<p>Hi Sherin55, I think contacting your regional admissions officer is the best bet. If it were my son, I’d have him email and also send the letter as a hard copy for the application file-- then again I’m neurotic, and I bet email alone is sufficient. Here’s a useful article from 2010 in which Christoph Guttentag, Duke’s head of admissions gives advice to deferred students. You can’t get better advice about being deferred at Duke from anyone else-- he is the horse’s mouth. [You</a> Got Deferred. Now What? - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/09/defer/]You”>You Got Deferred. Now What? - The New York Times) He says to write a letter in late February re-iterating your greatest desire to go to the school (if it’s still true.) Include any updates that you feel strengthen your application or of which you are proud. Don’t send too much-- send relevant new info-- your new grades, any new awards or accomplishments. Don’t be negative or bitter or depressed, he says. I know your article expresses your initial sadness, but that’s human. Use it as a jumping off place to write a positive new update in February that shows your resilience and positive spirit, while still showing your pointed interest in Duke. Don’t send the link now. Send it all in one correspondance in mid to late February. You might say you were so proud to get published in the Huffington Post and you hope you helped others in your shoes. Don’t dwell on those same emotions that you expressed in the article, don’t mention them, just be very upbeat in your new letter. Say that you are having a great senior year-- if you are-- and that you wanted to strengthen your application because Duke is still your dream school. Only write them once. Also see if your high school counselor will send a nice short little update about you with your mid year grades. Also, if you have another teacher rec from a senior year teacher who can toot your horn, send that in too. It’s hard to get in if you are deferred. Be respectful and very careful in what you send in, but you have nothing to lose. In my experience, the squeaky wheel gets oiled. All the kids I know (3) who got in from Deferral/waitlist made a strong case for themselves in an appropriate, dignified, humble, way-- show your personality-- don’t be too formal. 
I wish you the best of luck!!!</p>