Were you deferred by College of the Holy Cross to the Class of 2030 in the Early Decision I round? If so, you’re likely questioning everything: you put it all on the line for this school, but they weren’t interested right away. That can hurt!

If you were rejected from College of the Holy Cross, you’re probably looking for a new dream school right about now. We can help with that too! You’ll need to alter your applications and readjust your Regular Decision list, but there’s still hope in the college admissions process for you. Fear not, and read on!

College of the Holy Cross Early Decision Admissions Statistics

The admissions rate for ED I and ED II (Holy Cross doesn’t differentiate between rounds in their Common Data Sets) can be found below:

Admissions Cycle	College of the Holy Cross Class Year	Early Decision I and II Admission Rate
2025-2026	Class of 2030	Not Reported
2024-2025	Class of 2029	Not Reported
2023-2024	Class of 2028	Not Reported
2022-2023	Class of 2027	67.15%
2021-2022	Class of 2026	80.91%
2020-2021	Class of 2025	81.77%
2019-2020	Class of 2024	76.20%
2018-2019	Class of 2023	81.32%
2017-2018	Class of 2022	77.53%
2016-2017	Class of 2021	72.75%
2015-2016	Class of 2020	74.89%
2014-2015	Class of 2019	72.96%

5 Steps to Take If You’ve Been Deferred by Holy Cross

If you’ve just received a deferral from Holy Cross, we recommend you adhere to the following five-step game plan for the best odds of success:

1. Take a deep breath. Or two. Or three. You need to regain your peace before you start up on the attack again. There’s a fight to be had, but you want to go into it with a clear mind. 
2. Sign up for a complimentary consultation with Ivy Coach to learn about our services for deferred Holy Cross candidates.
3. Suffer through a PostMortem with Ivy Coach in which we dissect your application, and we don’t sugarcoat anything. You may feel silly for making so many common mistakes after we tell you what you’ve done wrong, but you’ll also know what went right and what needs to change for your Regular Decision schools so you don’t repeat mistakes.
4. Submit a wow Letter of Continued Interest to College of the Holy Cross with Ivy Coach’s assistance. While most students know that they should submit a letter to Holy Cross after their deferral, almost every single one of them will take the wrong approach. There should be no bragging or boasting in these letters; that’s completely unlikable! How to be likable, you ask? Well, that’s Ivy Coach’s secret sauce. 
5. Bring your submitted Letter of Continued Interest to your school counselor in the New Year and ask them to make an advocacy call on your behalf. You’ll have already submitted your letter to Holy Cross. But in the New Year, your counselor can call the Holy Cross admissions office and present you as you told your story in your letter. Some school counselors won’t make advocacy calls, but good ones will.

What Not To Do If You’ve Been Deferred by College of the Holy Cross

1. Do not call the Holy Cross admissions office to find out why you were deferred. You’ll only annoy them, plus the answer you get will rarely be a genuine (or helpful) answer anyway.
2. Do not email the College of the Holy Cross admissions office to find out why you were deferred for the same reason as above. You will not get helpful or relevant information. 
3. Do not go on a road trip to meet with Holy Cross’s admissions committee. They do not want to meet with deferred candidates. Let your Letter of Continued Interest speak for itself!
4. After submitting your Letter of Continued Interest, do not pester the school with calls, emails, and more letters. Such moves will only drown out the power of your original letter.
5. Do not even think of trying to torpedo the cases for admission of other applicants to the College of the Holy Cross from your high school. Holy Cross’s culture is rooted in Catholic and Jesuit traditions, with a strong focus on faith, justice, and service. Is that sort of behavior very holy? We don’t think so. 

What to Do After a College of the Holy Cross Rejection

So, you’ve faced rejection in the Early college admissions process. But that’s the point of the Early admissions deadline! You still have time afterwards before the Regular Decision round. 

Know that a rejection isn’t the end, but instead, it’s an opportunity to reset your strategy. We don’t know the proportion of rejected versus deferred applicants during Holy Cross’s Early rounds, but you don’t need to worry about that. More data won’t actually help in this situation.

So what’s your next move? We’re glad you asked! You need to be playing chess with these applications, and chess is all about strategy. It’s time to evaluate your application honestly and objectively. While this might seem daunting, Ivy Coach’s team of former elite college admissions officers will guide you through the process. 

Our PostMortem application review will identify weaknesses throughout your application strategy and ensure that you don’t face checkmate in the Regular Decision process. All you’ll need to do is develop a compelling new narrative oriented around a singular hook. Turn this setback into your comeback and set yourself up for Regular Decision success! It’s happened before for many other students that we’ve worked with, and with quick and savvy action on your part, it could very well happen to you too!

