Many law school
applicants have heard of deferring, but few know anything about
the practice. In order to make applicants more aware of this process,
we have outlined exactly what deferring is, how it works, and what
you should know about it.
Deferring is
a process by which accepted law school applicants can delay matriculation
to a law school for a year or longer, without having to reapply
when they are ready to begin taking courses. By deferring admission
to a law school, applicants effectively accept the admissions offer,
delay their first year of classes, and guarantee that their space
is held for them until the following year.
The typical
process of receiving a deferment is outlined below:
- You must be accepted for admission at the law school in question.
Note: your admissions offer must still be valid at the time of
your deferment request. For example, if the deposit deadline to
hold your seat passes and you have neither paid the deposit nor
made a deferment request, the option to defer or even enroll is
typically no longer valid.
- While holding a valid admission offer from the school, you make
a formal written request for deferment to the school’s admissions
office. This request must include a valid reason for deferment,
such as sickness, personal issues, employment commitments, delays
to a degree currently in progress, or financial constraints.
- Your request for a deferment is not automatically granted by
the school, and your request can be rejected. If the request is
rejected you have two choices: either enroll for the upcoming
semester, or relinquish your hold on a seat and reapply when you
are ready to start school. If your deferment request is granted,
you must typically take the following steps:
- Make a non-refundable seat deposit. This deposit usually
ranges from $300-$1000.
- Pay a non-refundable processing fee (this varies somewhat
by school).
- Sign an agreement stating that you will not enroll at another
law school, accept a deferment offer from another law school,
or apply to another law school.
- Students
who are granted a deferral request will typically be allowed to
defer for only one year; very few schools allow longer deferments.
- Students
who are accepted off of a waitlist typically do not have the option
to request a deferment.
- Receiving
a deferment is rare in most cases; in fact, some schools offer
only 5 to 10 deferments per year.
- Accepting
a deferment and then applying to another school or enrolling at
another law school is looked upon as unethical and can cause serious
problems during your State Bar review and inquiry.
- If you choose
to defer for a year or more, make productive use of the time off.
Focus on something that will help clarify your legal career goals.
For example, if you are interested in environmental law but are
not unsure as to whether you would enjoy it as a long-term career,
get a job related to environmental law in order to clarify your
objectives in law school.
- If you know
that you are going to attempt deferment to pursue further work
experience, hold off on applying until you are actually ready
to attend school. An applicant who has some post-graduate work
experience is generally viewed as more stable and worldly than
a graduating senior, thereby giving the working applicant a better
chance of admission.
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