Planning a One Year Deferral - Explain in Application? Forum

[7Steps]

I'm a college senior applying next cycle (16/17) but will be attending a two-year graduate program beginning fall 2016. I'm assuming that the answer is yes, but should I include an addendum with my application that indicates that I'm seeking admission to begin in fall 2018? I'd like to apply next fall just so that I can get it out of the way and focus all of my attention on my graduate program. If it makes any difference, it's for a fellowship (think Rhodes/Marshall.) I ran a search and couldn't find any information on how admissions offices perceive preemptive deferral requests.

Thanks!

[cheaptilts]

because scholarship offers are typically only guaranteed for the upcoming year (for myriad reasons), I would simply wait a year and apply.

[lymenheimer]

I'd second the above advice. The schools usually handle deferrals on a case by case basis after an offer of admission. If you get the deferral, there's no guarantee of a scholarship. May as well just wait to apply. But you can get your app materials ready by next cycle and just upload and hit submit in 17/18. Also, your fellowship may give you an admissions/scholly bump depending on your numbers and to where you are applying.

[lawyerinlouboutins]

My sister is in the same predicament. She went through with the deferment and her financial aid package pretty much went out the window. She also had to put down an additional deposit to keep her spot.

I would wait and apply when it is time. That way your scholly money isn't in jeopardy (along with your admission to the school). I understand your rationale of wanting to apply and get it out of the way. Just make sure your LSAT score is good to go (meaning that you take it before grad school starts or when you have a break)... Everything else (other components of the application) is a lot easier to string together.

[tflan19]

I'd recommend waiting to apply (for scholarship reasons). However, if you do intend to go ahead and apply in 16-17, it would seem like you should disclose your intent to defer as otherwise your graduate student status would seem awfully strange as you'd still be in the midst of your program at the fall 2017 start date. This would inevitably come up in interviews/be questioned.

That being said, it seems as though conventional wisdom is to wait until after being admitted to bring up a deferral. Whether or not this is actually best, this seems logical as adcomms would most likely prefer to compare a current and full picture of an applicant to the pool of applications for the year in which they are seeking admission. Think about adcomms "holding" borderline apps for a fuller picture of the applicant pool later in the cycle. I don't think anyone has written an authoritative or analytical piece on this issue but it seems as though disclosing your intent to defer might hurt your chances at admission, especially if you are borderline for a school.

Basically, that was my long-winded and overly speculative way of saying that you should wait to apply until the 17-18 cycle, both for scholarship and admissions purposes.

[packer_22]

My sister is in the same predicament. She went through with the deferment and her financial aid package pretty much went out the window. She also had to put down an additional deposit to keep her spot. .

Quoting this because I'm not sure what this means, and it could be considering confusing.

OP-I applied last cycle and deposited. I then got a noteworthy fellowship(not Rhodes or Marshall obviously, but not bad) and asked my deposited school for a deferment. They said that if I deferred for one year, I could do so and keep my scholarship, but if I deferred for two years, I could keep my place but NOT my scholarship.

When I deferred, I had to put down another $500 bucks (but that is taken out of my first year's tuition) and sign a thing saying I wouldn't apply anywhere during my deferral year.

PM if you want more specific details, I suppose.

[lymenheimer]

My sister is in the same predicament. She went through with the deferment and her financial aid package pretty much went out the window. She also had to put down an additional deposit to keep her spot. .

Quoting this because I'm not sure what this means, and it could be considering confusing.

OP-I applied last cycle and deposited. I then got a noteworthy fellowship(not Rhodes or Marshall obviously, but not bad) and asked my deposited school for a deferment. They said that if I deferred for one year, I could do so and keep my scholarship, but if I deferred for two years, I could keep my place but NOT my scholarship.

When I deferred, I had to put down another $500 bucks (but that is taken out of my first year's tuition) and sign a thing saying I wouldn't apply anywhere during my deferral year.

PM if you want more specific details, I suppose.

It probably means that she did not get to keep her financial aid package. I'd be interested in hearing the confused interpretation, though.

[7Steps]

Thanks for the responses, everybody. Those are good points. I wasn't aware about the financial aid/scholarship predicament. Since it seems that the general consensus is that I wait a year, are there any good counterarguments for why I should apply early that anybody could offer? Just trying to think this through thoroughly.

[lawyerinlouboutins]

My sister is in the same predicament. She went through with the deferment and her financial aid package pretty much went out the window. She also had to put down an additional deposit to keep her spot. .

Quoting this because I'm not sure what this means, and it could be considering confusing.

OP-I applied last cycle and deposited. I then got a noteworthy fellowship(not Rhodes or Marshall obviously, but not bad) and asked my deposited school for a deferment. They said that if I deferred for one year, I could do so and keep my scholarship, but if I deferred for two years, I could keep my place but NOT my scholarship.

When I deferred, I had to put down another $500 bucks (but that is taken out of my first year's tuition) and sign a thing saying I wouldn't apply anywhere during my deferral year.

PM if you want more specific details, I suppose.

It probably means that she did not get to keep her financial aid package. I'd be interested in hearing the confused interpretation, though.

Her financial aid package includes her scholarships provided via the LS. She was unable to keep it. They said she could keep her spot and they would consider her amongst other candidates for scholarships for next year - but that there's no guarantee that she would receive the same $$ in schollys or schollys at all(as the applicant pool could be more competitive). Hope that clears it up.

[packer_22]

My sister is in the same predicament. She went through with the deferment and her financial aid package pretty much went out the window. She also had to put down an additional deposit to keep her spot. .

Quoting this because I'm not sure what this means, and it could be considering confusing.

OP-I applied last cycle and deposited. I then got a noteworthy fellowship(not Rhodes or Marshall obviously, but not bad) and asked my deposited school for a deferment. They said that if I deferred for one year, I could do so and keep my scholarship, but if I deferred for two years, I could keep my place but NOT my scholarship.

When I deferred, I had to put down another $500 bucks (but that is taken out of my first year's tuition) and sign a thing saying I wouldn't apply anywhere during my deferral year.

PM if you want more specific details, I suppose.

It probably means that she did not get to keep her financial aid package. I'd be interested in hearing the confused interpretation, though.

Her financial aid package includes her scholarships provided via the LS. She was unable to keep it. They said she could keep her spot and they would consider her amongst other candidates for scholarships for next year - but that there's no guarantee that she would receive the same $$ in schollys or schollys at all(as the applicant pool could be more competitive). Hope that clears it up.

Ah! Thats helpful! I had (wrongly) assumed that all law schools allowed you to keep your scholarships if you deferred a year. My school's deal was: one year=keep your scholarship. two years=keep your spot but not your scholarship. Good to know this kind of policy varies by school (and might even vary depending on WHY you are deferring. Perhaps deferring to do a Rhodes might translate into keeping their scholarship offer!)

The only other factor I can think is if OP is applying to HYS, then the year in which she applies could impact need aid. If s/he will have a lower income this year than next year, if might be better to apply when income is lower. Then again, maybe the fellowship will play less and income will go down.-Assuming OP is at least 27 and parental income is only partially considered