application weaker — happens between when an application is done and when you press submit. The less time you take between being done and sending the application in, the better. If the application is done, submit it.
WHAT MIT WANTS
After you have submitted your other applications, it’s time to go back to addressing MIT.
The admissions team at MIT wants you to feel confident that they “will reconsider your application anew and without prejudice in Regular Action.” This is backed up by the numbers. As we’ve said, the stats show that your chances in the regular cycle are the same as any other student in the regular cycle. And, while there are a few things they want you to do, there are also a few they definitely don’t. First, let’s get clear on what MIT absolutely does not want for you.
MIT does not want you to call or email, or sing to them from outside the admissions office, to ask why you were deferred. They also do not allow you to redo aspects of your application, send in additional letters of recommendation, or add anything else beyond the FUN (which we’ll explain in a moment). To be clear, and in their own words, “You CANNOT rewrite your essays, redo your interview, replace your letters of recommendation with new ones, or redo your application.” And yes, they used all-caps. They also don’t want an email to them directly saying you’re still interested in MIT, and you cannot write a new essay. While you can technically “bombard [their] office with excessive emails or new materials”, they really don’t want you to do that.
What MIT does want is the FUN, or the February Updates and Notes Form, that they will send you via email once it is available. This form provides an opportunity to update your midyear grades, let them know about any new awards, activities, or work, and appraise them of anything notable that has changed as far as your candidacy as an applicant. You should also emphasize things that speak to the core themes MIT looks for in your application. Namely, a collaborative and cooperative spirit, leadership, risk-taking, creativity, and curiosity.
You aren’t required to complete the FUN, as long as you send midyear grades. However, we highly recommend doing it. We consider it mandatory, as not filling out the form is like saying you don’t really want to go to MIT after all. You can also add new test scores through the Application Status Page. Before doing so, take a look at the Middle 50% score range of admitted students. Your scores should be at the top end, or above, these ranges to be competitive.
Getting into MIT after a deferral isn’t easy, but it also isn’t impossible. You can make a case for yourself as an applicant if you just follow their instructions and advocate for yourself within the parameters offered.
Applying to college doesn’t have to be stressful. We help strong students get into outstanding colleges and actually enjoy the process. Email us to learn more.