What a deferral protects, and what it does not

Deferring a place you already hold is very different from not applying at all. A deferral usually holds the offer for a year and keeps the admissions decision made, which removes the risk of having to be accepted all over again. But it is granted rather than taken, so it has to be requested and confirmed in writing.

Check three things specifically: whether the offer is held unconditionally or whether conditions must be met again, whether any funding or scholarship defers along with it (frequently it does not), and what the fee will be next year rather than this one. People assume all three simply carry over, and are sometimes wrong about all three.