American PhDs: Deferring for a year?

[AnotherKantFan]

Hello!

I've been wondering (this may not really apply to me, but there's a slim chance it will) whether it's possible to defer for 1 year entry into an American PhD. Thoughts? My intuition is that it's university-dependent. If you know anything about specific places, let me know too.  

[MickeyRay]

So I have heard from a professor at Vanderbilt that two years ago one of their admins deferred for a year, and so they took someone form the waitlist and gave her a spot for the next year. It is not entirely unheard of, but (this is a huge but) they really did all get together and decide. It would look horrible to ask for that unless you have a really important reason, and that reason was not apparent when you submitted all of your applications. Basically, you need to avoid the idea that having them consider your app and become invested in you for this round when you didn't plan on coming was a waste of their time. This is because, if you even ask for it then it could seriously hurt your chances getting in later and give you a black mark. Also, this really is only an option for a top-choice candidate, and it sounds like (a least from a top school like Vandy) that if a waitlist asked to defer then they would probably just continue down the waitlist.