Deferred? You still have choices...and control

January 19, 2024

Dear ______,

The Committee on Admission has completed a holistic review of your application to Villanova University under Early Action. After carefully considering your application and all of your supporting materials, we have decided to defer your candidacy to Regular Decision. Your application will be given another thorough review during the Regular Decision process. Once that review is completed in late March, we will make a final decision and notify you of that decision by April 1. This deferral in no way reflects upon your achievements to this point, but rather is related to one of the largest and most competitive pools of Early Action candidates that we have ever received. The only further action that you need to take, if you haven't already, is to submit grades from your senior year. Please ask your school counselor to submit grades from your first semester or first trimester of senior year when they are available. You may also upload this directly to your Applicant Status Page. This should be sent by February 8 or as soon as possible thereafter.

If you have identified Villanova University as your first choice and wish to change your application plan to the binding Early Decision II (link provided) program, you can email this request along with your signed Early Decision Agreement (link provided) by January 31.

Many Villanova applicants received the above decision this past Friday night. Many others were also denied. The email offers two options. Now what? By the way, these questions work for any college, not just Villanova.

Switch to ED II? This makes sense if:

First–and most importantly–attending an $83K+ yearly tuition college works for your family financially.
You revisit and absolutely confirm that Nova is your first choice school.
You were reaching…you really love Villanova…and your family can make it work.

Still interested in joining the RD pool, but your heart’s not set on Villanova?

Send (or have your school counselor send) grades as directed.
Write a Letter of Continued Interest (LOCI) aka a Deferral Letter. While they are not asking for one, why not enhance your chances anyway possible?

Before making your decision, consider these questions:

Do you already have other admissions offers that you prefer?
Will you receive decisions from other colleges you may prefer before January 31st and February 8th?

If you are in this last category, be honest about what you really want. Withdrawing your application may be the way to reduce stress and move on. Take control by waiting for fewer decisions! You will be fine.