How hard is it to defer at Northwestern? Forum

[rinkrat19]

I searched, but couldn't find much along the lines I'm looking for.

How hard is it to get a deferral at Northwestern? The website says "Historically, the Committee has granted a deferral for compelling reasons, such as unforeseen hardships or extraordinary opportunities."

My problem is there's just no way I'd be ready to move to Chicago this summer. I hadn't even really thought about anything but my hometown school (Lewis & Clark) until Friday when I got the email from NU. Since then, I've done a total 180 and am seriously considering it.

My bosses were just expecting me to just start classes at night in L&C's PT program this fall, so up and quitting on them with about 4 months' notice (assuming I make the final decision in April) would be pretty bad. My boss says he would be willing to write a letter to NU detailing how our department is operating under an interim director, will continue to do so for at least another 6 months, and would have a hard time replacing me with only a few months' notice--if an interim director is allowed to make hiring decisions at all (which isn't for sure). We only have 7 office positions in the department (down to 6 without a director), there is no redundancy, and we're already somewhat shorthanded. I could also probably get the HR director to back me up on the difficulty in hiring a replacement. And my boss said we could also probably come up with a project in progress that it's important I stick around to complete my work on.

On the personal front, I have a condo that would need selling (in a terrible market) or renting out. Neither of which can get done overnight. I'd prefer to have as much time as possible and not do all my getting-ready-to-move-to-chicago tasks in panic mode.

Do you really have to have a parent die or get a 1-year internship at the FBI to get a deferral, or would my reasons be enough for Northwestern to give me a year to get my shit sorted out?

[rinkrat19]

Nothing?