Defer or Reapply? Forum

[environmentallaw]

Hey everyone - just looking for some opinions on whether it is better to defer acceptance or to reapply (tried to search through the forums but couldn't find too much information). Since others may have this same question, I'll just provide a general example:

A prospective student has been accepted to a few law schools with a couple of scholarship offers. Said student has also been accepted to (Peace Corps, TFA, Fulbright, etc) and wants to defer attending law school for one or two years. Should the student...

1) Choose one law school and defer only that acceptance/scholarship (deferral may or may not be binding)
2) Defer a couple of acceptances (given that the deferrals are non-binding) allowing for the possibility of applying to different schools next cycle
3) Withdraw and reapply with a better resume and personal statement, with the risk of not being accepted and/or losing scholarship offers
4) Other suggestions?

Thanks!! Also, to determine if a particular school has a binding or non-binding deferral policy, should one just call admissions?

[northwood]

i personally would defer to one school if you have a number one- and tell them that you are going to do that. If you dont have a clear cut number one- just decline acceptances and let themknow that you will be doing TFA or Peace Corps or something and let them know you will be reapplying when you are done.

If its going to be 2 years- then just let them know that. and go have fun. if its one year- you can defer

[alexonfyre]

Hey everyone - just looking for some opinions on whether it is better to defer acceptance or to reapply (tried to search through the forums but couldn't find too much information). Since others may have this same question, I'll just provide a general example:

A prospective student has been accepted to a few law schools with a couple of scholarship offers. Said student has also been accepted to (Peace Corps, TFA, Fulbright, etc) and wants to defer attending law school for one or two years. Should the student...

1) Choose one law school and defer only that acceptance/scholarship (deferral may or may not be binding)
2) Defer a couple of acceptances (given that the deferrals are non-binding) allowing for the possibility of applying to different schools next cycle
3) Withdraw and reapply with a better resume and personal statement, with the risk of not being accepted and/or losing scholarship offers
4) Other suggestions?

Thanks!! Also, to determine if a particular school has a binding or non-binding deferral policy, should one just call admissions?

It is a risk, but a small one, your resume will only go up with any of those things (particularly Fulbright,) so the chances of your admissions cycle getting worse are unlikely.
That said, i agree with northwood, if you have a clear #1 you should definitely defer that one, since you really don't want to risk missing your dream school (especially if it is HYS, because who knows what the hell they will decide next year.)