‘I Was Deferred by U-M. What Does That Mean for My Ross Application?’

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The Office of Undergraduate Admissions (OUA) at the University of Michigan traditionally releases Early Action admission decisions by Dec. 24 each year. When these decisions are released, some applicants will have their final admission decision postponed to a later day — what is referred to as being “deferred.” 

Understandably, this may spark some anxiety, but there is no need to panic. To help ease concerns, I wanted to address some common questions related to being postponed and how that affects your Michigan Ross BBA application.

What is the two-tiered review process?

We review applications for the Ross BBA program on a rolling basis; however, applicants must first be admitted to U-M by OUA. Once you are admitted, your application is on its way to Ross for a final decision. If your application is postponed by U-M, then the application is postponed getting to us, and we cannot give you a final decision yet. 

What happens if my app is postponed? 

OUA has an excellent FAQ page on what it means to be postponed. The page addresses what to expect when you’re postponed, how to verify your continued interest and submit a mid-year grade report (you should do this), and the decision timeline after being postponed. Once you have verified your continued interest and submitted your mid-year grades, you must wait to hear back on your final admissions decision. If you did both the previous steps, you’ve done all that you can do to better your chances of getting in, so try not to worry! For tips on what to do while you’re waiting, you can check out my previous blog post on this topic. 

Can I be admitted to Ross after being postponed? 

Yes, absolutely! We, at Michigan Ross, send out admission decisions on four select dates from winter to early spring. (Spoiler alert: I will announce those release dates in my first blog post of the new year in January.) And yes, we do and will admit students to the BBA program that were initially postponed by OUA for Early Action and then admitted for Regular Decision. 

What are the next steps if I’m ultimately not offered admission to Michigan?

We recognize that not all applicants who were initially postponed by OUA will get a decision of admission. Thus, keep in mind that if you’re not admitted by OUA and your dream is to still come to Ross, you can always apply as a transfer student from another institution next year. And it just so happens that I also wrote a blog post on our transfer process just a few weeks go.

Overall, the admissions process at U-M is quite thorough on purpose. As I have stated before, we put a lot of thought and care into developing each class of Ross BBA students. Remember, being postponed allows the university extra time to review your credentials to determine your strengths and academic achievement in the context of the entire applicant pool.