Were you deferred or rejected for Early Action admission to the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign? Don’t fret! You can still take action to make the best out of this situation and increase your chances of being admitted to your top choice school during Regular Decision consideration. This piece is your guide for navigating this setback at UIUC.

University of Illinois Early Action Admission Rates

UIUC does not publish its Early Action acceptance rate; it is simply factored into the overall acceptance rate.

5 Steps to Take After Being Deferred by University of Illinois

After receiving your deferral, the time is ticking. Don’t delay before taking the following actions:

1. Try to look at your application objectively and ask yourself, “What went wrong?” Sign up for a PostMortem with Ivy Coach, a comprehensive application review. This review will help you better understand how to strategically pivot to a more compelling case for admission with a singular hook that showcases how you stand out amongst a pool of applicants who mistakenly think presenting as well-rounded is a good idea.
2. Write a Letter of Continued Interest to send to your local UIUC admissions representative as soon as possible (within days of your deferral!). This love letter to UIUC should demonstrate how the academics, traditions, history, culture, activities, and resources on campus perfectly align with your singular hook. The Ivy Coach deferral package will include a PostMortem application review and the preparation of a powerful Letter of Continued Interest.
3. Pivot how you present yourself in your Regular Decision applications based on Ivy Coach’s direction. As Ivy Coach’s PostMortem will illuminate a new competitive path forward, ensure this strategy is incorporated into your remaining applications.
4. Take your freshly written Letter of Continued Interest to your school counselor and politely request that they make an advocacy call to UIUC on your behalf, bringing in the hook from your LOCI. This call, part of their role in supporting your college application process, will encourage admissions officers to fight for your case for admission. Some counselors resist making advocacy calls out of the supposed “unfairness” of the practice, but these counselors are simply lazy. Advocacy calls don’t pit students against each other. Instead, they boost everyone’s odds! It’s the job of a high school counselor to fight for their students!
5. Keep up your academics and study hard for any tests you have coming up. Stay positive, stay focused, and keep pushing forward.

What Not to Do After Being Deferred by UIUC

The weeks following your deferral are filled with potential wrong turns and mistakes. Avoid the following to steer clear of trouble:

1. Don’t contact a UIUC admissions officer with questions about your application. They probably won’t tell you why you didn’t get in, and even if they do, they won’t give the honesty that only a member of Ivy Coach’s team can offer. So why bother?
2. Don’t flood the admissions office with emails detailing every last award you’ve won and test you’ve aced. These updates will only make you seem like a nuisance, and UIUC specifically cautions against this! Bragging is never a good strategy post-deferral. That’s why we help our clients who first come to us after deferrals refrain from writing Letters of Continued Interest with unnecessary boasting.
3. Don’t blame your high school counselor for your deferral. You’ll risk driving away the one person in your corner when you need them most. However, if they’ve refused to make an advocacy call on your behalf, you are well within your rights to be upset. But keep it to yourself.
4. Don’t upload unnecessary documents to your application portal, like fancy video essays, graphic designs, additional letters of recommendation, or poems about UIUC. These will fall on deaf ears!
5. UIUC admissions officers are busy enough. Don’t show up to their office uninvited and demand a meeting. Your enthusiasm will be your downfall.

What To Do After Being Rejected By U of I

Okay, so the worst has come to pass, and guess what? You’re still standing. Now is not the time to abandon ship. Take a deep breath, and then start thinking strategically. In the absence of straightforward data about the deferral versus denial rate at UIUC, you might be at a loss for what this decision means. But you should not trouble yourself with that right now. All you need to worry about is how quickly you can spring into action and set yourself up for a successful Regular Decision round.

So what are the first steps to take? Consider Ivy Coach’s PostMortem application review for rejected students. Up until this point, you may have been submitting applications full of errors. Does the term singular hook ring a bell? If not, Ivy Coach’s team of former elite college admissions officers is here to enlighten you. It’s the number one strategy to employ to optimize your chances of elite college admission.

Think of it this way: UIUC admissions officers don’t want to admit students who won’t take advantage of their time on campus. An acceptance letter means the school has faith you’re going to use your time on campus wisely, and a rejection letter conveys that you didn’t instill this faith in them. Sometimes, pivoting to your remaining applications is simply a matter of making colleges feel assured you’re the right investment.

