Appendix AA114: Deferral of Admission
Updated: August 29th, 2011
BERKELEY: OFFICE OF DEAN OF THE GRADUATE DIVISION
October 20, 1999
To: Head Graduate Advisers
From: Joseph J. Duggan
Associate Dean
Re: Deferral of Admission
I have recently reviewed our policy on deferral of admission and want to clarify three main points. Departments may defer an applicant only once, applicants admitted by exception may not be deferred, and any applicant wanting to be considered for a multi-year fellowship must be ranked with the current applicant pool. If a deferred applicant does not register, you may still consider the applicant for a future semester, but you must compare and rank the applicant with newly submitted applications for that term.
Recommendation for deferred admission. Departments can recommend that an applicant’s admission be deferred one time only if the applicant has been admitted but is unable to enroll on schedule and wants to begin graduate school in a later semester. Departments that admit only for fall semester can recommend to defer an admission only until the next fall semester; those admitting for both semesters can recommend to defer until spring or the following fall.
Deferred admission may be offered only to superior applicants. Applicants admitted by exception may not be deferred. Such applicants must be reviewed and ranked with the current applicant pool, and may be offered admission if they rank above the cutoff point for admissions. Under no circumstances can deferred admission be offered to an international applicant who has not yet received a basic degree or whose scholarship, preparation. or English proficiency is questioned by Graduate Admissions.
How departments request deferred admissions. To request a deferred admission, the graduate adviser should write a short memo to Graduate Admissions, justifying the reason for the deferral. Graduate Admissions will review the request and notify the department of the decision.
An applicant offered deferred admission to another academic year (i.e., fall to fall) must submit a new application (Form A) and updated transcripts. If the standardized test scores are out of current date range, new test scores must be submitted. Graduate Admissions will issue a letter of admission for the new semester only after we receive a new application and any required updated records and test scores. If the applicant has asked to be considered for the University multi-year awards, the department must review and rank the applicant with the current applicant pool.
The department should remember to hold allotment slots for anyone for whom it has requested a deferral.
cc: Graduate Assistants
See All Topics in the Category: Admissions Appendices, Guide to Graduate Policy
