The wind outside howls as the cool December air settles in and the northern winter fast approaches. Trees are already bare, and the sun is setting before dinnertime, but this high school senior has had enough, and is ready to continue higher education in a warmer, southern state. Applications have all been sent, and this student has finally been able to relax for the first time in four years, settling into the thought that they could enjoy the remainder of their time in high school stress free before getting serious about their future in college.
However, the tranquility lasts no more than two months as the first email arrives. Anticipation grows as the mouse hovers over the words on the computer screen that read, “View Application Status Update”. So much rushes through one’s head when such a life changing decision rests at the end of one simple click:
Could I have studied more? Done better at my sport? Met with more teachers? Asked more questions? Added to my application? Gotten better grades? Contributed to my community? Tried the SAT just one more time? Taken more challenging classes? Or, even sacrificed my social life?
But the decisions are out of students’ hands–after the submit button is pressed there is nothing to do but wait.
The student takes a courageous leap of faith, crossing the fingers on one hand while the other moves towards the computer, only to see–DEFERRED–written on the screen in bold red letters. Anytime this word appears in college letters, hearts drop into stomachs and disappointment floods every student who has the misfortune of receiving it. The work it took to complete applications, maintain impressive grades, and widen the range of extracurricular activities all within the first three months of senior year in order to apply Early Action feels worthless, as now the real college decision is moved into the regular decision pool for reevaluation.
What’s going on down there?
In recent years, more than ever, the “deferred” button is being overused for large southern schools due to increases in applicants, and high school students are not happy about it.
“This year we received a record number of competitive applications for Early Action and determined we will need more time to evaluate your application. Therefore, we have moved your application to our March notification round.” These were the words that sprawled across the University of South Carolina’s letter to most Early Action applicants in mid November. Senior Delaney Johnson, one of many students who received this email, expressed disappointment with the admissions process, stating, “I felt annoyed because I put in the effort to submit early, only to find I am going to have to wait for regular decisions to come out.”
Johnson is not the only student to feel this way, every RMHS student who applied to South Carolina for fall 2025 admissions received this letter. Many of which also applied to South Carolina’s other university with growing popularity, Clemson, and received similar outcomes. Senior Devyn MceKnna states, “At first a deferral from Clemson felt good, at least it wasn’t rejection, but as more schools I expected to get into deferred me, it was a repeated sense of disappointment she then goes.” McKenna continued, “I would rather just have a straight answer, even if it is rejection.”
To take a closer look at the overuse of the deferral letter, Senior Jessie Ballestas offers her insight. Ballestas applied to Clemson, South Carolina, Fairfield, University of Tampa, James Madison University, University of Connecticut, and Endicott. Upon receiving her South Carolina deferral letter, Ballestas states, “The letter never said anything about my application, which makes me feel like they might have never even read it.” This is a thought that has crossed the minds of many. Due to the amount of applications large schools like UofSC has received in recent years, many question the thoroughness of the first round application reviews. Ballestas states that this exact reason, “… made it difficult to try and understand why I was moved to Regular Decision when I took the time and effort for Early Action.” However, Ballestas states that of four students currently attending University of South Carolina she is close to, “all were accepted after initially being deferred,” which can be used as a light at the end of the tunnel for any student going through this process.
Trending Southward
An article by The Daily Targum of Rutgers University goes into detail about why this trend of increasing applications to southern schools occurs. Within the article, the Wall Street Journal’s analysis of educational data is referenced. They have recorded that the number of Northerners going to Southern public schools increased by 84 percent over the past 20 years. Additionally, some Southern universities have seen 600 percent increases in applications, blowing way past traditionally prestigious universities such as Harvard. This increase has added a layer of competition for out of state students that is not there for in state students. The Daily Targum interviews Ethan Goldberg, a senior at the University of South Carolina, who cites lower cost as a main driver of the move to southern schools. And prestige is growing, too. Many institutions such as Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt, UNC Chapel Hill, and Duke University have been compared to prestigious northern institutions such as Harvard and MIT, while charging a fraction of the cost for admission.
Furthermore, a popular destination for northern students is the University of Alabama. Jules Weeden, the admissions counselor at Alabama for Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont has also noticed such trends of increased out-of-state applicants. “We have historically been a school with a high out-of-state population standing around 60% for the past 15 years,” states Weeden. While there are many attractive qualities of the University of Alabama, Weeden believes, “… cost of attendance, social media, and overall college experience,” are a large part of why students from northern states are choosing to attend large southern universities.
Additionally, some southern states are setting limits on the number of out-of-state students they are allowed to accept. This is just another factor contributing to the ongoing increasing levels of competition for not just northern students, but any student looking to attend college outside of their own state. Specifically, many North Carolina state schools by law have a 18% cap on the amount of out-of-state students they can accept in any given year. However, according to WUNC, a North Carolina public radio station, UNC Wilmington accepted 27% out-of-state students for the past two years, causing them to be penalized $4 million. While this gives in-state students a reason to remain in-state for college, it greatly disadvantages out-of-state students looking to attend certain states.
RMHS Applicants
To give some insight on the growth of the southern school trend, RMHS guidance counselor Ms. Keefe offers new information. Ms. Keefe is in her sixth year working at Reading, and one of her main purposes is to help seniors prepare for the college admissions process. To do this, she spends the first quarter doing seminars for seniors during flex that each focus on different parts of the application.
Though she has seen an uptick in students leaving for the south, Keefe still estimates that group as a subset of her students. “It is a newer thing to branch out a lot farther, but I still do think a large portion of our students stay in New England.” As for why these students are leaving the Northeast for larger, southern schools, Keefe brings a new perspective, calling to attention how the popularity of sports can attract more applicants. “Take for example, Clemson,” states Keefe, “years ago their football team wasn’t as good as it is now, so after they won a championship, I feel like it really was put on the map for kids who don’t live around there.”
More and more southern schools are becoming known for their sports. When northern students who don’t have as many schools with popular sports teams see their large games and success, it acts as a driving factor to attend and be a part of a more stereotypical college experience. Another example of this is the University of Tennessee, who’s football team’s popularity has made it harder to get into, proving that because a university is large, does not necessarily mean it is easy. According to Ms. Keefe, a lot of southern universities look for things that northern universities do not, and she has had to adapt to that to ensure success for her students. “They don’t necessarily want letters of recommendation, and they used to use the Coalition App for applications rather than the Common App, making it complicated.” Furthermore Keefe states, “There were times I was trying to help kids figure out different applications.”
With the trend of rising applicants to southern schools, it also comes with a lot of unexpected deferrals and rejections, which causes many students to go to guidance counselors for advice on how to navigate. To that, Ms Keefe tells students, “College decisions do not define them–it’s not personal, it’s just numbers.”
A cool breeze offsets the warm May air as the New England summer fast approaches. Leaves are a lush green, and the sun hangs high in the sky until 7pm. Decisions are out, commitments have been made, and high school students have finally been able to relax for the first time in four years, settling into the thought that they could enjoy their last few months at home stress free. However, the tranquility lasts no more than a few moments as now these newly high school graduates rush to gather all their necessities to prepare for the next phase of their life. No matter the unexpected disappointments that may come with college decisions, every student should hold hope that they will end up exactly where they need to be— a place that will challenge them and help them to grow into the people they are meant to become.