University Of Illinois PostMortem:

During our PostMortem, we:

• Assist your pivot to Regular Decision schools. You might not want to cede any ground on changing your Regular Decision applications, but after combing through all the details with a member of our team of former elite college admissions officers, we predict you might feel differently. Many students don’t realize how many wrong turns they made in Early Action. From presenting as well-rounded to filling your essays with unnecessary bragging and boasting, potholes and pitfalls line your path to success. We’ll give your strategy a makeover with the power of the singular hook.
• Sweat the small stuff, i.e., the little errors you may have made that added up to your rejection letter. Maybe you didn’t meet the idea that UIUC admissions officers have of an academically-rigorous applicant. Or hit the third rail by choosing one of six overused essay topics in one of your essays. Or failed to give UIUC the impression that you would make the most out of your time on campus.
• Assemble a new list of Regular Decision schools. Now that your rejection letter is in hand, you may want to revisit what you consider a safety school or reach school with Ivy Coach’s help. Our case-by-case feedback will help you to strike the right balance of admissions feasibility and prestige.

Application Assistance

Following your PostMortem, which is the jumping off point for understanding what went wrong and how to pivot, we will:

• Rework your Regular Decision applications with Ivy Coach’s help. With the singular hook as your foundation, we’ll provide a crash course in presenting an effective admissions strategy. Afterwards, it’s incumbent upon you to spring into action. While no one can turn back time and make sure you’ve taken the right courses and enrolled in the right extracurriculars, we can make sure you put your best foot forward for Regular Decision by presenting the most powerful narrative possible.

What Not to Do After Being Rejected by University of Illinois

What about what you shouldn’t do after receiving a UIUC rejection? Here’s where you must proceed with caution. Avoid the following at all costs:

1. Digging your feet into the sand and refusing to change your approach. Your rejection is the best evidence you could possibly have to suggest your approach is in need of some changes, so don’t delay in implementing Ivy Coach’s feedback.
2. Reaching out the UIUC Admissions. No phone calls, impromptu visits, text messages, smoke signals, you name it. This “strategy” has never once worked, ever. You won’t get the answer you’re looking for. In fact, your actions will just reassure them that they made the right decision! While UIUC is one of the few elite universities that allows for an appeal, you need to go through UIUC’s formal appeal process.
3. Do not aim even higher for Regular Decision. If you’re intent on now applying to Ivy League colleges, you might be in need of a reality check. Sure, by taking Ivy Coach’s advice, your odds of elite college admission will be optimized, but that doesn’t mean you should exclusively aim higher than UIUC for Regular Decision. Instead, get creative. Is there a great public research university in your neck of the woods? Could your sunhat use some dusting off by attending a school in the South? Is a private liberal arts college suddenly calling your name? 
4. Don’t blame your school counselor for a decision that is ultimately your responsibility. No matter your rapport, this is the one built-in ally you have during this process. No one can take the blame for your admissions fate but you.

University of Illinois Deferral and Rejection FAQ

Do I have a chance of being admitted to UIUC after being deferred?

You most certainly do! Take it from UIUC Undergraduate Admissions: “In the past few years, we’ve admitted between 1,500 to 2,000 students in the regular decision who were deferred in early action.” This is a significant number of post-deferral admits, which should give you genuine hope about your chances.

Was I deferred because I applied to a competitive major?

Sometimes, UIUC will defer applicants applying to highly competitive majors (like business or engineering) to wait and see how competitive the Regular Decision pool will be. UIUC will return their attention to your application when they begin reviewing Regular Decision applicants, and you’ll still receive your notification along with the rest of the RD applicants on February 28th.

Will UIUC accept my mid-year grades?

No. In an unusual move among elite universities, UIUC states, “To ensure a consistent and fair review process, we don’t consider any additional information other than what was provided in your initial application.” However, they will accept updated ACT and SAT scores.

What’s the point of maintaining good grades and test scores now that I know UIUC 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. UIUC might not accept mid-year grades, but that doesn’t mean your Regular Decision schools won’t! 

Can I appeal my UIUC rejection?

Yes, UIUC is one of the few schools to allow for an appeal. However, successful appeals are rare. As UIUC states, “An appeal should only be filed if new and compelling information is available that was not included in your application. We won’t consider 7th semester grades. New test scores will only be considered if they are received before regular decisions are posted.”

Ivy Coach’s Help After UIUC Deferral or Rejection

The time is now to reach out to Ivy Coach to set up a complimentary consultation to learn more about our services for deferred or rejected students to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. We’re here to guide your child through this process and optimize their odds of admission to the school of their dreams.