Experience getting a deferral? Any thoughts are welcome, but I'm looking at deferring at Columbia SIPA

[grad12345]

Hi guys,

I'm thinking about asking for a deferral from Columbia SIPA. Was admitted into their MIA in March, and am thrilled, but it looks like starting one year later would work better for my timeline. I'm really happy about my spot and don't want to give it up (I don't want to re-apply and risk not getting in again next year), so am thinking about the deferral process. Does anyone have any experiences with this? I will try arguing for the "extraordinary professional opportunity", but not sure that my job will hold up to their standard. I guess the problem is that I don't know what their standard is to start! I do have a cool position right now, and it is relevant to SIPA/my specialization, but I'm very junior (just turned 23 so I think that's ok) and only started there recently. So it is not like I have a significant promotion coming up or some management/leadership duty that I can't give up.

If anyone has any stories with the deferral process, I'd love to hear it Maybe the way you went about asking for one, how you framed your story,..Thanks!
 

[UofT2021]

Hi, I deferred a few of my admission offers in 2020. My experience with that was rather simple, possibly due to the pandemic. I emailed the admissions office regarding the offer, with my request and reasons for deferral. My story was pretty straight-forward - 

• I was incredibly grateful for the offer, but the pandemic had thrown a wrench in my plans.
• Explained my situation - There was no way I would be able to complete my undergrad in time to join the university. That meant I wouldn't be able to procure the necessary documents in time, or even travel if/when restrictions were lifted.
• Requested for the deferral, and thanked them for their time (they did seem to have a lot on their hands, after all). 

Some of them responded positively and got it confirmed within the week. When there was no response, I got in touch with my program department as well. In most cases, they were very helpful and redirected me to reach out to the right contacts. In some cases, I was also given a form to fill out the details regarding my request.

Personally, I think it was important for me to highlight how grateful and thrilled I was to receive the offer, and how external factors were impacting my decision. 

The unfortunate part of asking for a deferral is this - your request might not be accepted, no matter how valid the reasoning may be. Out of the 6+ colleges I emailed, only 3-4 were able to defer my offer. A few others could only suggest to reapply next year. However, it was better than receiving no response at all (which did happen as well). 

I think there are people here who'd answer more specifically regarding your course and university, but I hope this helps a bit