Appealing a Denial from UCSD- Please judge my situation and see if I should?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - San Diego
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So, I haven’t had the chance to call into the admissions office to ask about the reason for my denial (I have heard that they will tell you how many points you were missing) and I was wondering if anyone could review my situation and give me advice/feedback on whether or not I should, and if so-- the most effective ways to.

Since I was 5 or so, my grandmother was diagnosed with dementia and since she lived with my family, it wasn’t possible for me to participate in a lot of extracurricular activities. Furthermore, everyone in my household had to take turns taking care of her (before she became bedridden, she would get up and wander. After she was bedridden, she would toss in bed and sometimes fall off the bed and we would have to call an ambulance. Later, there would just be a lot of extremely worrisome situations where she would turn extremely cold, or almost stop breathing.) She was sick a lot and since I didn’t want to lose her (she had been a huge part of my childhood), I put her before schoolwork sometimes (and I’d come to school extremely tired or with unfinished homework)

A lot of things happened that led to her condition to worsen during the UC application season, so I was extremely conflicted about writing about her situation for my essays (she had contracted pneumonia for a 2nd time and doctors at the hospital we took her to had told my aunt that they wouldn’t see to her (since she was already very old–93, and that she probably wouldn’t make it)

I know that these may have been a very good topics to use for my UC prompt, but at the time-- with my grandmother’s worsening condition, it felt extremely inappropriate to write about (But after seeing how disappointed my parents are and how upset the denial has made them, I’m willing to use anything, really)

Another situation was that my father lost his job when I was a junior and it had a huge impact on me mentally (I began to stress out about how to pay for college, or I would hear my parents worry about our financial situation) He’s fairly old compared to other fathers of students my age (his English isn’t the best, and he has poor hearing and eyesight), so it has been hard for him to find a job-- he’s still unemployed.

I could attend SDSU, but my first choice would really be UCSD because it’s extremely close to home (Less to worry about financially) and because the program there is a better fit for what I really want.

I thought that including my “stats” would be useful, so here they are:
Unweighted GPA: 3.83
UC Weighted GPA: 4.13
Weighted GPA: 4.37

SAT Scores (Superscore NA since I got this in one sitting):
Math: 650
Writing: 770
Crit Reading: 730
Cumulative: 2150

ACT: –

Extra curricular:
Piano: ~11+ years
Red Cross Club: 4 years
Science Olympiad: 3 years

Volunteer:
150+ hours at library
50+ hours at soup kitchens
100+ hours hosting children’s craft time each Saturday

Work:
Worked over the summer at the San Diego Zoo as an art vendor

Attended CSSSA (prestigious art summer program) in 2014

UC Prompts: Life as 1st gen Chinese, CSSSA

I’m a low income student and also 1st gen (Chinese and female)

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Personally, I am unfamiliar with appealing a denial! But I really want to give you the support.

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Just remember that every application has gone through extensive reviews.

"For an appeal to have merit, it must bring to light new information that was not present in the application—information that clearly shows the student to be stronger overall than had been earlier evidenced. "

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@miahun‌ I didn’t mention my grandmother’s situation in my application at all (looking back, it might have been a very dumb decision since it would have made my UC Prompt 1 more personal?)

Thank you for your reply, I will be sure to keep it in mind when deciding whether or not I should write my appeal

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@crossfire123‌ Thank you very much for your kind words! I’ll try to do my best while keeping in mind the things that are counting against me (low SAT, GPA, lack of outstanding ECs)

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I obviously do not have an answer of whether or not it will do anything.
As for whether or not you should have included it in a personal statement- depends on whether or not it would come of as a genuine honest reflection of events that deeply affected you or another sob story.
It might not do anything, but if you are willing to bring up these stories in an appeal it is worth trying. Just one thing to consider, because they might ask, why did this not appear on your application- either in personal statements or additional comments sections?
My heart goes out to you- but a word of warning: I would not expect compassion from a university appeals process. This a bureaucracy and while your story is touching, it might not convince the admissions department. And while I think you should be admitted, I’m not running UCSD admissions.
That being said, from the information you’ve shared- grandmother, father losing job, low english usage, first generation, and low income- it’s obvious you have overcome a lot and achieved a lot academically. This shows your smart and strong. While you might want to go to UCSD, you don’t need to. I have no doubt you will be successful no matter what university you attend.
I wish you the best of luck.

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I say go for it. Your stats are great for UCSD (surprised you didn’t even get waitlisted… what major did you apply to?), and your reasoning is understandable. If I were you, I would phrase your situation in the most blunt and technical sense possible so it won’t seem like you’re trying to give them a sob story. Good luck!

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@elixin54‌ Your stats are great!! Better than mine for sure! I got wait listed yesterday also. Hope you can keep your head high. There is always hope. You are amazing, don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise.

