Programs that allow deferral?

[lvy]

Hi all,

I'm currently a finalist for a fellowship that would take place during the 2009-2010 academic year. The fellowship results won't be decided until late January 2010, so I'm also continuing to submit my Ph.D. applications for this year. In the event of being selected for the fellowship, and also accepted to graduate school, it would be ideal to be able to defer admission for a year.

It appears that most programs have a policy stated online not to allow deferrals, but it seems like this might be a different conversation and there might be some room for negotiation if one is actually accepted. Does anyone have a sense from their own contacts with departments, friends, etc. where it might be possible to defer? (For example, I know from a former classmate's experience that Princeton allows deferrals of one year with no loss of funding).

The schools I'm most interested in hearing about are: Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, University of Washington, University of Pennsylvania, MIT, Chicago and UVA, but please feel free to share information about any other schools too as I'm guessing that there may be others in this situation to whom this might be useful as well.

Thanks in advance & good luck to everyone in the application home stretch!

[beebly]

The general policy seems to be generally enforced, but decided on a case by case basis once you're offered admission. I am at one of the programs you list, and know of two people who requested deferrals from my cohort, one to do research abroad for a faculty member in the department, the other to do some work unrelated to the field. The first request was granted, the second denied.

[lvy]

Hi all,

I'm currently a finalist for a fellowship that would take place during the 2009-2010 academic year. The fellowship results won't be decided until late January 2010, so I'm also continuing to submit my Ph.D. applications for this year. In the event of being selected for the fellowship, and also accepted to graduate school, it would be ideal to be able to defer admission for a year.

It appears that most programs have a policy stated online not to allow deferrals, but it seems like this might be a different conversation and there might be some room for negotiation if one is actually accepted. Does anyone have a sense from their own contacts with departments, friends, etc. where it might be possible to defer? (For example, I know from a former classmate's experience that Princeton allows deferrals of one year with no loss of funding).

The schools I'm most interested in hearing about are: Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, University of Washington, University of Pennsylvania, MIT, Chicago and UVA, but please feel free to share information about any other schools too as I'm guessing that there may be others in this situation to whom this might be useful as well.

Thanks in advance & good luck to everyone in the application home stretch!

[lvy]

Hi all,

I'm reviving this thread since I am now in the situation of hoping to defer for a year that I first posted about in December, and I would really appreciate any advice/information others might be able to share about:

Where it's possible to defer? In particular I would be interested in hearing about Cornell and UPenn, but it would also be helpful to hear about experiences at other schools as well.

Who in the department is typically the best person to approach? Potential adviser, chair of the department, both, others?

When is the best time to discuss a possible deferral and see what (if anything) can be arranged? Now in phone conversations with faculty, or personally during campus visits?

Thanks very much in advance for your time and advice!