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Undergraduate Admission

Deferring your Undergraduate Enrollment

You may defer your undergraduate enrollment for up to two semesters.

If you've been admitted to spring 2024, you may defer your enrollment to fall 2024 or spring 2025.

If you've been admitted to fall 2024, you may defer your enrollment to spring 2025 or fall 2025.

If you defer for one term and later want to extend your deferral, you can defer for one more fall or spring term. Once you've deferred your enrollment for two terms (i.e. a full year), you cannot extend your deferral. If you'd like to start at USF beyond that, you will need to reapply to USF for that term.

Undergraduate students in all majors except nursing are eligible to request deferrals. First-Year engineering students must defer to fall 2025. 

The deadline to request a deferral for your spring 2024 admission is January 21, 2024. The deadline to request a deferral for your fall 2024 admission is August 1, 2024.

Scholarships and Financial Aid

Your USF merit scholarship, if you received one, will carry over to the term you start at USF. This is the scholarship that would have been printed in your original admission letter. If you were offered the Black Scholars Program scholarship or the Getty Scholarship, these will not carry over.

Deferring from fall 2024 to spring 2025:
You do not need to submit a new FAFSA for the spring 2025 semester.

Deferring from fall 2024 to fall 2025:
You will need to submit a new FAFSA or California Dream Act application for the 2025–2026 academic year. The FAFSA opens every year on October 1, and you’d use tax information from 2023 to fill it out.

Understand Financial Aid & Cost

Taking Classes Before Enrolling

First-year students: If your deferral is granted, you will be able to transfer up to two classes per semester before attending USF.

Transfer students: There is no limit to the total number of credits that can be transferred in to USF.

We would encourage you to choose from Core C, D, E, or F of our Core Curriculum classes and find equivalent classes at a local university or community college. Please note that this does not guarantee that your total time enrolled at USF will be shorter.

Housing

If your deferral is granted, you will still be guaranteed on-campus housing when you enroll at USF.

If you're deferring to a spring term, you will apply for housing in November:

  • First-year students are guaranteed three semesters of on-campus housing.
  • Transfer students are guaranteed one semester of on-campus housing.

If you're deferring to a fall term, you will apply for housing in February:

  • First-year students are guaranteed four semesters of on-campus housing.
  • Transfer students are guaranteed two semesters of on-campus housing.

How to Request a Deferral

First, submit your Enrollment Decision form and Enrollment Deposit on your Dons Status Page. Deferrals cannot be granted until these items are complete.

Then, submit the deferral request form below. You can expect a response within two business days.

To defer your spring 2024 admission to a future term, fill out the deferral request form. For fall 2023 deferrals, the form will be available on this page beginning April 1st.

If your deferral is granted, you will be required to submit an additional non-refundable $750 deposit on November 1 (for spring deferrals) or February 1 (for fall deferrals). All deposit amounts will apply toward your first semester's tuition.

Deferral Request Form

Office of Undergraduate Admission

Lone Mountain Main 251
2800 Turk Street
San Francisco, CA 94118
Hours

Monday - Friday:
8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Fax (415) 422-2217