<p>Honestly, you’ve done all that you can. There are plenty of other schools similar in feel to Emory, but aren’t nearly as competitive to get into. Some of them might even offer you quite a bit of merit aid. </p>
<p>Don’t get too down on yourself if you do end up getting rejected (but hey, you might get accepted. Plenty of people do after getting deferred!). Emory will probably reject over 75% of all applicants this year, the majority of whom would have done extremely well had they been admitted.</p>
<p>Make sure you have back up plans, so that way, regardless of the outcome, you know that come August you’ll have some place you’d be thrilled to attend for the next four years.</p>