Did Boston University recently defer your child in the Early Decision round for the Class of 2030? If so, turn that frown upside-down — all hope should not be lost. If your child plays their cards right from this moment forward, they still can earn admission to BU. Even if they received a rejection from BU, there are still plenty of options for them moving forward in the admissions game. So, what should their post-BU deferral or rejection game plan be? Let’s dive in!

Boston University Early Decision Admission Rates Over 18+ Years

Below is a breakdown of Boston University’s Early Decision admissions statistics over the last 18+ years. Note that for the Class of 2029 through the Class of 2019, the data reflects the combined Early Decision I and II pools. For the Class of 2018 through the Class of 2012, only one round of Early Decision was in place at BU.

Boston University Class Year	Number of Early Decision Applications	Number of Early Decision Acceptances	Early Decision Acceptance Rate
Class of 2030	Not Yet Released	Not Yet Released	Not Yet Released
Class of 2029	6,854	1,936	28.25%
Class of 2028	6,850	1,920	28.03%
Class of 2027	6,866	1,791	26.09%
Class of 2026	6,309	1,599	25.34%
Class of 2025	5,659	1,820	32.16%
Class of 2024	5,050	1,671	33.09%
Class of 2023	4,877	1,462	29.98%
Class of 2022	4,474	1,267	28.32%
Class of 2021	4,159	1,229	29.55%
Class of 2020	3,398	1,098	32.31%
Class of 2019	1,643	708	43.09%
Class of 2018	1,718	727	42.32%
Class of 2017	1,496	600	40.11%
Class of 2016	1,069	501	46.87%
Class of 2015	883	368	41.68%
Class of 2014	897	395	44.04%
Class of 2013	966	386	39.96%
Class of 2012	836	340	40.67%

BU Early Decision Admissions Statistics Analysis

Like many of America’s highly selective universities, Early Decision applications have surged in recent years to BU — from 836 for the Class of 2012 to 6,854 for the Class of 2029 (the record was set by the Class of 2027 with 6,866 ED applications).

Likewise, the Early Decision admission rate has dropped precipitously over this span — from 40.67% for the Class of 2012 to 28.25% for the Class of 2029 (the record was set by the Class of 2026 with an ED admission rate of 25.34%).

Granted, BU added a second round of Early Decision, beginning with the Class of 2019.

5 Steps to Take After Being Deferred by Boston University

1. Take deep breaths. Your child still got a shot of getting into BU. They weren’t rejected. They were deferred. As such, their candidacy will be reconsidered in the waning days of the Regular Decision round (typically over the final two weeks before the release of decisions).
2. Complete Ivy Coach’s PostMortem application review so that your child understands why they didn’t get in and how they need to reframe their case for admission to BU moving forward. They’ll also understand how they need to reposition their applications for the other schools they’ll be applying to in just a couple of weeks.
3. Write a compelling Letter of Continued Interest to BU with Ivy Coach’s help. While most parents know that their children should submit a letter post-deferral, how they approach that letter is everything. When most students include brags and updates, our students include no brags or updates. Instead, they’re love letters to the institution that showcase how our students will contribute their singular hook to the campus community.
4. Make the prescribed changes from the PostMortem to the Regular Decision applications. While the BU application can’t be changed, changes can still be made to every application that has not yet been submitted. It’s an opportunity for your child to correct mistakes that hurt their case for admission in the Early Decision round.
5. Your child should ask their school counselor to make an advocacy call on their behalf to BU in the New Year. Good school counselors will always fight for their students (lazy ones will cite equity and fairness when declining to make an advocacy call). But your child shouldn’t merely ask their school counselor to make a call on their behalf. Instead, they should hand them their previously submitted Letter of Continued Interest. This way, the school counselor can position their case for admission as they presented themselves in that letter.

What Not to Do After Being Deferred by Boston University

1. Exchange lots of communications with BU’s admissions committee. Less is more. Your child should not drown out the power of their Letter of Continued Interest with frivolous additional communications. Your child should not annoy BU’s admissions committee! And, yes, sending multiple communications to them after a deferral is annoying.
2. Camp outside BU’s admissions office. In recent months, America’s elite colleges have seen enough encampments for one lifetime. Don’t do it!
3. Write a letter to BU’s Dean of Admissions. No one likes a Karen. Why would your child go above the heads of other admissions officers to write directly to their boss? How exactly would this help your child’s case for admission?
4. Update BU on the admission offers you receive. BU doesn’t care. Besides, they’ll only think to themselves: “You think that impresses us? We’ll show you. Reject!”
5. Do nothing. If your child doesn’t submit a powerful Letter of Continued Interest to BU post-deferral, they convey they’re not all that interested in attending. Maybe they developed a case of sour grapes. Perhaps they fell in love with another school. But, either way, the message is delivered.

