Can you "appeal" a denial from college?

[Lorix2]

I posted this on the college board hoping for some advice.

DD was denied admission to our local university and is really crushed. She wants to write to them and ask for interview, but I'm not sure the letter will help. I wish they'd reconsider too for her.

Has anyone had experience with this? what was the outcome? who do you write to at the university?

thanks.

 

[Christine]

I have heard that you can contact the admissions officer and request a meeting or discussion with them regarding your denial.

My DD is currently attending a school at which she was denied. I felt like the admissions officer had not looked at her cumulative GPA and only her recent one. I wasn't going to have her appeal it though. A coworker of mine happens to be lifelong friends with one of the recruiters at this school and he mentioned it to her. She had my DD's file reopened and they took a second look and admitted her. So it can be done. But I really feel like mine was done as a favor. I don't know what would have happened had my DD initiated it.

Was there any specific reason for the denial? Is your daughter within the guidelines of acceptance (high enough GPA and test scores)? If so, you may have case, if not, then you probably don't.

 

[Rora]

I personally have never appealed for a college admission but I have a lot of friends who have.

I believe my University had a whole process for it- you appealed it, you waited and then got your answer. I'd say about 50% of the students who appealed the decision got in.

I'm not entirely sure who you'd contact but I'd start with someone in the admissions office. Maybe you should call admissions and ask about appealing.

I'd definitely appeal it/send the letter- it can't hurt to ask!

Hope things work in her favor!

 

[Art 1]

A daughter of a friend of mine did this 5 years ago or so. She was admitted just before the semester was to begin.

 

[Acklander]

I haven't heard of anyone appealing, but have a friend who went to a different school and then reapplied the following year. Sometimes showing that you thrived in a different school can weigh in your favor.
Either way, I'd have her handle it. Coming from her would be a lot stronger than coming from a parent.

 

[Christine]

Either way, I'd have her handle it. Coming from her would be a lot stronger than coming from a parent.

Definitely. The applicant must be the one to do this.

 

[castleview]

I guess I would want to know why I was denied. But am I the only one thinking "If they don't want me, screw them"?

 

[Desnik]

I never knew you could do something like this! My nephew had his heart set on MIT. He didn't get in and is upset. He made it into Northeastern, NYU, and about 5 other really great schools. Is it worth it for him to try to appeal the MIT denial? He is in the top of his senior class, has a near perfect GPA, etc..

 

[Christine]

I guess I would want to know why I was denied. But am I the only one thinking "If they don't want me, screw them"?

Well...that depends. The OP didn't say what her thoughts were on the denial.

I'm not proud to say that my daughter was denied by six colleges. We knew why, though, and there was really no point in appealing. She had a borderline acceptable GPA and very, very average SATs and ACTs. She met the minimum requirements for all the colleges she applied to but the competition is so tough right now that she didn't make the cut. Had she been denied while having good scores, I might have had her question it. If a student is denied due to be VERY borderline, sometimes they can plead their case and impress the admissions staff.

 

[Lorix2]

I have heard that you can contact the admissions officer and request a meeting or discussion with them regarding your denial.

My DD is currently attending a school at which she was denied. I felt like the admissions officer had not looked at her cumulative GPA and only her recent one. I wasn't going to have her appeal it though. A coworker of mine happens to be lifelong friends with one of the recruiters at this school and he mentioned it to her. She had my DD's file reopened and they took a second look and admitted her. So it can be done. But I really feel like mine was done as a favor. I don't know what would have happened had my DD initiated it.

Was there any specific reason for the denial? Is your daughter within the guidelines of acceptance (high enough GPA and test scores)? If so, you may have case, if not, then you probably don't.

I'm glad it worked out for your DD

 

[taylor3297]

I never knew you could do something like this! My nephew had his heart set on MIT. He didn't get in and is upset. He made it into Northeastern, NYU, and about 5 other really great schools. Is it worth it for him to try to appeal the MIT denial? He is in the top of his senior class, has a near perfect GPA, etc..

Suggest he go to Worcester Poly Tech for his undergrad and then go to MIT for graduate school. Worcester students end up with just as good if not better education than MIT.

 

[Lorix2]

Acklander - I totall agree, this should come from my daughter and it will.

Sorry, I didnt mention the reason why she was denied because I'm not sure yet. I learned of the denial from the university's website where you can check the status of the application. We still haven't received the letter yet. She called admissions, but was told she'd have to wait for the letter. This was Monday and we're still waiting.

I think her SAT may the reason though and I'm not sure how to read them, but they were (writing 480, math 410 and reading 470).

Her GPA I think is 3.1 and she had an excellent recommendation and xtra cirricular activities and a great essay.

