Deferred enrollment, commonly referred to as a “gap year,” is designed for first-year students who desire to attend the Georgia Institute of Technology but, for various reasons, wish to postpone their enrollment.
Students who are approved to defer their enrollment and who satisfy the requirements listed below do not have to file a new application and are guaranteed a spot in the following year's first-year class. Deferred students pay an enrollment deposit for the original term of entry, which will be credited to the new term of entry.
Defer Enrollment & COVID-19:
Some students may be considering a delay in enrollment due to uncertainty caused by COVID-19. Please note that our deadline to request a deferment is July 1. This date gives you time to consider all your options and will provide more insight into impacts from the virus. Decisions on deferral requests may be delayed until after July 1.
Details for the Deferred Enrollment Program:
- Only first-year students who have paid their admission deposit by May 1 or their required date of deposit of their original entry year are eligible to request an enrollment deferral.
- Students who wish to defer their enrollment must contact the admission office and request to have their enrollment deferred after their deposit and before July 1.
- Students may only defer their enrollment to the following spring, summer or fall term. Two year deferments are permissible, if they are mandated by government, military or religious service.
- The $250 enrollment deposit will be deferred until the future enrollment term, but the $600 housing deposit is subject to the cancellation terms outlined in the housing contract.
- Defer Enrollment approvals are final. Once we have approved the deferral and moved a students' entry term, we will not move the term again.
- Students may not defer their enrollment to attend other colleges and universities during their time away from Georgia Tech. Students who are found to have attended another college/university during their deferral year will not be able to enter Tech as a first-year student but would have the option to reapply as a transfer student.
- Students who are granted approval to defer their enrollment should understand that their approval is contingent upon successful completion of all high school courses. As the acceptance letter states, students who are admitted to Georgia Tech are expected to maintain the same level of academic excellence as was demonstrated at the time of acceptance. Failure to do so may result in revocation of the offer of admission. A final high school transcript indicating date of graduation must be forwarded to the Georgia Tech Office of Undergraduate Admission immediately upon graduation.
General Information
Communication with the Office of Undergraduate Admission
Students for whom enrollment deferral is approved will maintain access to their admission portal. It is your responsibility to check your portal and the email address provided on your application frequently to stay informed about information pertinent to your future enrollment at Georgia Tech. A new acceptance letter will not be issued, and a new admission deposit is not required.
Financial Aid & Scholarships
All Georgia Tech students must reapply for financial aid each year; therefore, your current financial aid package will not be deferred to a future enrollment term. Our ability to award financial aid varies from year to year, so there is no guarantee that your future offer will match the current one.
The deferral of academic/departmental scholarships is at the discretion of the awarding department. Any student granted an enrollment deferral should contact the appropriate department to determine whether or not their scholarship can be deferred.
Housing
The $600 housing deposit is not transferrable to a future term. To better understand the housing contract cancellation policy, please visit here.
