Guide/07 After Submitting
Deferrals & Waitlists
What a deferral or waitlist really means, how each works, and how to respond without putting your life on hold.
Chapter 21 of 243 min readUpdated September 23, 2026 Preview
A deferral or a waitlist can feel like a rejection with extra steps. It isn't. Both are genuinely uncertain outcomes, and students are admitted from both every year.
This chapter explains how each one works — including a common misconception about how waitlists are ordered — and exactly what to do next.
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What’s in this chapter
- 1Deferrals
- 2Waitlists
- 3How much do waitlists move?