Deferrals (and rejections) are an unfortunate reality of the admissions process, even for a student who has top grades and test scores. These factors are no longer enough in the elite college admissions game.

For those students who were deferred Early Decision I or Early Decision II from Colorado College’s Class of 2030, they will be asked to opt in for further review in their Regular Action pool and will receive a final decision in February or March.

That can feel like forever, especially for eager students who applied early, hoping to get the admissions process out of the way before the holidays. In the meantime, luckily, there are steps students can take to put themselves in a good spot for the rest of the college admissions process.

What Percentage of Early Action, Early Decision I, and Early Decision II Applicants Does Colorado College Typically Defer?

There is no data released by Colorado College about how many students they defer each year from any of their admission pools: Early Action, Early Decision I, or Early Decision II.

Colorado College ED & RD Acceptance Rate

Colorado College’s Class of 2029 acceptance rate was 11% for the Regular Decision round of admission.

Admissions Cycle	Colorado College Class Year	Early Action Admission Rate	Early Decision I and Early Decision II Admission Rate	Regular Decision Admission Rate
2025-2026	Class of 2030	Not Reported	Not Reported	Not Reported
2024-2025	Class of 2029	26%	35%	11%
2023-2024	Class of 2028	Not Reported	31.8%	18.5%
2022-2023	Class of 2027	Not Reported	35.3%	20.0%
2021-2022	Class of 2026	Not Reported	42.3%	16.3%
2020-2021	Class of 2025	Not Reported	29.3%	14.3%
2019-2020	Class of 2024	Not Reported	23.5%	13.6%
2018-2019	Class of 2023	Not Reported	27.2%	13.5%
2017-2018	Class of 2022	Not Reported	27.4%	15.0%
2016-2017	Class of 2021	Not Reported	33.1%	15.1%
2015-2016	Class of 2020	Not Reported	28.1%	16.0%
2014-2015	Class of 2019	Not Reported	29.8%	17.1%
2013-2014	Class of 2018	Not Reported	26.7%	17.9%
2012-2013	Class of 2017	Not Reported	33.4%	22.3%
2011-2012	Class of 2016	Not Reported	36.2%	23.0%
2010-2011	Class of 2015	Not Reported	41.1%	26.2%
2009-2010	Class of 2014	Not Reported	51.7%	33.6%
2008-2009	Class of 2013	Not Reported	42.9%	32.4%
2007-2008	Class of 2012	Not Reported	41.1%	26.0%
2006-2007	Class of 2011	Not Reported	42.9%	31.7%

What Percentage of Early Action, Early Decision I, and Early Decision II  Applicants Does Colorado College Typically Accept?

For the Class of 2029, Early Action applicants saw an acceptance rate of 26%. Both Early Decision I and Early Decision II applicants saw an acceptance rate of 35%. Clearly, Early Decision, which is the binding option, is favored by admissions officers. This is because they know that Colorado College is the top choice of any students who submit in the Early Decision I or Early Decision II rounds of admission. 

What Should Applicants Do After Being Deferred by Colorado College

PostMortem Application Review

After being deferred from Colorado College, the next step forward is to set up Ivy Coach’s PostMortem application review. 

During the PostMortem session, Ivy Coach’s counselor, a former elite college admissions officer, will:

• Give comprehensive feedback on up to three college applications. Ivy Coach’s counselor will review both essay and non-essay portions of each application.
• Brainstorm a powerful extracurricular hook to boost a student’s application and provide them the best possible shot at admissions. Their hook will thread through the rest of their application and differentiate them from every other student they’re competing against in the process.
• Fix any application mistakes that we spot. And trust us, we’ll spot them, because there are always mistakes on a student’s application. Even something seemingly insignificant can hurt a student in admissions officers’ eyes. 
• Craft your child an updated Regular Decision school list. We’re very good at spotting schools that should be added when they’re missing. We’ll let your child know where they might face success in the admissions process and add those schools to their list.

Common Mistakes Caught During Ivy Coach’s PostMortem

Students make a lot of the same mistakes across their applications. We see them over and over again. The list below is certainly not exhaustive; there are plenty more that we catch. However, these are some of the most common errors we’re familiar with.

• Writing a Personal Statement about sports, music, community service, grandparents, or travel. These are our five off-limits topics, permanently banned from the Ivy Coach repertoire. 
• Submitting a Why College essay that’s just an identical copy of their essay for a different school. Even if they Mad Libbed the names of professors or classes they want to take, admissions officers can tell. If they don’t provide specific details and anecdotes that prove they’re genuinely excited about attending the school, why should they be accepted?
• Including a dollar amount that they fundraised for a charitable cause. Dollar signs make a student come across as unlikable to admissions officers.
• Cramming every single activity, honor, and community service hour all into one single essay. It’s simply not necessary. Admissions officers can see those listed in the activities section. Plus, that looks like a student is trying too hard to impress admissions officers.
• Sending a well-rounded application. Well-roundedness hasn’t worked on admissions officers in years (like, at least 30). A successful application is a one with a singular hook, not one that’s the same as everyone else. 
• Aiming for a school that’s too far out of their reach. At Ivy Coach, we tell it like it is. If a student’s Early Decision or Early Action choice wasn’t the right one, we’ll tell them. We tell it like it is. 

