Both deferrals and rejections are an unfortunate reality of the admissions process, even for a student who has perfect straight As and top test scores. Just those factors alone are no longer enough in the elite college admissions game. 

For those students who were deferred from The Ohio State University’s Class of 2030, they will now receive final admissions decisions on March 6th, whether or not they are an Ohio resident. 

That can feel like forever, especially for eager students who applied Early, hoping to get the admissions process settled before the holidays. In the meantime, there are plenty of actions students can be taking to put themselves in a good spot for the rest of the college admissions process.

What Percentage of Early Action Applicants Does The Ohio State Typically Defer?

There is no data released by Ohio State about how many students they defer each year, and they do not offer data on Early Action applicants in general, either. That means we’ll only be able to assess the competitiveness of the school with regards to the Regular Decision acceptance rate.

Ohio State EA & RD Acceptance Rate

Ohio State’s Class of 2028 acceptance rate was 60.6% for Regular Decision. They have not released any statistics for students who were admitted Early Action, nor does it seem like they will based on past years’ data. 

Admissions Cycle	Ohio State University Class Year	Early Action Admission Rate	Regular Decision Admission Rate
2025-2026	Class of 2030	Not Reported	Not Reported
2024-2025	Class of 2029	Not Reported	Not Reported
2023-2024	Class of 2028	Not Reported	60.6%
2022-2023	Class of 2027	Not Reported	50.9%
2021-2022	Class of 2026	Not Reported	52.7%
2020-2021	Class of 2025	Not Reported	57.2%
2019-2020	Class of 2024	Not Reported	68.5%
2018-2019	Class of 2023	Not Reported	53.7%
2017-2018	Class of 2022	Not Reported	52.0%
2016-2017	Class of 2021	Not Reported	48.1%
2015-2016	Class of 2020	Not Reported	54.1%
2014-2015	Class of 2019	Not Reported	49.4%
2013-2014	Class of 2018	Not Reported	53.0%

What Percentage of Early Action Applicants Does The Ohio State Typically Accept?

With regard to their Early Action applicants, as we mentioned above, Ohio State does not release data about their acceptance statistics. However, at Ivy Coach we always recommend applying Early, especially if a school is a student’s top choice. Considering that the Ohio State Early Action application round isn’t binding, that’s an additional reason students should consider submitting for that deadline if they’re excited about becoming a Buckeye. 

What Should Applicants Do After Being Deferred by Ohio State: PostMortem Application Review

After being deferred from Ohio State, 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 in-depth feedback on up to three college applications. Ivy Coach’s counselor will review both essay and non-essay portions of each of the applications.
• Brainstorm a compelling extracurricular hook. This will be the key to boosting a student’s application and giving them the best competitive shot at admissions. That hook needs to thread through the rest of their application and differentiate them from every other student they’re competing against in the admissions process.
• Fix any application mistakes that we catch. And trust us, we’ll catch them. Undoubtedly, there are mistakes on a student’s application. Even something seemingly insignificant can have an adverse effect on the admissions game; that’s what our counselors are trained to spot.
• Craft a new and improved Regular Decision school list. Our counselors are great 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

We frequently see a lot of the same mistakes over and over again. The list below is certainly not exhaustive; there are plenty more errors that we catch throughout student applications as we’re reviewing. These are just some of the most common ones that we’ve grown used to over the past 30 years of being in business.

• Writing their Personal Statement about sports, music, community service, grandparents, or travel. These are our five off-limits topics. Can you guess why? If you said, “Way too overdone”, then congratulations! You’re correct!
• Submitting a Why College essay that’s an identical copy of their essay for a different school. Even if they Mad Libbed the names of classes and professors to try to personalize it, admissions officers can tell when a student uses copy and paste, rather than providing specific details and anecdotes that prove they’re genuinely excited about attending the school.
• Including a dollar amount fundraised for a charitable cause. Dollar signs make admissions officers dislike a student. But our students at Ivy Coach are not only likable, they’re lovable.
• Including every single activity, honor, and community service hour all in one single essay. It’s not necessary. It looks like a student is trying to impress admissions officers. Ivy Coach’s students don’t have to try to impress admissions officers. They just do.
• Sending in a well-rounded application. Well-roundedness hasn’t worked on admissions officers in years. A lot of years. The crucial part of a successful application is the singularity of a student’s hook, not the similarity of their application to everyone else. 
• Aiming for a school that’s too far out of reach for them as an applicant. 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, because we’re honest.

Write a Letter of Continued Interest

The Letter of Continued Interest is 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 for admission. Naturally, there are dos and don’ts of this letter.

A major do is that your child’s Letter of Continued Interest has to be a love letter to the university. Think about it: you wouldn’t want to read a clearly generic love letter; there’s nothing special or interesting about that. Admissions officers don’t want a generic Letter of Continued Interest. They want something specialized, chock full of details that teach them something they didn’t even know about their own institution.

Another do is that the letter explains how your child will contribute to the school’s courses, culture, and campus. Their hook needs to 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 they’ll do that.

What a Letter of Continued Interest Should Not Do

Of course, you’re probably curious about the don’ts for that Letter of Continued Interest, too. First of all, definitely do not share academic updates. We know that might be the instinct, but it’s boring to admissions officers, and it comes across as bragging. We all know that bragging is unlikable. 

Your child’s Letter of Continued Interest also needs to be creative to 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 probably a bit different from other advice you and your child have received. We hope it’s not too late to make the necessary changes to that letter before it’s submitted! 

When Applicants Should Submit Their Letters of Continued Interest

On the topic of submitting, we always recommend 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.

However, there is one exception to that statement. We will always tell a student that under no circumstances should they send that letter over the day or two leading up to Christmas or between Christmas and New Year’s. Then we have students wait to send the letter in until a few days into the New Year instead. 

Now, it’s paramount to note that we only said wait to send, not wait to write. That letter will contain the framework 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 in the rest of their applications. 

Chances of Getting into The Ohio State After Being Deferred

Similar to many colleges and universities, Ohio State does not release the acceptance stats for students who are admitted after being deferred.

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 of course vary slightly year to year and school to school, it serves as a fairly consistent threshold.  

That rate rises to about 40% on average for students who come to Ivy Coach after being deferred. We work closely with a student to create a compelling Letter of Interest and boost their chances of admission after a deferral, as well as improve their odds for the Regular Decision admissions 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 maintain a genuine shot at admission. 

That being said, we’re also very realistic at Ivy Coach. 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 just won’t be as strong as during the application process itself. All we can do is give them the best possible chance to gain admissions. We can quadruple a student’s chance post-deferral, but if that’s not enough for a family, we wish them luck!

What To Do After Being Rejected By Ohio State

Of course, some students who apply to Ohio State will face rejection. If your student is one of those, they’re not alone. Ohio State has far from a 99% or 100% acceptance rate. 

Rejection can feel like the end of the world, especially early on in the process. But we don’t want that to get in the way of the rest of your child’s successful admissions process. If a student is willing to work with us to fix their initial mistakes and reframe their application narrative, then their  rejection from one school doesn’t mean rejection from every other school.

Ready to move forward and take the next step in the admissions journey with confidence? 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 in droves, because they know we’ll guide them through their Regular Decision process. Our counselors will ensure 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. We can issue a dare for your child, too. 

Getting Started with Ivy Coach After an Ohio State Deferral or Rejection

If you’re interested in Ivy Coach’s plan to optimize your child’s Regular Decision case for admission to Ohio State’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.