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Hello! I just got deferred from Princeton, Early Decision. Although I'm disappointed, I'm still really want to get in. I was wondering if writing a letter to the dean would be a good idea. I'm an international student (Canada), and if it would help, I think I could even try to make it down sometime maybe in february for an interview, if he (Hargadon) would let me. Is this a good idea? What should I include in the letter? Thanks! Does the Dean usually interview students? Thanks

By Dadster on Sunday, December 16, 2001 - 08:28 pm: Edit

I don't have any inside knowledge of Princeton or Hargadon, but the general advice if you are deferred is do whatever you can to strengthen your application. There's not time to get involved in a major new extracurricular or pull your GPA up, but sometimes senior year is marked by accomplishments (academic, EC, work, etc.) and awards that could help your cause. You might review your ED application, particularly when you are done with any other apps, and see if there is anything major you forgot to put in or that you could have explained better. One of the bad parts about ED is that you are doing your #1 choice as your first application - there tends to be a learning curve, and the last applications are often the best and most polished.

Keep in mind that the RD applicant pool will be very crowded for a small number of openings. I'd spend more of my time on applying to other good schools (including a safety or two) than trying to figure out how to impress Princeton.

Good luck, Michael!

By Dave Berry on Monday, December 17, 2001 - 10:30 am: Edit

Sorry, Michael, but you're not going to get an audience with Hargadon. You're just going to have to implement a carefully planned personal marketing campaign with your regional admissions rep in West College (home of Princeton admissions).

Every year I work with Ivy-deferred applicants, some of whom get accepted in the spring. Conventional wisdom dictates that deferred applicants stand the same chance as any other RD admit. That seems to make sense, but my personal theory is that a deferred application carries a bit of a stigma with it UNLESS the applicant undertakes specific self-marketing efforts to overcome the negative momentum of the deferral.

Many of the students I know who have been accepted after deferral have used my approach to
self-marketing, which I have detailed at great length in the book America's
Elite Colleges: The Smart Applicant's Guide to The Ivy League and Other Top
Schools (sorry for the egregiously self-serving promotion).

I believe that if you follow a sensible and carefully persistent lobbying campaign, you'll stand a much-better-than-RD chance of overturning that deferral, especially if you can come up with something dramatic between now and March, when fates tend to get sealed. Good luck, Michael!

By anon on Thursday, December 20, 2001 - 08:28 am: Edit

Great advice, Dave. There was a similar story in the New York Mag article about the famed $28,000 college counselor (sorry, I don't have the cite) who advised a client to submit a letter addressing perceived deficiencies in his application to Princeton point by point and was successful (getting off the WL, as I remember it.)

By amd on Thursday, December 20, 2001 - 11:46 am: Edit

"an audience with Hargadon"

Dave, is he the pope or something?

amd

By Dave Berry on Thursday, December 20, 2001 - 01:06 pm: Edit

He's the Pontiff of Princeton. Every year many thousands seek his blessing.

By hoping to help on Sunday, December 23, 2001 - 11:03 pm: Edit

Dave,
Re the stigma you are talking about, I can't speak for Princeton's policy or tendency but I can tell you that when we went to the Yale info session the adcom rep clearly stated that applying ED even helps you RD, because altho you've been deferred your app remains tagged and they take it as a sign that you are very eager to attend Yale and, all things being equal, they will tend to prefer you over a student who didn't apply ED.