What does it mean to defer in college admissions?

Can someone explain what 'deferring' means in the college admissions process? I’ve heard it mentioned a few times but I'm not clear on the details. Does it impact your chances of eventually attending that college?

When it comes to college admissions, 'deferring' generally refers to two different situations:

1) Deferral of Admission Decision: If you applied early action or early decision to a college, and the admissions office has not denied or accepted your application, but instead deferred it, it means your application will now be reviewed in the regular decision pool. The college wants to look at your application in comparison to the broader pool of applicants before deciding. You now can expect to hear back usually in March or April about your admission status, similar to regular decision applicants. This does not necessarily impact your chances negatively. It just means that the admissions office needs more time to make a decision about your application.

2) Students Deferring their Enrollment: If you’ve been admitted to a college, but you’ve decided to take a gap year or need some time before you start attending the college for various reasons, you can ask the admissions office to defer your enrollment. Colleges generally allow this, but you would need to confirm as policies differ from one institution to another. This would mean that instead of starting college immediately after you've been accepted, you would start at a later agreed-upon time, traditionally a year later. This would not negatively impact your admission status, as the college has agreed to hold your place for you until you are ready to enroll.

In both cases, your chances of eventually attending that college are not negatively affected. However, it is important to communicate clearly with your college's admissions office to make sure you understand all the conditions of deferring.