Write a Letter of Continued Interest

The Letter of Continued Interest is a key part of how a student can make that deferral turn into an offer of admission in the next few months. That’s why it’s so important to make certain your child is only writing a letter that will help their case, not hurt them in any way.

Your child’s Letter of Continued Interest has to be a love letter to the university. You can guess the components of a good love letter: namely, that they’re about the right person. You wouldn’t want to receive a clearly generic love letter; admissions officers don’t want a generic Letter of Continued Interest. They want something specialized, full of details that teach them something new that they didn’t even know about their own institution.

That letter needs to explain how your child will contribute to the school’s courses, culture, and campus. Their hook should put them in a position to benefit the school, and they have to make it clear and easy for admissions officers to understand exactly how it will.

What a Letter of Continued Interest Should Not Do

There are obviously things the Letter of Continued Interest should not contain just as much as there are things it should contain. We don’t want to see academic updates. That’s boring. Plus, it comes across as bragging. And we all know that bragging is unlikable. 

Your child’s Letter of Continued Interest also needs to be creative and keep an admissions officer engaged. Here’s a hint: it shouldn’t start with their name. It should paint a picture of that singular hook, showcasing how your child will be a positive asset to specific aspects of the school, like its programs, institutes, culture, traditions, and activities.

This is likely different from other advice you’ve received. We know there’s lots of bad advice floating around out there, but hopefully, it’s not too late to make the necessary changes to that letter! 

When Applicants Should Submit Their Letters of Continued Interest

We always have students send their Letter of Continued Interest in as soon as they can, ideally within a few days of receiving a 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.

There is one exception to that rule. Under no circumstances should a student send their letter in the day or two leading up to Christmas or between Christmas and New Year’s. We’d have them wait to send it in until a few days into the New Year. 

Now, it’s important to note that we said wait to send, not wait to write. That letter will be the blueprint for how we’d encourage a student to reposition their Regular Decision applications, many of which will be due January 1st or January 15th. So, they should draft that letter and then use it as a guide moving forward.

Chances of Getting into Colorado College After Being Deferred

Similar to many schools, Colorado College does not release the exact acceptance rate for students who are admitted after being deferred. However, the school’s website states, “Typically, we will admit around 40% of deferred students who complete the defer survey.”

This is much higher than most other schools; a pretty universal statistic we use as a reference point 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 (as it does with Colorado College), it serves as a fairly consistent threshold across other schools that we work with students on.  

That general 10% rate rises to about 40% on average for students who come to Ivy Coach after being deferred, for all schools we work with deferred students on. For schools that have a much lower acceptance rate from deferral pools, that quadruples a student’s chances. We collaborate with a student to craft a compelling Letter of Interest and boost their chances of admission after a deferral, as well as improve their odds for the Regular Decision process.

A Deferred Student’s Chances Improve Dramatically with Ivy Coach

For students who come to work with Ivy Coach first after being deferred, if they play their cards right, they will still have a genuine shot at admission. 

We’re also very realistic at Ivy Coach, though. We tell it like it is, and because of this, we can only take on students after a deferral if they fully understand that their chances simply aren’t as strong as when they first applied. All that we can do is give them the best possible chance to gain admissions. If that’s not enough for a family, we wish them luck elsewhere!

What To Do After Being Rejected By Colorado College

Of course, some students who apply to Colorado College will be rejected. If your student is one of those who received a rejection letter from Colorado College, they’re not alone.

We know that in college admissions, rejection can feel like the end of the world. But don’t let that get in the way of the rest of your child’s successful admissions process. As long as a student is willing to work with us to fix their initial mistakes and reframe their application narrative, a rejection from one school doesn’t mean rejection from all the rest.

If you and your student are excited to move forward and take the next step in the admissions journey, then 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 a rejection, students come to Ivy Coach because we’ll guide them through the Regular Decision process, ensuring they don’t make the same mistakes over and over again. We like to say we dare admissions officers not to give a student a spot at their school, and we do all it through that singular, weird hook!

Getting Started with Ivy Coach After a Colorado College Deferral or Rejection

If you’re interested in Ivy Coach’s plan to optimize your child’s Regular Decision case for admission to Colorado College’s Class of 2030 (after a deferral) or if you need help planning for Regular Decision applications (in the event of a deferral or rejection), we recommend you fill out our complimentary consultation form. We’ll reach out to let you know how to move forward in the admissions process.