Deferring Admission

Responsible Office
Graduate School - Admission
Executive
Rodney D. Priestley, Dean of the Graduate School
Policy
  1. Policy Statement

    This statement describes the Graduate School’s policy for allowing admitted students to postpone enrollment for one year.

  2. Who is Affected by this Policy

    Admitted applicants who wish to postpone enrollment into the Graduate School for one year.

  3. Definitions

    N/A

  4. Policy

    An offer of admission to the Graduate School is made only for the upcoming academic year.  Acceptance of the offer is generally not deferred; however, the Graduate School permits academic departments to recommend admission deferrals on a case-by-case basis, generally only for academic-related reasons. If granted, the deferral is normally for one year only; the student is expected to have accepted Princeton’s offer of admission and support. Accordingly, a student who requests and is approved to defer admission is considered under an obligation to enroll and attend the graduate program the following year.

    Under exceptional circumstances, where the deferred student fails to satisfy the reason for or conditions of the deferral, the deferral may be withdrawn and the offer of admission may be rescinded.

    Please submit your request for a deferral no later than 12:00 p.m. (noon) Eastern Time on April 12. Deferral requests made after a student has already accepted the offer of admission are not ordinarily granted.

  5. Procedures

    There are two parts to requesting a deferral. First, an applicant must contact the department to discuss the reasons why he or she wishes to defer. If the department approves the deferral request, the applicant should select the "I accept but am requesting a deferral" button within the admission offer and upload a brief statement explaining the specific reasons for the deferral request in the field provided. Then, the Graduate School will review the request and a decision will be emailed within three to five business days. A deferral is NOT confirmed without Graduate School approval.

  6. Related Documents/Pages/Forms (if applicable)

    N/A

  7. Roles and Responsibilities

    Dean of the Graduate School
    Oversees Graduate School policies and associated procedures.

    Director of Graduate Admission
    Approves admission materials.

    Department Admission Committees
    Reviews deferral requests.

    Academic Affairs
    Reviews deferral requests.

    Student
    Contacts department to request a deferral, submits an admission response, and attaches the supporting statement to the admission response.