After receiving a deferral from Southern Methodist University, it can be heartbreaking and frustrating to have to wait all those extra months to hear back from your dream school.  

These are the steps students can take to get back on track in the admissions process, even after facing an initial setback at SMU.

What Percentage of Early Action, Early Decision I and Early Decision II Applicants Does Southern Methodist University Typically Defer?

Southern Methodist University does not publicize the details on the number of students they defer in any of their application rounds. They offer Early Decision I and II as well as Early Action, along with, of course, Regular Decision.

Southern Methodist University Acceptance Rate

The Class of 2029 at Southern Methodist University saw a 47.6% acceptance rate overall, though they have not yet released the statistics for the Early Decision rate that year. 

Admissions Cycle	Southern Methodist Class Year	Early Action Admission Rate	Early Decision I and II Admission Rate	Regular Decision Admission Rate
2025-2026	Class of 2030	Not Reported	Not Reported	Not Reported
2024-2025	Class of 2029	Not Reported	Not Reported	47.6%
2023-2024	Class of 2028	Not Reported	87.4%	63.3%
2022-2023	Class of 2027	Not Reported	72.3%	61.2%
2021-2022	Class of 2026	Not Reported	70.9%	52.3%
2020-2021	Class of 2025	Not Reported	54.9%	51.1%
2019-2020	Class of 2024	Not Reported	65.1%	52.7%
2018-2019	Class of 2023	Not Reported	64.9%	61.9%
2017-2018	Class of 2022	Not Reported	61.4%	51.2%
2016-2017	Class of 2021	Not Reported	36.0%	48.8%
2015-2016	Class of 2020	Not Reported	31.5%	48.9%
2014-2015	Class of 2019	Not Reported	30.4%	49.0%
2013-2014	Class of 2018	Not Reported	51.5%	52.4%
2012-2013	Class of 2017	Not Reported	Not Offered	50.7%
2011-2012	Class of 2016	Not Reported	Not Offered	53.8%
2010-2011	Class of 2015	Not Reported	Not Offered	54.6%
2009-2010	Class of 2014	Not Reported	Not Offered	59.5%
2008-2009	Class of 2013	Not Reported	Not Offered	53.5%
2007-2008	Class of 2012	Not Reported	Not Offered	49.7%
2006-2007	Class of 2011	Not Reported	Not Offered	50.1%
2005-2006	Class of 2010	Not Reported	Not Offered	53.7%
2004-2005	Class of 2009	Not Reported	Not Offered	58.4%
2003-2004	Class of 2008	Not Reported	Not Offered	64.3%
2002-2003	Class of 2007	Not Reported	Not Offered	64.8%
2001-2002	Class of 2006	Not Reported	Not Offered	66.0%
2000-2001	Class of 2005	Not Reported	Not Offered	74.9%
1999-2000	Class of 2004	Not Reported	Not Offered	82.0%
1998-1999	Class of 2003	Not Reported	Not Offered	89.0%

What Percentage of Early Action, Early Decision I, and Early Decision II Applicants Does Southern Methodist University Typically Accept?

Like many schools who offer Early Decision I, Early Decision II, and Early Action, Southern Methodist University does not offer statistics on their Early Action applicants. They also do not differentiate between Early Decision I and Early Decision II in their reporting.

For the Class of 2028, which is the most recent year of comprehensive data, a whopping 353 out of 404 students who applied for either ED I or ED II were accepted. That’s almost a 90% acceptance rate. Out of the rest of the students, there’s no way to know how many were deferred versus flat-out rejected. 

What Should Applicants Do After Being Deferred by Southern Methodist University?

PostMortem Application Review

Once a deferral notification is received, we recommend setting up Ivy Coach’s PostMortem application review. 

During the PostMortem session, we will:

• Provide in-depth feedback on up to three college applications. Ivy Coach’s counselor, a former elite college admissions officer, will review both essay and non-essay portions of the applications.
• Brainstorm a compelling extracurricular hook to craft the strongest possible case for your child’s admission. The hook is an integral part of Ivy Coach’s success over the years; it’s what sets our students apart from all of their peers.
• Correct mistakes that we see. We never want a student submitting imperfect applications to the rest of the schools on their Regular Decision list, especially if that Early application got them deferred in the first place. Make sense? You know what they say about making the same mistake twice…
• Draft a tailored school list for your child to ensure they have a wealth of options ahead of them, whether or not they hear good news back from the school that kicked the can on their case for admission.

Common Mistakes Caught During Ivy Coach’s PostMortem

There are numerous incredibly common mistakes that we see across student applications. The tiniest thing, something seemingly so irrelevant or insignificant, can still be a problem for admissions officers at top schools. These are some examples. 

