We strongly encourage applicants to apply for entry in the year and term in which they intend to enroll.

Deferral Requests for Admitted Students

If you are considering requesting a deferral, please keep the following in mind:

  • Deferrals only apply to admitted incoming students. If you are still working on your application and are facing challenges that might impact your ability to submit by the deadline, you might be able to make a hardship request (see below).
  • To defer admission, you will still need to formally accept your offer of admission in the Admission Reply Form and submit a non-refundable deposit of $800 to secure your seat for a future class.
  • Scholarships are not guaranteed to remain the same and will be reevaluated upon reconfirmation of admission the following year. For this year only, scholarships offered by Harris will carry over for the 2021-2022 academic year for the same program for approved deferral requests. Named fellowships cannot be guaranteed for the 2021-2022 academic year.
  • Deferrals are considered on a case-by-case basis.
  • Typically, deferrals are granted for unforeseen financial, health, or personal circumstances that would make enrollment a hardship.
Request Deferral

Hardship Requests

Hardship requests are open to applicants for whom a recent natural disaster or other major, widespread disruption has affected their ability to complete an application may submit a Hardship Request as described below.

Learn more about UChicago's hardship request policy.

Fall 2020 Full Time Program Deferrals

Due to limited capacity not all deferral requests were approved in 2020. As indicated in this FAQ shared with students over the summer, For this year only, scholarships offered by Harris will carry over for the 2021-2022 academic year for the same program for approved deferral requests. Named fellowships cannot be guaranteed for the 2021-2022 academic year.  Students who received a deferral will not be considered for scholarship increases in 2021.