On reserve @ Columbia.

[buckets47]

Does anybody know if you can defer admission if you are initially placed on reserve? Other schools that waitlisted me stated clearly that one could not defer admission off the waitlist.

[ouchitburns]

tag

[ljg]

I wouldn't think so- being on reserve at Columbia means they still haven't made a decision on your application, so it's just another fancy word for "hold".

And either way, I can't imagine a school allowing you to defer admission without having actually accepted you! You would have to take a year off and apply again along with the rest of the applicant pool, or try to transfer after 1L.

[ouchitburns]

no no, some schools don't allow you to defer AFTER you have been accepted off the waitlist. They only let direct admits defer. But, the wording of the Columbia reserve letter does give me some hope. I don't want to apply again.

[Money, baby]

Call and ask?

[Team Pam]

I wouldn't think so- being on reserve at Columbia means they still haven't made a decision on your application, so it's just another fancy word for "hold".

No, reserve is the same as a waitlist.  A "hold" is what CLS calls deferrals.

In response to the OP, this varies completely from school to school.  Harvard won't let anyone on the waitlist defer admission, while Michigan people have been known to get off the waitlist by offering to defer for a year to guarantee their admission.  The best thing to do is call Columbia admissions and ask.

[newtothis]

If anyone does call, let us know what they say.

[Dental Directory]

Wouldn't they have to accept you before you'd have to worry about this?

FWIW, it seems like Columbia doesn't make much use of its huge waitlist.

[ouchitburns]

snarky.

some of us are definitely deferring for a year, so we could pointlessly stay on the waitlist or not pointlessly stay on the waitlist. catfish?

would call myself, but not able at the moment. will try on thursday if no one does first.

[Dental Directory]

some of us are definitely deferring for a year, so we could pointlessly stay on the waitlist or not pointlessly stay on the waitlist. catfish?

Wouldn't it be better just to reapply next cycle rather than stay on the waitlist for as long as possible?