 

[allison443]

OP could your dd talk to her high school guidance counselor? Since the school in question is your local university the gc probably has experience with their admissions process. The gc may even be able to help your dd with writing her letter, or maybe give her a recommendation letter if one wasn't already submitted.

Does your dd have other options at this point? I know on May 1 there is a list put out by the National Association of College Admissions Counselors which lists schools that still have openings.

Good luck~

 

[Lorix2]

Well...that depends. The OP didn't say what her thoughts were on the denial.

I'm not proud to say that my daughter was denied by six colleges. We knew why, though, and there was really no point in appealing. She had a borderline acceptable GPA and very, very average SATs and ACTs. She met the minimum requirements for all the colleges she applied to but the competition is so tough right now that she didn't make the cut. Had she been denied while having good scores, I might have had her question it. If a student is denied due to be VERY borderline, sometimes they can plead their case and impress the admissions staff.

Christine, this is my DD's 3rd rejection, but it's the school she really really wanted, she is devastated. We only applied to 4 and the 4th is still reviewing, but she really doesn't want that one.

What is your daughter doing now? did she go to community college and transfer in somewhere? did she decide not to pursue college any longer?

 

[Disney Doll]

Maybe they had enough of her demographic already in the incoming class.
There's a lot more that goes into college admissions than the child's test scores and abilities.

Certainly it doesn't hurt to ask what the reason was for the denial and it might not hurt to say "I'd like to meet with the Admissions people in person".

But I wouldn't let her pin all her hopes on this.

 

[Lorix2]

OP could your dd talk to her high school guidance counselor? Since the school in question is your local university the gc probably has experience with their admissions process. The gc may even be able to help your dd with writing her letter, or maybe give her a recommendation letter if one wasn't already submitted.

Does your dd have other options at this point? I know on May 1 there is a list put out by the National Association of College Admissions Counselors which lists schools that still have openings.

Good luck~

She's trying to see guidance today for more advice and help. Options are community college and hope to matriculate to this school.

I didn't know about this list - thank you very much.

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

Maybe they had enough of her demographic already in the incoming class.
There's a lot more that goes into college admissions than the child's test scores and abilities.

Certainly it doesn't hurt to ask what the reason was for the denial and it might not hurt to say "I'd like to meet with the Admissions people in person".

But I wouldn't let her pin all her hopes on this.

You are so accurate in this statement. You can be the perfect student, but if they already have the correct number of perfect students in your demographic, you are going to be rejected.

 

[Christine]

Christine, this is my DD's 3rd rejection, but it's the school she really really wanted, she is devastated. We only applied to 4 and the 4th is still reviewing, but she really doesn't want that one.

What is your daughter doing now? did she go to community college and transfer in somewhere? did she decide not to pursue college any longer?

She got into one of the seven schools she applied to but it was due to a friend (alumni of the school) asking them to reopen her package. I was mortified that he did that, actually!

She is in that school she was accepted in and she is struggling to be honest. The colleges aren't totally off base in denying admission. She was probably not ready to go. If your DD is being denied to these schools (as my DD was) it is telling.

 

[golfgal]

I never knew you could do something like this! My nephew had his heart set on MIT. He didn't get in and is upset. He made it into Northeastern, NYU, and about 5 other really great schools. Is it worth it for him to try to appeal the MIT denial? He is in the top of his senior class, has a near perfect GPA, etc..

This is more likely a demographic denial then anything. Every student applying to MIT is top in the class and has a better then perfect GPA. It never hurts to appeal, but don't count on it doing anything for him. Honestly, MIT is the best of the best and if he is top in his class and doesn't have a better then 4.0 chances of getting in are zero.

Christine, this is my DD's 3rd rejection, but it's the school she really really wanted, she is devastated. We only applied to 4 and the 4th is still reviewing, but she really doesn't want that one.

What is your daughter doing now? did she go to community college and transfer in somewhere? did she decide not to pursue college any longer?

Did she apply to realistic schools given her scores and GPA? If she did, that may be telling. If she applied to schools that are competitive for admissions, an appeal most likely won't help. DS has a crappy GPA but did well on his ACT and that is what got him into college. We also knew that while he would probably do fine at a more competitive school we weren't wasting time applying to those schools because the chance of him getting is was low. The school he is attending has a good reputation for the couple areas he is considering for a major but we are also of the belief that having a degree from anywhere is better then nothing. Now, if you are going into certain fields, engineering or some high tech fields, the school you attend is pretty important but for pretty much everything else it isn't as much of a consideration.

If she is getting rejections from all the schools she applied to, community college might be a good option for a year or so, then transfer into a 4 year program if that goes well for her. What is she thinking of majoring in?

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

There is a book called Gate Keepers that talks about the process from the position of the Admissions Dept.