A Deferred Student’s Chances Improve Dramatically with Ivy Coach

For students who first come to Ivy Coach first after being deferred, around 40% ultimately earn admission to the school that kicked the can on their case for admission. This figure is in contrast to the fairly universal statistic we’ve become familiar with over the past 30+ years of being in business: that only around 10% of students who get deferred are ultimately offered admission to the school that deferred their case. 

A Deferred Student’s Chances Improve Dramatically with Ivy Coach

A fairly universal statistic we’ve seen over 30+ years of business 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 a bit depending on the year and the school, it serves as a generally consistent threshold.  

If that 10% percent feels a bit low, for students who first come to Ivy Coach after being deferred,  that rate of admission jumps up to about 40% across highly selective universities. We work one-on-one with a student to craft a compelling Letter of Interest and boost their chances of admission after a deferral, a letter that historically quadruples the likelihood of acceptance. 

What to Do After Boston University Rejection

We know, rejection stings. Nobody likes hearing that they didn’t make the cut! But wallow not: there is life after rejection for the applicant who is willing to be flexible. Take advantage of all your frustration to spite Boston University, and channel that into making the most out of your Regular Decision options. 

Over the past five years, Boston University’s Regular Decision acceptance rate has dropped by half. While their Early Decision rate has shown more consistency, it’s still no walk in the park for hopeful applicants. So, if your child was rejected from BU, they’re not alone. 

There’s not much we can say with regard to available statistics for the deferral versus rejection rate since BU historically does not publish these figures, so no need to dwell in the past. The best thing to do is move forward with confidence and look to new possibilities, not waste time going down the rabbit hole with Alice.

Instead, consider Ivy Coach’s PostMortem: a comprehensive review of your application’s shortcomings guided by a member of our team of former elite college admissions officers. With our seasoned guidance, you’ll be able to develop a highly competitive strategy that centers around a singular hook. Our team will help flesh your hook out and you can uncover what went wrong in your BU application. Although we now can’t get you admitted to BU, as they don’t accept appeals, you’ll optimize your odds of admission to your remaining Regular Decision schools.

Boston University Early Decision Rejection Rate

Let’s think about where you stand as a rejected Boston University applicant. We can’t know, as we mentioned before, how many students were rejected in both of the Early Decision rounds since the university doesn’t release the percentage of students deferred vs. rejected.

Rejection is not the end of the world, although it may feel like it. Lots of other students have been rejected from Boston University over the years. In fact, an increasing number of students have experienced rejection in both the Early rounds and the Regular Decision round at BU as the acceptance rate gets lower and lower across the board. 

Next Steps After Boston University Rejection

PostMortem Application Review

If you’ve just heard you were rejected from Boston University, the next step is to reach out to Ivy Coach for a PostMortem application review. Feel free to take a few minutes and process the initial hit of that bad news, but letting the tears dry is about all you have time for at this stage in the admissions game. With Regular Decision deadlines looming, every second counts.

During Ivy Coach’s PostMortem, we:

• Rework your current applications. We’ll review each section of every application, including both the essays and the non-essay portions. We’ll recalibrate which schools you’re prioritizing now that you’ve been rejected from your first choice. You may be thinking (incorrectly) that your applications are already done and ready to send, right? Wrong. After getting one rejection, why play with fire and make the same mistakes in all your other applications? Step away from the matches. That is, unless you’re using them to light a fire and burn your old applications. 
• Craft a narrative that showcases you as a uniquely talented individual rather than a well-rounded one. We never want students to come across as well-rounded. We’ll shout it from the rooftops: that’s a strategy that hasn’t worked in over 30 years. Yeah, you heard us right! Colleges are looking for students with that singular talent, not the student who threw everything but the kitchen sink into their application. We’ll correct this mistake and help you pivot to a strategy that actually works: the singular hook.
• Correct the seemingly insignificant mistakes and missteps that are shockingly part of the admissions process. Even something as small as an idea that was miscommunicated and did not vibe with that college’s culture can eliminate a candidate. For example, students who brag do themselves no favor in the Boston University admissions process. Did you write about how you raised $35,000 for a charity? That’s bragging. How about that you were selected out of a huge pool of applicants for a seemingly exclusive but actually totally unimpressive summer enrichment program at a highly selective university? Yup, also bragging. 
• Reassess your realistic admissions prospects. You should be considering taking advantage of the Early Decision II round for a school that offers an ED II option. A school that hits the sweet spot between prestige and admissions feasibility is ideal. However, not all students are the right type of candidates for ED II, and not all schools provide an ED II round. So, it’s time to do your research to find an admissions pathway that works best for you.

