Babson College Deferred You: Now What?

Submit a letter of continued interest as soon as possible, and afterward, have your guidance counselor call or at least email the admissions office to update them concerning all of your awards, publications, accomplishments, and grades since you applied. They should affirm that no matter what other admission decisions you receive, you will choose to attend Babson if offered a spot.

When it comes to bragging about grades, prizes, or publications, please save it. If you made it this far in the admissions process at an elite school like Babson, where the overall acceptance rate hovers around 17% and the combined Early Decision acceptance rate is approximately 27%, then you already have enough academic credentials to be a strong candidate. If you did not, then you wouldn't be deferred and reevaluated in the regular decision round; you would have been rejected.

Your guidance counselor should be the one bragging on your behalf. When they do it, it carries much more weight and shows the college that there is something beyond those accomplishments to consider. By your guidance counselor going out of their way to share your accomplishments with the admissions officer, it demonstrates to them that there is something compelling enough about your personhood for them to be doing this. Given how accomplished you must be to be even deferred from a school ranked No. 2 nationally by The Wall Street Journal and with the nation's No. 1 entrepreneurship program, this intangible quality they can infer is what will distinguish you from other overachievers.

Your letter should demonstrate how you will contribute to spaces and organizations on campus and remind the reader of your academic hook. In reintroducing your hook, the academic niche you spent time and effort carving out in high school to distinguish yourself from others, you want to remind the reader why you're a perfect fit for Babson's unique environment.

I recommend starting with something engaging or lighthearted. Reading an update from someone who was, in a sense, not admitted is naturally awkward for an admissions officer. To make the experience as comfortable as possible for the reader, avoid explicitly referencing the deferral or conveying disappointment.

After a lighthearted and positive introduction, proceed to talk to the reader about something related to your niche, such as a new cutting-edge development or something new that you learned. Then connect this new piece of information to something currently going on at Babson.

Babson's entire educational philosophy centers on Entrepreneurial Thought & Action®, the belief that entrepreneurs don't just predict the future, they create it. If your goals align with this ethos, weave that in. Explain how, by leveraging specific opportunities at Babson, you can achieve some goal that creates meaningful impact. Make the reader understand how achieving this goal can change the world.

Demonstrate genuine knowledge of what makes Babson unique. Consider referencing opportunities like:

Foundations of Management and Entrepreneurship (FME): This signature first-year course where you actually launch and run a real business with your classmates. If you have an entrepreneurial idea or experience, connect it to how FME would let you hit the ground running.

The Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship: Home to mentorship, funding opportunities, and programs like the Butler Launch Pad and the B.E.T.A. Challenge that can help you bring a venture to life.

The Stephen D. Cutler Center for Investments and Finance: If finance is part of your hook, mention their Bloomberg terminals, FactSet access, and trading competitions.

The C. Dean Metropoulos Institute for Technology and Entrepreneurship: Perfect if your interests lie at the intersection of technology and business innovation.

Cross-registration with Olin College of Engineering and Wellesley College: If your interests extend beyond business, demonstrate how Babson's collaborative network fits your interdisciplinary goals.

Finally, paint the reader a picture of you on their campus. Have fun here. Feel free to write a hypothetical scenario of you making some of the best memories of your life there. You want the reader to feel like by not admitting you, they will be denying you the opportunity to live your best life for four years.

Show them you doing activities that have garnered you friends in high school on their campus. Imagine yourself presenting at the FME Expo, pitching at Rocket Pitch, or working alongside classmates to solve a real business challenge. Let the admissions committee see exactly who you'll become as part of their community.

Being deferred from Babson means you're still very much in the running. The admissions committee saw something in your application worth a second look. Your job now is to give them every reason to say yes. Write a letter that demonstrates not just why you want Babson, but why Babson needs you.

If you'd like help writing your letter of continued interest for Babson or any other school, please schedule a free consultation with us below.