While a deferral or rejection are likely not the decisions you were hoping for when you submitted an Early Action or Early Decision I application to the University of Richmond, now is not the time to give up hope! Your path forward will differ depending on what you heard back. 

After a deferral, you’ll need to focus equally on your Letter of Continued Interest as well as your Regular Decision applications, whereas, if you heard back that very worst news, you’ll want to shore up the rest of your applications before submitting in the Regular Decision to ensure that doesn’t happen again.

University of Richmond Early Decision and Early Action Admissions Statistics Over 20 Years

Below is a breakdown of  University of Richmond’s Early Decision and Early Action admissions statistics over the last 20 years. UR published two years of Early Action applicant data, which only serves to prove our point at Ivy Coach that students who opt for ED always have a higher likelihood than those who opt for EA, because they are willing to go the extra mile and make a binding commitment to the university. 

Early Action and Early Decision Acceptance Rates (Classes of 2030 – 2010)

Admissions Cycle	University of Richmond Class Year	Early Action Admission Rate	Early Decision I and II Admission Rate	Regular Decision Acceptance Rate
2025-2026	Class of 2030	Not Yet Published	Not Yet Published	Not Yet Published
2024-2025	Class of 2029	Not Yet Published	Not Yet Published	Not Yet Published
2023-2024	Class of 2028	23.00%	33.79%	22.20%
2022-2023	Class of 2027	22.49%	37.80%	23.31%
2021-2022	Class of 2026	Not Reported	43.82%	24.37%
2020-2021	Class of 2025	Not Reported	55.38%	28.77%
2019-2020	Class of 2024	Not Reported	48.64%	30.90%
2018-2019	Class of 2023	Not Reported	48.28%	28.33%
2017-2018	Class of 2022	Not Reported	48.19%	30.17%
2016-2017	Class of 2021	Not Reported	49.41%	32.97%
2015-2016	Class of 2020	Not Reported	45.57%	32.48%
2014-2015	Class of 2019	Not Reported	41.85%	31.11%
2013-2014	Class of 2018	Not Reported	38.91%	31.80%
2012-2013	Class of 2017	Not Reported	45.21%	31.16%
2011-2012	Class of 2016	Not Reported	40.71%	30.31%
2010-2011	Class of 2015	Not Reported	38.52%	32.71%
2009-2010	Class of 2014	Not Reported	55.04%	32.99%
2008-2009	Class of 2013	Not Reported	65.97%	39.25%
2007-2008	Class of 2012	Not Reported	60.16%	31.68%
2006-2007	Class of 2011	Not Reported	56.94%	39.92%
2005-2006	Class of 2010	Not Reported	67.91%	45.68%

University of Richmond Deferral Rate

University of Richmond, like many highly selective universities, does not publish its Early Decision or Early Action deferral rates. Their website does note, however, that a deferral means something: “We don’t defer students because we think you’ll never stand a chance of being qualified for admission. Quite the opposite. A deferral is usually a sign that there’s something we find compelling about your application. Deferral decisions typically occur when we need a little bit more context on the full applicant pool before rendering a final decision.” So, as we said before, all hope is not lost.

What Should Applicants Do After Being Deferred by URichmond?

5 Steps to Take After Being Deferred by the University of Richmond

1. Go for a run, a hike, a swim — anything to clear your head for just a few hours. It would help if you processed your deferral for a beat before trying to turn your deferral into an offer of admission.
2. Set up a complimentary consultation with Ivy Coach to learn the best path forward for deferred  University of Richmond candidates.
3. Brave a PostMortem application review with Ivy Coach. You need to find out what went wrong, what went right, and what needs to change for your Regular Decision schools so you don’t repeat mistakes made. You may not hear what you want to hear about your application, but we promise, it’ll be worth it in the end. 
4. Send a compelling Letter of Continued Interest to the University of Richmond with Ivy Coach’s assistance. After the PostMortem, we’ll help you craft a wow letter to distinguish you among the deferred pool of candidates. In their letters, most students brag and update UR on all that they’ve achieved in the weeks since they applied. Not Ivy Coach’s students! Our students’ letters are love letters to the University of Richmond, and it’s a big reason why they’re so often successful.
5. After you’ve submitted your Letter of Continued Interest ASAP, bring that letter to your school counselor. Ask your school counselor to make an advocacy call to  University of Richmond’s admissions office on your behalf. While some school counselors won’t make advocacy calls, good school counselors will always pick up the phone and fight for you.

