"I lowkey want to get into that school even though I said I didn't care that much about it before."
If that sounds familiar, you may be a college applicant or the parent of one who got the disappointing news of deferred admission after submitting an early application. I haven't the faintest idea why it is necessary to incorporate "lowkey" into our daily lexicon (thank you, TikTok), but at least for the moment, it is still a popular slang word in my household so I assume others can relate. If you applied to a college and got the disappointing news of a deferral, you may lowkey want to take some action.
What is a LOCI you may be asking yourself? A LOCI is a Letter of Continued Interest and between now and the middle of February, you may want to send one to colleges that have lovingly communicated their decision to defer your Early Action application to the Regular Decision pool. If you are just hearing back from EA schools now, you will want to wait longer to send it.
Several things to note:
Not every college will entertain a LOCI. Review the communication from the college about the documents they are willing to accept from you once you have submitted an application. The last thing you want to do if you were not accepted in the early round to a top choice school is to ignore their recommendations and send them materials they have said they do not want.
Don't send the LOCI the same day you receive the deferral notification or the next day. Take a deep breath. Take a moment to let the news of the deferral sink in. If you just received the initial admissions decision, understand that the school is not going to look at your application again until after the next deadline. Nothing you share right away will be meaningful. If you wait several weeks before sending the LOCI, you are showing the school that you have thoughtfully considered their decision and you have spent time putting together helpful information that can be used when they are ready to reassess your candidacy.
Look back at your application and consider whether there is information that you forgot to include that could strengthen your profile. If you were not denied, you met the basic qualifications to be admitted to the school but you did not stand out enough to make it to the admit pile yet. Think about what you have done since submitting the application that may give the school more confidence in you or convince them that they need to have you in their class. Did you have an impressive academic performance during the fall semester? Did you retake the ACT or SAT and achieve a higher score? Were you nominated for an award or receive recognition for anything? Were you selected for a new leadership position?
Evaluate whether the information you shared in the application really proves to the college that you are a good fit for their school. Maybe you have a strong profile but your application wasn't targeted enough to that institution. The school may think that you a) are unlikely to enroll there, so they are deferring you to gauge your level of interest or b) haven't really communicated that you understand who they are and how you are a good match for what they have to offer. In your LOCI, highlight their specific academic and student life offerings that align with your specific goals and needs. Prove to the school that you understand their values and their culture and show them how you intend to make a meaningful impact on their campus and contribute to their community of students.
Follow the directions. If the college asks for materials to be uploaded into their student portal, send the letter there. If it asks for it to be emailed to the admissions office, do that. If you aren't sure what to do, you can always ask your regional admissions representative or any admissions counselor. Remember, they are people, too - they won't bite!
Good luck with your LOCI. Make sure you show some highkey enthusiasm for the university as you respectfully remind them why they should lowkey move your application to the admit pile.