PostMortem Application Review

After hearing back about a rejection from Holy Cross, again, quick and savvy action is needed. Contact Ivy Coach for a PostMortem application review, because those Regular Decision deadlines are imminent, and there could be (read: probably is) a lot we need to fix about your application. During Ivy Coach’s PostMortem, we:

• Reevaluate your current applications. Our counselor will go through each and every section of your application, including both the essays and non-essay portions. We’ll readjust which schools you’re prioritizing now that you’ve been rejected from your first choice. Oh, and if you think that these applications are anywhere close to done, we’ve got a reality check for you. Your initial strategy didn’t quite shake out, correct? Don’t keep using the same opening move if your opponent always sees it coming.
• Craft a narrative that portrays you as a uniquely talented individual rather than as a well-rounded one. You have now learned the hard way that a well-rounded candidate won’t do well in this elite college admissions game. That’s the opposite of what we (and admissions officers) want to see! During your PostMortem session, we’ll help you pivot to that winning strategy we mentioned before: the singular hook.
• Correct little-known missteps and mistakes that stand out to an admissions officer. Rejection can be over something as small as a thought or idea that was miscommunicated and didn’t mesh with the school’s culture, especially for a school like Holy Cross with a very specific campus culture.
• Take stock of your realistic admissions prospects moving forward. You may want to consider taking advantage of the Early Decision II round. Of course, not all students are right for ED II, and not all schools provide an ED II round, so you’ll need to do research to determine which strategy is right for you.

Application Assistance

Following your PostMortem, a crucial first step for us to understand what went wrong and to reposition your application narrative, we:

• Rework your applications with Ivy Coach’s assistance. You learned your lesson, and now we’ve taught you some new moves to get to checkmate. You have to put everything you’ve learned from your PostMortem into practice and make the necessary strategy change on those applications. Although we can’t fix every mistake you’ve made throughout high school, there’s a whole lot we can still correct at this late date in terms of how you tell your story and get admissions officers to root for you.

What Not to Do After Being Rejected by College of the Holy Cross

Below are five pretty easy ways to wreck your Regular Decision admissions chances after receiving a rejection from Holy Cross:

1. Do not submit your remaining applications as is to other schools. Clearly, something isn’t right about your application, and it ultimately resulted in an initial rejection. Do not, we repeat, do not ignore those warning signs! “Turn back now!”
2. Do not reach out to the College of the Holy Cross admissions office with questions about why you were rejected. We said it before. We’ll say it again. Admissions officers don’t want to hear from you. 
3. Do not be picky with your choice of Regular Decision schools and/or leave off safety schools from your Regular Decision list. Unsure what counts as a safety school? That’s where our team of former elite college admissions officers comes in to help. But the bottom line is: you cannot afford to turn up your nose at any school right now.
4. Do not blame your school counselor for an admissions decision that is ultimately your responsibility. High school counselors are not always perfect at their jobs, we know that. But you can’t take your disappointment out on them; you’ll need their help later on. They’re still your top ally in this admissions process. 

College of the Holy Cross Deferral and Rejection FAQ

Does the College of the Holy Cross admit, defer, and deny both Early Decision I and Early Decision II candidates?

Yes, College of the Holy Cross admits, defers, and denies in both Early Decision rounds of admission.

After a deferral, what’s the point of sending a Letter of Continued Interest?

Well, we assume since you applied Early Decision that Holy Cross was at one point your top choice school. Don’t get sour grapes and give up now. Crafting a powerful Letter of Continued Interest will potentially provide you the opportunity to join their Class of 2030 in the fall. 

Can I appeal my College of the Holy Cross rejection? 

No, College of the Holy Cross does not allow appeals in their admissions process. If you received a rejection for the Holy Cross Class of 2030, you will not be attending Holy Cross as of right now (although you still may be able to apply as a transfer next year).

Even though I was rejected, can I reapply to the College of the Holy Cross in the ED II round? How about the Regular Decision Round? 

Definitely not! Once you’ve been rejected, you have to cut your losses and move on. You are no longer able to earn admission to Holy Cross in this admissions cycle. There is no appeal process. You can always apply as a transfer student from another college or as a first-year applicant next year (should you pursue a gap year or postgraduate year next year), but you will not be on College of the Holy Cross’s campus next fall. Is that understood?

Ivy Coach’s Assistance with the College of the Holy Cross Deferral or Rejection

If you’re interested in optimizing your chances of turning your Early Decision deferral from the College of the Holy Cross into an offer of admission in Regular Decision or making the most of your rejection by optimizing your case for admission to your Regular Decision schools, complete Ivy Coach’s complimentary consultation form, and we’ll be in touch to outline our college counseling services for deferred or rejected candidates.