Writing a Letter of Continued Interest

The Letter of Continued Interest is your best opportunity to turn that deferral into an offer of admission down the line. That’s why it’s especially important to make sure only the right things are included. 

The Letter of Continued Interest must be a love letter to the university. Think: how will the student utilize their singular hook to contribute to a school’s atmosphere and be a positive addition to the campus? This is what the LOCI should demonstrate. From the first sentence, a student needs to grip the admissions officer who is reading and make them realize that they’re a better fit than anyone else on that deferral list.

What a Letter of Continued Interest Should Not Do

The Letter of Continued Interest should not contain a list of academic updates; that’s not a wise way to utilize the limited space on the page at all. Plus, it generally renders a student less likable. Students also need to not bore admissions officers with their letter. They should focus on crafting a clear picture of their singular narrative and how they’ll contribute to the specific aspects of the school, including programs, institutes, culture, traditions, and activities.

We realize this may be contradictory to some of the other advice you’ve heard about the Letter of Continued Interest. Sorry! We tell it like it is at Ivy Coach, and that includes our advice about the Letter of Continued Interest. You really, really, really don’t want to brag in that letter, or come across as unlikable. 

When Applicants Should Submit Their Letters of Continued Interest

As soon as possible, ideally happen within a few days of receiving a deferral. For example, if a student learns they are deferred on December 10th, we like them to send in the Letter of Continued Interest by December 14th or 15th. We don’t want the school to think that deferral hurt a student’s feelings. No sour grapes here!

That’s why time is of the essence, unless it’s the few days before Christmas or between Christmas and New Year’s. Then we absolutely do not recommend submitting. Wait until a few days into the New Year. 

That doesn’t mean students should be waiting to write the letter, though. The Letter of Continued Interest is a model of how we’d encourage a student to pivot the rest of their applications before they start to submit to schools for Regular Decision.

What Not To Do If You’ve Been Deferred by the URichmond

1. Don’t send anything immediately to the University of Richmond admissions office immediately after your deferral. You should only be sending one powerful Letter of Continued Interest, and you should spend more time than the five minutes after receiving word of your deferral to craft it. 
2. Don’t call the University of Richmond admissions office to find out why you were deferred. You’ll never learn the real reason(s) anyway and will only come across as a gadfly. They literally say this on their website!
3. Don’t stop by the University of Richmond admissions office. They don’t want to meet with deferred candidates. They say that on the website too!
4. Don’t update  University of Richmond on your offers of admission as they come in. They don’t care. Such a move will only make you seem unlikable.
5. Don’t give up hope on  University of Richmond. You applied Early! You clearly loved the school at one point, even if their athletic teams are known as the Spiders.

What to Do After Being Rejected By the University of Richmond

Did you receive a rejection from the University of Richmond? Okay, so things didn’t go as planned. Now is the time to take a deep breath and think strategically. The University of Richmond doesn’t publish any statistics on the specific proportion of deferred versus rejected students in their ED rounds, which doesn’t help to shed any light on this challenging situation. Is this the end of your admissions rope? We certainly think not.

At Ivy Coach, we believe your admissions destiny is still within your control. By signing up for Ivy Coach’s PostMortem, you’ll gain a competitive strategy, meticulously designed just for you by our team of former elite college admissions officers. This unique approach has led to success for numerous students who have turned to us after being rejected. That could be you next!

You might even secure an acceptance from a college that’s an even better fit for you during the Regular Decision round. Now, we’re sure you’re scratching your head, wondering how such a feat can be achieved. We’ll develop a plan for making the most of your future campus by taking advantage of all the resources and opportunities it has to offer.

What Should Applicants Do After Being Rejected by the University of Richmond?

PostMortem Application Review

After hearing back about a rejection from  University of Richmond, we don’t recommend delaying before reaching out to Ivy Coach for a PostMortem application review. But before that, take a deep breath. It may not feel this way, but it is all going to work out. 