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@sneoidiwp19011‌ You do bring up a good point-- During the actual UC application season, I think the me from then would have been a bit too emotional and it would come off as a sob story (Which I’m pretty sure is something that would count against me rather than for)

As for why I’m bringing them up now, I will have to think about it a bit more

And thank you for your kind thoughts. I understand that this path has a low turnout rate in terms of success (And yes, I too think that there are a lot of factors that count against me-- most of them being things that I can’t change now-- ie: grades, SAT scores), but I think I’d rather try than live with the “maybe” for a long time. Thank you again for being so supportive!

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You SAT scores aren’t low. Maybe your math could be higher so it’s at or close to 700 but they are very good. And your GPA is very high. Those are good enough to get you in the conversation. Combined first generation, low income (which I think would appear on the app), and excellent, committed extracurriculars, I don’t know why you got in.

When I said you’ll be fine no matter where you go, I didn’t mean that as a motivation to not try. I meant that if they don’t change their mind, you’ll be okay.

I think if this is something you are willing to talk about with UCSD admission officers (because this is obviously an emotional topic), then you should go for it. After all, maybe they say yes. And if they don’t, it’s just a no, which you would’ve had if you didn’t do anything. They can’t really do anything to you. So, why not try? You’ve got nothing to lose.

One of my teachers says, “Grades and Tests are not indicators of your self- worth.” Neither are college admissions decisions. It’s okay to want to get in, but know you will be fine wherever you go.

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@sneoidiwp19011‌ I think they’re not “low” in the sense that they’re at least over 2000, but seeing the scores for the admitted students, they’re not competitive enough. I definitely will try though, thank you for the little boost!

And yes, I got the message, no worries! Sorry if I worded it a bit weirdly, but I understood what you meant. I’ve had a talk with my parents and we’ve come to the conclusion that it’s not the end of the world if I don’t get into a UC school

Again, thank you very much for your support and kind words

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So your appeal will be based on your difficult home situation that you did not disclose earlier? I don’t know how much this will sway the Appeal Committee to act in your favor but good luck. Remember, they may wonder if those same factors will affect your performance as a college student.

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I heard that they lack of money this year, so they just accept a lot of international students to help that out ;(((((

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Since no one who has responded thus far has any experience with the appeals process, you might consider approaching someone who does. Check this:

http://■■■■■■■■■■■■/home/appeal-service/

“Ms. Sun” offers various services related to UC applications, including help on admission appeals. She seems to charge $640 for that service, but she also seems sometimes to provide help to those who cannot afford her services. You can at least e-mail her with your information; she’ll likely at least provide some general advice without charging you, given your circumstances. At the least, she’ll be able to provide some credible advice regarding the possibility of a successful appeal.

Good luck.

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Here’s some information on free services from Ms. Sun:

"The Post-application Free Service includes general guidelines on reporting changes, updating the transfer application, answering Supplemental Questionnaires, and drafting appeals.

“Please send an email to help@■■■■■■■■■■■■ to request the Post-Application Free Service. The expected turn around time is between 3 to 5 days (expect to receive a reply within 3 to 5 days after you send me a message).”

http://■■■■■■■■■■■■/home/free-service/

Disclaimer: I have no connection to Ms. Sun and I’ve never used her services, although I have read her blog a few times.

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Don’t punish yourself for choosing to focus on your grandmother and father in the application. However, I do believe those are subjects you should have at least touched on in your essays because surely these are situations that formed you–how could they not?. Also, you have great stats and ECs, so don’t put yourself down for that. Considering your situation, you are quite accomplished.

That said, I say give it a shot. If you did mention those situations in your essays, then elaborate further in your appeal and explain why you did not focus on it.

My son’s situation had somewhat of a similar scenario, and he too chose not to dwell on it in his essays. However, at my advice, he did briefly touched on the situations and discussed how he managed. Just a few sentences, but enough to give some insight. His stats and ECs are very close to yours and he did get admitted. So I think you have nothing to loose.

Good Luck!!

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@Arriba‌ , @ucalumni‌ ; Thank you very much for your advice. I’ll try to elaborate on my family situation a bit more. I know the chances for an appeal being successful are extremely low, so I’m not expecting this to completely change their admissions decision (I thought I’d try though)

@bpatient‌; I’ll look into Ms. Sun’s free service, thank you for the links

@Oracion‌; Aww, thank you for trying to cheer me up! That may be the case since I’d heard a lot about the budget cuts and whatnot during my sophomore+junior years of high school… I checked the UCSD decision thread though, and I saw a lot of extremely qualified people (International, OOS, local), so while I might think that way to make myself feel better a bit, I’ll try more to focus on what I can try to accomplish through my own power.

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so if you call admissions and ask, they will tell you what your weaknesses were in your application?

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@SchalkeJunge‌ From what I’ve gathered, they will tell you how many “points” you were missing from your application (since they decide admissions based on a points system). I haven’t actually gotten a chance to call in yet (my schedule keeps clashing with their office hours), but I’ve heard that they will tell you.

if I’m wrong, someone can correct me. I’m not entirely certain about this

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@elixin54‌ If you do get a chance to call them, could you give me a heads up of how the call went and what they told you?