Please let me know of any tips and advice for writing successful appeal letters. I am sending one to my dream school, and would really like all the help I can receive.
Unless your “dream school” is a UC, I don’t know of many who are open to admissions appeals. Or is this an academic probation appeal?
@Groundwork2022 My dream school is not a UC! And they allow appeals for waitlist and denied applicants. I know a few that were successful online, but would like some more tips to stand out. Just because others who are looking to appeal probably have researched.
Is your GC willing to call and find out why you weren’t admitted? Some will do that for you, and if so, it will help pinpoint your weak area. Then you will know specifically what concerns to directly address in your appeal.
@Groundwork2022 I tried to, but they said that a number of factors are taken into consideration, so they are not able to specifically tell us.
How much of a reach was this school? If it was in the “cross my fingers and hope for the best” category, I wouldn’t bother. It’s time to start falling in love with a different “dream” school, i.e. one which has admitted you. If it was well within range- but you just didn’t get in- it might be worth thinking about your application and what you might not have communicated thoroughly.
DO NOT write an appeal which states- “You are my dream school, therefore you should admit me” (or using different language). The focus needs to be on what YOU bring to the campus, not how much you want them.
I recall seeing some posters in the UWashington decisions thread last year say they were successful in appealing. It will probably take some legwork trawling through the thread to find them, but it may be worth your while.
@blossom Thank you, “The focus needs to be on what YOU bring to the campus, not how much you want them.”, really gets me thinking and switching a few things on my draft. I believe it is well within range, as my grades and test scores are similar to those who were admitted, but think my extracurriculars and essay were not as good. I have written the reasons in why I was unable to do the things my abilities could reach. I just looked at attending this school since I was very little, and I feel like it does not hurt to take this opportunity to try one more time. (even though my chances are very slim…)
@SJ2727 thank you, I have found a few on successful appeals! I decided to create this discussion just to see if I could earn a few more tips in which I could better my letter 