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i am in a bit of a complicated situation, and i was looking for some advice. i have been accepted at GULC and put down my deposit. i am hoping to defer for a year to travel (i want to do the wwoof program and brush up on my program) and apply to some dual degree programs, ideally princetons MPA.

anyway here's the thing. i am right now waitlisted at FIVE schools-UMich, UVA, UPenn, Columbia and NYU. NYU and Columbia are my top choices overall (NYU is probably 1, i have a strong bend towards public interest, international, and IP law, all of whcih they do quite well). I recognize that I can't defer of the waitlist, but I am okay with that. i am not sure what i would do if UMich, Penn, or UVA pulled me off their waitlists. i don't expect them to, since i have not showed a ton of interest since being put there, but i would probably decline, i really like GULC, although all of those schools are of a higher rank, and umich is really appealing, except for being in MI.

i realize that deferral is binding, but i also realize that the later i try to do it, the worse my chances. so i think i need to draw a line and say, after XX day, i will apply to defer and withdraw all my applications. i was wondering when is a good time, that is, when are my waitlist chances really low with my deferral chances still high... i was thinking around mid-june, but wanted to know what others thought.

hey- i was prepping myself to be in a really similar situation: i sent out some applications, telling myself that if i wasn't stoked on my results, i'd apply again and ED where i really wanted to go. (or i'd just apply again with a hopefully stronger application). so, if i were you, i'd wwoof for a few months, volunteer a bit to buff up my application, maybe study a language, and ED at NYU or Columbia. (Or that's what i'd do if i were you and i had enough $$ to do that).

With 3.6/171, you could reasonably get into NYU or Columbia regular decision if you apply early. I don't know that I'd "settle" for GULC (which is a great school, but doesn't sound like its your top choice) when you're not totally set on going to school next year.

sorry if that was confusing. what i'm saying is: why not wwoof for a year and then go to a (hopefully better) law school, class of 2014? long-run: you've had a fun experience and you're in a top program. short-run: it's a mild pain in the ass to apply again.

i appreciate the advice and i have been thinking about this a great deal. to be honest i like gulc a lot, but nyu has been and is still my first choice. my big concern is, what if i take off, apply early and don't get in? then im stuck. i can try crawling back to georgetown but i feel like they aren't going to take me two cycles in a row. i have been trying to think up WL strategies for nyu, i was thinking about trying to reach out to a prof, but im not sure what i would even say. anyone else in a similar situation?

max wrote:i appreciate the advice and i have been thinking about this a great deal. to be honest i like gulc a lot, but nyu has been and is still my first choice. my big concern is, what if i take off, apply early and don't get in? then im stuck. i can try crawling back to georgetown but i feel like they aren't going to take me two cycles in a row. i have been trying to think up WL strategies for nyu, i was thinking about trying to reach out to a prof, but im not sure what i would even say. anyone else in a similar situation?

what makes you say gulc won't take you two cycles in a row? if anything, if they deemed you a qualified candidate THIS cycle (by all accounts the most competitive yet), next cycle would have a similar, if not better outcome (possibly scholarship or earlier acceptance)