Application Assistance

Following your PostMortem with Ivy Coach, a crucial first step for us to understand what went wrong with your narrative and how to reposition, we will:

• Overhaul your applications moving forward. You have a game plan, and now it’s time to put everything you’ve learned from your PostMortem into practice. While we can’t fix every single mistake you made throughout high school, there’s a whole lot we can do to course correct even at this late date, particularly in terms of how you position your narrative and how you’re going to get admissions officers to root for you.

What Not to Do After Being Rejected by Boston University

Heed our advice and do not do any of the following upon receiving the unfortunate news of a Boston University rejection:

1. Do not submit your remaining applications as is. You received great feedback in the form of a rejection. There was some aspect (or many aspects) that simply didn’t fit together in your previous application to Boston University. Why would you want to double down on those errors and send them out for more schools to see? Remember, there is no second opportunity after Regular Decision deadlines.
2. Do not reach out to the Boston University admissions office to ask why you were rejected. First of all, it’s highly likely they don’t even remember you from the pile of other applicants they rejected. Second of all, as we said, Boston University does not allow for appeals. Don’t waste your time or theirs by trying fruitlessly to change that. Your decision is final!
3. Do not be incredibly picky with Regular Decision schools and/or omit safety schools from your Regular Decision list. If you’re unsure about what constitutes a safety school, that’s where Ivy Coach’s team of former elite college admissions officers can help. And in terms of turning your nose up for arbitrary reasons, we’d always advise against omitting a school just because, for example, you think you’d prefer not to go to school in the South. That can’t matter at this point in the admissions process. Rejected applicants have to open their minds, and when they do, they often end up unexpectedly attending a school that Ivy Coach adds to their list at the end of December. We don’t tolerate pickiness because it won’t serve an applicant. 
4. Do not blame your school counselor for an admissions decision that is ultimately your responsibility. This isn’t Les Miserables; you’re not storming the barricade and barging into their office, screaming how it’s actually their fault you didn’t get in. Although high school counselors are not always perfect at their jobs (for example, they sometimes refuse to make advocacy calls on behalf of their students), they still are your top ally in the fight for your college future. Don’t even think about being rude to them just because your pride may be stinging in the moment. 

BU Deferral and Rejection FAQ

Is there anything else your child needs to do post-deferral besides submitting a Letter of Continued Interest?

Yes, they need to submit their mid-year grades as soon as they become available. Those mid-year grades will be considered in the Regular Decision round.

Is it easier to get into Boston University through Early Decision I or II?

It’s always easier to get in through Early Decision I. After all, BU, like all of America’s highly selective colleges, is more insecure in the ED I round than in the following months because they don’t know the strength of the applicant pool to come. As such, they’re more lenient in the ED I round. By the time ED II rolls around. BU’s admissions committee can already see their full Regular Decision pool. 

What’s the point of maintaining good grades and test scores now that I know Boston University might be (or definitely is) off of the table?

Don’t let your deferral or rejection set you back. It’s still absolutely essential that you strive for excellent academic performance as you round out your senior year. Your application will definitely not receive any further consideration if you let your grades slip, and you won’t be a strong candidate for any other schools, either!

When should I get to work on the rest of my Regular Decision applications?

As soon as possible! If you’ve been rejected from Boston University, you have to take a deep breath and let it go. Turn your attention towards your other applications immediately. Plus, if you’ve taken Ivy Coach’s advice during your PostMortem, you should be equipped to reframe your applications around your singular hook and put your best foot forward over the weeks between your Early rejection and the Regular Decision application deadlines!

Does Boston University allow for appeals from rejected students?

No, BU does not have an appeal process for admissions decisions. Don’t confuse an appeal process for financial aid decisions with an appeal process for admissions decisions. If a student received a rejection from BU in either of the two Early Decision rounds (or in the Regular Decision round for that matter), the decision is final. The student will not be attending BU as a member of the Class of 2030. It doesn’t mean they can’t re-apply as a first-year applicant in a future year or apply as a transfer. But their case for admission this year is finito!

How to Get Started with Ivy Coach After Boston University Deferral or Rejection

If your child is interested in optimizing their case for admission to BU post-deferral or improving their case for admission to their Regular Decision schools after a BU rejection, fill out Ivy Coach’s complimentary consultation form. We’ll then be in touch to outline our next steps for deferred or rejected candidates.