Once you’re re-centered, it’s time to dive in with renewed vigor and understand that you’ve been given a blessing in disguise. You have the chance to rework your application strategy before you send it off to other schools, and obviously, it didn’t work the first time. So you’re going to want to take that chance for change. During Ivy Coach’s PostMortem, we will:

• Rework your current applications that are still unsubmitted (thank goodness). We’ll go through every part of both the essay and no-essay portions of each application and readjust as we review. You’ll want to heed our advice on necessary changes, as you’ll need to course correct in order to secure an acceptance from any school.
• Work to present you as a uniquely talented individual rather than a well-rounded one. Well-rounded candidates face nothing but strife in the admissions process. It’s never good to confuse admissions officers with disparate activities that support your primary and singular narrative. Instead, it’s time to pivot to a strategy that actually works: the singular hook.
• Correct the small mistakes that may have contributed to your rejection decision. Sometimes, a rejection can be because of any one factor that strikes an admissions officer the wrong way. When colleges have such a surplus of applicants to choose from, though, they’re allowed to be picky. For example, students who brag do themselves no favor in the  University of Richmond admissions process. Hot tip: no one likes a braggart. Writing about how you raised $35,000 dollars for a charity or were selected out of a huge pool of applicants for a seemingly prestigious but actually totally unimpressive summer enrichment program at a highly selective university counts as bragging!
• Reevaluate your admissions prospects with realistic eyes. Now is the time to consider taking advantage of the Early Decision II round for a school that hits your sweet spot between prestigious and realistic. Not all students are right for ED II, and not all schools offer an ED II round. Do your research in order to determine an admissions pathway that works for you.

Application Assistance

Following the PostMortem, which is your key first step to understand what went wrong and how you need to reposition your narrative, we will:

• Rejuvenate all of your applications with Ivy Coach’s assistance. Now you have a game plan, and it’s time to execute that game plan with confidence. We want to clear those other applications of any errors and put you in the best possible spot for a positive admissions decision. Although we can’t correct every mistake you’ve made throughout high school, there’s a lot we can still fix in terms of your application narrative and how you hope to sway admissions officers to root for you.

What Not to Do After Being Rejected by the University of Richmond

Below are five guaranteed ways to ensure your Regular Decision admission round goes poorly after you receive a University of Richmond rejection:

1. Do not submit your remaining applications as is. A rejection is valuable data on your admissions journey, indicating that something is wrong with what you’ve presented to the admissions office. If you were in a horror movie, the person watching would be screaming at the screen, telling you not to make the same mistakes all over again! Slam on the brakes before you get eaten by the zombies!!
2. Do not, under any circumstances, reach out to the University of Richmond admissions office asking why you were rejected. They don’t want to hear from you. All your eagerness will do is serve to prove their point, that they were right not to let you in. Don’t waste your time (or theirs). You have more important things to be focusing on!
3. Do not be choosy with your selection of Regular Decision schools and/or omit safety schools from your Regular Decision list. There are certain qualifications that make something a safety school, and if you’re not sure how to determine this, our team of former elite college admissions officers can help. Considering not applying somewhere because you’d prefer not to go to school in the South? Think again. We do not tolerate such pickiness at this time of year from rejected applicants. Open your mind and you’ll be surprised. Oh so often, students who come to us after a rejection end up attending a school that Ivy Coach adds to their list at this time of year.
4. Do not blame your school counselor for an admissions decision that ultimately rests on your shoulders. High school counselors aren’t always perfect at their jobs (i.e., they sometimes will refuse to make advocacy calls on behalf of their students), but they are your #1 ally in the fight for your college future. Alienating them is the worst thing you can do right now. Don’t even think about it!

University of Richmond Deferral and Rejection FAQ

When will I hear from the University of Richmond with their final decision on my deferred application?

You’ll learn your final decision on or before April 1st (yes, that is April Fool’s Day. No, that is not a joke). 

After a rejection from the University of Richmond, should I submit my Regular Decision applications right away?

Absolutely not! You need to use that rejection as a data point: something isn’t working. Don’t rush to get your applications submitted, thinking the same strategy that failed you at  University of Richmond is going to work somewhere else. You need to pause, take stock, make adjustments, and then move forward with your applications. 

Can I appeal my rejection from the University of Richmond?

No. Admissions decisions are rarely overturned. The word from the University of Richmond admissions office should be taken as final. If your child received a rejection, they will not be attending the University of Richmond next year as a member of the Class of 2030. That doesn’t mean they can’t apply as a transfer candidate or re-apply next year for first-year admission, but for the 2025-2026 admissions cycle, it’s time to look elsewhere.

The University of Richmond Post-Deferral and Rejection  Game Plan with Ivy Coach

If you’re interested in optimizing your admission to the University of Richmond post-deferral or rejection, fill out Ivy Coach’s complimentary consultation form. We’ll then be in touch to outline our PostMortem and Letter of Continued Interest service for deferred candidates, or our PostMortem for rejected applicants.