I would be interested to know what fraction of deferred applicants are accepted. I absolutely think Harvard should opt for a more Stanford-like system in which deferral likely means a higher chance of acceptance than the average RD’er. Then again, as long as people are aware that almost all deferred applicants are rejected, I suppose there isn’t an enormous issue. But even if people intellectually know that, the deferral keeps hope alive, ultimately resulting in a more crushing blow to the applicants who were strung along. I wish I knew why they did this - seems unnecessary and even a bit cruel.