Denied? Time to Appeal?

By Quetzal Mama • March 17, 2015

  

          I know, it sucks.  You got denied from your dream school.  You abruptly went from imagining the Instagram photo you’d post wearing your new college sweatshirt, to wondering why you didn’t apply to more campuses.  Suddenly, you wonder if you should appeal the decision?”  Hmm, it’s crossed your mind.  You think, “Hey, if I could only let the admissions people know they made a big mistake, surely they’ll admit me.”  If you’re thinking about appealing a decision, here’s some straight talk from Quetzal Mama.

To start, here’s a direct quote from the University of California at San Diego (one of the top three most competitive UC campuses):

“We strongly discourage letters of appeal. The application evaluation process is thorough, and decisions are made after careful review by our admissions staff. It is highly unlikely that we will reverse a decision. Disagreement with the decision is not a valid reason for an appeal. If you have new information that you would like for us to consider, such as additional test scores not previously reported or the discovery of an error on a high school transcript, please submit that information with a letter of appeal to our office.”

Let me help you ‘read between the lines.’  First, they are kindly, respectfully, but firmly suggesting that you not pursue an appeal.  They are not saying you are prohibited from appealing, but as they clearly state, “It is highly unlikely that we will reverse a decision.”  They want you to know they take their job as evaluators very, very seriously.  They’ve been doing this for quite some time, and they’re pretty competent.  Emphasis on the third sentence:  “Disagreement with the decision is not a valid reason for an appeal.”  Having your heart set on attending this particular campus, or because it is your ‘dream school’ are not compelling reasons to submit an appeal.  Trust me, they read your file.

Ouch, that stings right?  But, listen to these words of encouragement.  Each year, I see top students get denied from many, many campuses.  Some hold a 4.0 GPA and are in the 1500 plus Club of SAT exam takers.  I also see students get admitted to a superior campus, yet denied from a less competitive one.  For example, last year one of my students was denied Stanford but admitted to Harvard.  Same student, same profile.  Sometimes we may never know what factors contributed to an admission decision.

So, rather than focusing on where we didn’t get in, let’s channel our energies to carefully review and compare financial aid packages from campuses we were selected.  Once April 1 hits, you’ll have one month to submit your SIR (Statement of Intent to Register).  Speaking of which, what criteria should you use to pick the right campus?  See “Which Campus is Right for You?"to make sense of the decision making stage.

Bottom line:  Should you appeal?  Submit a compelling appeal if something major was excluded from your application.  Focus on the word “compelling.”  For example, you hold a 4.0 GPA but your previous record indicates a 3.0.  Your previous SAT score was 1050, and last month you received a 1410!  Or, you neglected to mention you have a learning disability, or that you’ve held a full-time night job throughout your high school tenure (impacting your grades).  Those are compelling reasons.

You might also consider the optimistic perspective, “What’s the worst that could happen?”  They can’t re-deny you!  Submitting an appeal means time and energy.  Do you want to invest this time in focusing on an appeal or something that has greater odds of yielding success?  Finally, if you want to read the letter of a young man who successfully appealed his UC Berkeley denial, see it here.