Were you deferred for Early Action admission to the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign? Don’t fret! You can still take action to make the best out of this situation and increase your chances of being admitted during Regular Decision consideration. This piece is your guide for navigating this setback at UIUC.

University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign Early Action Admission Rates

UIUC does not publish its Early Action acceptance rate; it is simply factored into the overall acceptance rate.

5 Steps to Take After Being Deferred by UIUC

After receiving your deferral, the time is ticking. Don’t delay before taking the following actions:

1. Try to look at your application objectively and ask yourself, “What went wrong?” Sign up for a PostMortem with Ivy Coach, a comprehensive application review. This review will help you better understand how to strategically pivot to a more compelling case for admission with a singular hook that showcases how you stand out amongst a pool of applicants who mistakenly think presenting as well-rounded is a good idea.
2. Write a Letter of Continued Interest to send to your local UIUC admissions representative as soon as possible (within days of your deferral!). This love letter to UIUC should demonstrate how the academics, traditions, history, culture, activities, and resources on campus perfectly align with your singular hook. The Ivy Coach deferral package will include a PostMortem application review and the preparation of a powerful Letter of Continued Interest.
3. Pivot how you present yourself in your Regular Decision applications based on Ivy Coach’s direction. As Ivy Coach’s PostMortem will illuminate a new competitive path forward, ensure this strategy is incorporated into your remaining applications.
4. Take your freshly written Letter of Continued Interest to your school counselor and politely request that they make an advocacy call to UIUC on your behalf, bringing in the hook from your LOCI. This call, part of their role in supporting your college application process, will encourage admissions officers to fight for your case for admission. Some counselors resist making advocacy calls out of the supposed “unfairness” of the practice, but these counselors are simply lazy. Advocacy calls don’t pit students against each other. Instead, they boost everyone’s odds! It’s the job of a high school counselor to fight for their students!
5. Keep up your academics and study hard for any tests you have coming up. Stay positive, stay focused, and keep pushing forward.

What Not to Do After Being Deferred by UIUC

The weeks following your deferral are filled with potential wrong turns and mistakes. Avoid the following to steer clear of trouble:

1. Don’t contact a UIUC admissions officer with questions about your application. They probably won’t tell you why you didn’t get in, and even if they do, they won’t give the honesty that only a member of Ivy Coach’s team can offer. So why bother?
2. Don’t flood the admissions office with emails detailing every last award you’ve won and test you’ve aced. These updates will only make you seem like a nuisance, and UIUC specifically cautions against this! Bragging is never a good strategy post-deferral. That’s why we help our clients who first come to us after deferrals refrain from writing Letters of Continued Interest with unnecessary boasting.
3. Don’t blame your high school counselor for your deferral. You’ll risk driving away the one person in your corner when you need them most. However, if they’ve refused to make an advocacy call on your behalf, you are well within your rights to be upset. But keep it to yourself.
4. Don’t upload unnecessary documents to your application portal, like fancy video essays, graphic designs, additional letters of recommendation, or poems about UIUC. These will fall on deaf ears!
5. UIUC admissions officers are busy enough. Don’t show up to their office uninvited and demand a meeting. Your enthusiasm will be your downfall.

UIUC Deferral FAQ

Do I have a chance of being admitted to UIUC after being deferred?

You most certainly do! Take it from UIUC Undergraduate Admissions: “In the past few years, we’ve admitted between 1,500 to 2,000 students in the regular decision who were deferred in early action.” This is a significant number of post-deferral admits, which should give you genuine hope about your chances.

Was I deferred because I applied to a competitive major?

Sometimes, UIUC will defer applicants applying to highly competitive majors (like business or engineering) to wait and see how competitive the Regular Decision pool will be. UIUC will return their attention to your application when they begin reviewing Regular Decision applicants, and you’ll still receive your notification along with the rest of the RD applicants on February 28th.

Will UIUC accept my mid-year grades?

No. In an unusual move among elite universities, UIUC states, “To ensure a consistent and fair review process, we don’t consider any additional information other than what was provided in your initial application.” However, they will accept updated ACT and SAT scores.

Ivy Coach’s Help After UIUC Deferral

The time is now to reach out to Ivy Coach to set up a complimentary consultation to learn more about our services for deferred students to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. We’re here to guide your child through this process and optimize their odds of admission to the school of their dreams.