• A student wrote their Personal Statement about sports, music, community service, grandparents, or travel. We never let our students do that; those subjects are way too cliched. 
• The Why College essays were essentially the same for multiple schools. It’s always a bad idea to cut and paste, because admissions officers can tell, and it totally hurts their feelings. Why College essays should not be approached like a game of Mad Libs.
• Listing the dollar amount that was fundraised for a charitable cause. Admissions officers see dollar signs and it makes students come across as unlikable.
• Mentioning every activity, honor, and community service hour they’ve completed in the same essay. It’s just plain unlikable for a student to do that, and it’s a waste of space. That information should be presented in the activities section. 
• A student came across as too well-rounded. The singular hook is like Captain Hook’s hook: there’s only one. We don’t want multiple threads competing for an admissions officer’s attention. They have to read a lot of these applications, so let’s make it easy for them.
• A student sent in their application to a school that they weren’t competitive enough for. At Ivy Coach, we tell it like it is. If a student’s Early choice was a bad one, we won’t sugarcoat that information.

Write a Letter of Continued Interest

The next step for a student after deferral is to complete a Letter of Continued Interest. At Ivy Coach, we refer to this as a “love letter” to the school. The most important thing about this letter is that it makes crystal clear how and why a student will be an asset to that college’s community, utilizing (you guessed it) that unique, singular hook throughout.

A successful Letter of Continued Interest will explain exactly how a student can use their hook to be a force of positivity on the school’s campus, culture, community, etc. And it’s crucial to do this from the first sentence, if not the very first word of the letter. Every sentence needs to pack a punch. We want to see content only. That means no fluff!

What a Letter of Continued Interest Should Not Do

There are certain things students should only do in the Letter of Continued Interest if they want to get rejected. 

For example, a Letter of Continued Interest absolutely should not contain a list of all the other schools a student has been accepted to. That’s annoying and makes admissions officers want to reject a student because it’s clear they have somewhere else to go!

A Letter of Continued Interest is also not the place to brag about scoring a 100 on that AP Calc BC midterm exam: no academic updates. There’s a better way to utilize the word count in that letter, and it’s by painting a clear picture of the student’s singular narrative and showcasing how they’ll contribute that hook to the specific aspects of the school. This can range from programs to institutes, culture to traditions, activities, and more.

We know there’s lots of bad advice going around about what that Letter of Continued Interest should contain, so we’re glad you’re here now getting the reality check for what to do to make that letter as successful as possible.

When Applicants Should Submit Their Letters of Continued Interest

We recommend students submit the Letter of Continued Interest as soon as possible, usually within a few days of deferral. For example, if a student learns they are deferred on December 15th, we like students to send in their Letters of Continued Interest before December 20th.

The only exception to this is when it gets super close to the Christmas holiday. Students may think it’s best to just send the letter whenever, but if it’s immediately before Christmas or between Christmas and New Year’s, we suggest they wait until a few days into the New Year. 

But there’s no reason to procrastinate on writing the letter until the last second! That letter will be how we’d encourage students to reposition their case for admissions throughout their applications, before they apply for all of those January Regular Decision deadlines.

Chances of Getting into SMU After Being Deferred

Southern Methodist University doesn’t release the data on how many students who were initially deferred ultimately get accepted into the school. 

However, a fairly universal statistic that we know at Ivy Coach is that about 10% of deferred candidates ultimately earn admission to the school that kicked the can on their acceptance decision. Although the percentage can vary yearly and from school to school, it serves as a generally consistent threshold. 

However, it’s possible to quadruple that acceptance. Students who come to Ivy Coach after a deferral see acceptance rates of about 40%, because we work with a student to craft a powerful Letter of Interest and greatly boost their remaining chances of admission. 

A Deferred Student’s Chances Improve Dramatically with Ivy Coach

When students come right to Ivy Coach after being deferred, they have a chance at admission to that school. But it’s not the strongest chance, depending on the school.

That’s why we can only work with students after a deferral if they fully understand that their chances aren’t as strong as when they first applied. All we can do is give them the best possible chance for admission. If that’s not enough, they’re not a good fit to work with us. Good luck to them!

What To Do After Being Rejected By SMU

Southern Methodist University rejected over 50% of applicants to join the Class of 2029, so if your child was rejected by Southern Methodist University, they’re not alone.  

Although a rejection right out of the gate can be disheartening, there are plenty of other options out there for a student to explore! However, if they keep applying with that same application, our famously accurate Ivy Coach crystal ball can tell that they’ll be facing more rejection down the road.

If a student is willing and ready to fix their initial mistakes and reframe their application narrative the way that we suggest, it’s time to sign up for Ivy Coach’s PostMortem. One of our former elite university admissions officers will work with you to develop a competitive strategy for Regular Decision admission.

After rejection, students come to us because we’ll be able to guide them through the rest of the Regular Decision process in a way that will end with success, not defeat. We optimize their case for Regular Decision admissions, developing a concrete plan to move forward so they don’t double down on the mistakes they made in the Early admissions round.

Getting Started with Ivy Coach After a Southern Methodist University Deferral or Rejection

If you’re interested in Ivy Coach’s plan to optimize your child’s Regular Decision case for admission to the Class of 2030 at Southern Methodist University (in the event of a deferral) or if you need help planning for Regular Decision applications (in the event of a deferral or rejection), fill out our complimentary consultation form. We’ll then be in touch to outline our go-forward services.