<p>I got into ucsb but my twin brother was waitlisted. However due to the fact that he had been diagnosed with leukemia 5 months ago and only now has finished treatment completely and has been cleared by doctors to pursue his college degrees, he may still need some assistance. I plan to try to coordinate with him where he goes and the hope is we both go to a good school together so I can be there for him. He was waitlisted at ucsb so is there anything we could do to increase his chances of getting in? If we were both accepted not only is it relatively close to home (2 hour train) but I could be there for him should he ever need it and we would SIR immediately. </p>
<p>Sounds to me like that is a case you should be making to UCSB not to us… Or he should, in his waitlist update - update ! My doctors have cleared me to pursue college and my twin would be there to support me! I have twins myself, so it may be more persuasive to me than to others. You should probably bounce it off a bunch of other people as well.</p>
<p>I would not over emphasis his frailty just that the additional support system would be in place.</p>
<p>well yeah I wasn’t making the case to you guys, I was asking is there anyone in particular I should contact to bring light to this situation?</p>
<p>I’d send an email with the update, grades and accomplishments that are positive, plus the doctor’s clearance and news that brother has been accepted and would be available in case support were (unexpectedly) necessary, or whatever. That is new info, and could possibly work as an appeal, but I understand the UCs prefer to leave appeals to those who didn’t make the wait list. I might appeal anyhow, with the new information, but I haven’t spoken to the UCs about how they view this. </p>
<p>I would 1) get the update email ready to send and 2) call and ask to speak to an admissions officer about whether this should be an appeal or a waitlist update. That way you get two looks at it.</p>
<p>alright thanks!! i’ve sent an email, and i will follow up with a call on monday. i’m hoping for the best</p>
<p>I think the waitlisted brother should send an email and do the call… if that is workable. He is the one asking for a different status.</p>
<p>oh ok yes he sent the email, but we were debating whether I or he should call because for him, he could potentially excel mentally with the knowledge that he’d have support should he need it, but also that it makes this difficult for me to decide whether or not to SIR to santa Barbara because I would not know his waitlist decision till mid-may, which would make it too late for me to cancel and SIR to any other school.</p>
<p>Hm. I’d do it differently. I’d say ‘my brother has indicated that he would absolutely send in his SIR to UCSB if I am there as it is his top choice’, if necessary. Would you actually not go if he didn’t? My point here is that you don’t want to give the impression you are trying to ‘threaten’ them, and you don’t want to misrepresent the actual situation. If you truly are so concerned with his needing support that you would go to a different college if he didn’t get in, then think of the most tactful way to say that that doesn’t also imply your brother isn’t up to the challenge of college, and doesn’t imply blackmail, so to speak. Your focus would have to be more on your own recent concerns for him and desire to be there for him, were he to need it.</p>
<p>I’m hoping some others will give advice on that point, as well.</p>
<p>–
edit - looking at the EXACT way you put it in the OP post above… THAT might be how to say it, and by email not call, because it is hard to maintain that tone in a conversation after questions, I would think. But bounce it off some others. </p>
<p>yeah I actually would not go if he were to not make it through the wait-list, which hopefully by explaining my SIR decision situation they could make some exception to notify him earlier on his decisions. I understand how it could seem threatening in a way, but I most likely will put it in the way I wrote above. I don’t want to focus on any one certain point (him potentially needing some assistance versus my and my family’s tensions in terms of me SIR’ing on or before May1st) but rather explain them both and ask for assistance on what could be done to facilitate the matter?</p>
<p>good approach, imho.</p>