<p>I know when I was appealing, I was looking online for success stories of people that got accepted to UCLA on appeal. So I thought Id post here to help others! I'm a transfer student and my major is business Econ. </p>
<p>Ask away :)</p>
<p>congrats!! I’m still waiting to hear back.</p>
<p>When did you submit your appeal and what did you write about?</p>
<p>Congrats! Do you know why you were rejected? What’s you GPA? And when did you submit your appeal? Thanks ;)</p>
<p>I’m so sad, i appealed to Davis for communication major and didn’t get in… simply because my GPA is below 3.0 
i cried, because I tried so many possibilites and put lots of time to increase my chances of getting in. I did also look up online for success stories and what they are looking for… worked on my appeal letter and got a great letters of recs. Still didn’t get in :’(</p>
<p>Wow biz econ. Congrats! </p>
<p>Prior to submitting your appeal, did you call and ask for the reason? Did you believe their reasoning? How did you apply their reason to the appeal?</p>
<p>I’m still waiting to hear back…</p>
<p>Thanks everyone!! </p>
<p>@socal916 I submitted my appeal on Friday, May 10th. I got the news Thursday morning (May 30th).
I basically wrote about how much I wanted to go there! And I made sure I did not repeat anything I already wrote in my original essay.
I wrote about specific things that the school has that others don’t that would excel me in my major and career (I had to do some research for this). I also mentioned how I would improve UCLA. Also, I looked online for what UCLA looks for in students and I found this article saying they like students with leadership, commitment, and improvement. So I talked about the leadership roles I took on between when I submitted my original application until now (leadership position at work; started a club at my cc). For improvement, I tried to add some humor and said I have improved my Bruin fan collection and my values (i.e. services to the community, being around my family more, etc.). I also tried a little persuasive technique by incorporating my economics knowledge… I said this: “How much improvement can one student bring, you may ask? Well, what if that one student is Steve Jobs reincarnated? The admittance of said student increases your schools chances of birthing the next Apple-mania prodigy. Although the chances are small, any chance above zero, even if it may be 0.00001%, is greater than nothing. As an Economics student, I know that people with a secondary education contribute more to the quality of life and to society as a whole. Therefore, by increasing your school population by one exceptional student, you are thus increasing the quality of life for all.”
Lastly, for commitment, I talked about how I volunteer every year (for the past 8 years) in this rotary bbq, and that I was the head volunteer coordinator last year. I also said I plan to continue volunteering there even when I live in LA.
But, I think the most important part of my essay was how I wrote it. I made it seem like I was accepting UCLA and not the other way around. For instance, in the beginning I started out by saying “I am pleased to inform you that you have been accepted as my university of choice! This year, a large pool of applicants were qualified but nonpareil. Congratulations on surpassing all competing schools.” I wanted to make it a little humorous and I wanted to show them that I am confident and hopeful on getting in and not cocky! So, I told them that I required some prerequisites of the school lol. I think the strongest part of my essay was the last part. I told them I needed them to commit to me and I said I wanted to go there to compete with the best.
UCLA is highly competitive; they want their students to compete with each other. I think the “compete with the best” part really got them to see that I am meant to be a Bruin!
Then at the end I said “I look forward to seeing you on campus this fall.” LOL.
But it worked!</p>
<p>@jsbojy I did not know why I was rejected. I never called in and asked. But, I assume I did not have high enough stats. My gpa was 3.8 and for biz econ majors, the average for enrolled students was a 3.92! </p>
<p>@formomilan I know UCLA doesn’t accept letters of rec. Does ucd accept them?? And did you tag with ucd?? There are plenty of other great schools out there!!! What other places did you get accepted to? I actually live in Davis. Let me tell you, Davis is not all that great. It’s an amazing school, but I am POSITIVE you will find another school you love more!!! Good luck with your future and don’t be too sad. Everything happens for a reason; maybe you are meant to go other places :). At first, when I didn’t get into UCLA (my dream school), I kinda accepted it and started getting ready to go to UCSD. But, as lame as this sounds, in my heart, I knew I belonged at UCLA. One night, I decided to appeal, and I wrote my whole letter and researched all night. I really wanted it. But, I also kinda thought I wouldn’t get in, because the appeal rate is so low, so I told myself that whatever happens, happens and that’s the way it will be. I hope you find another great school because I am sure you will love it there too (maybe even more than Davis). </p>
<p>@randylee94 I did not know why I wasn’t accepted, but I just assumed it was because of my grades. UCLA is so competitive. I knew it was because I just wasn’t good enough. Good luck with your appeal!!! Keeping my fingers crossed for you!</p>
<p>Also, I had all of my prerequisites completed (finished them this spring) and my IGETC.</p>
<p>“Well, what if that one student is Steve Jobs reincarnated? The admittance of said student increases your school’s chances of birthing the next Apple-mania prodigy. Although the chances are small, any chance above zero, even if it may be 0.00001%, is greater than nothing.”</p>
<p>I’m sorry, but this just seems like poor logic. There’s a cost associated with admitting every student. And the more students that are admitted, the larger the strain on the budget for the university and for the department. That’s why they have to implement such a rigorous selection process and tend to have strict targets for the number of applicants they admit to the school and the individual departments. If there were an unlimited amount of resources and it were just a game of probability, sure then it wouldn’t matter how many students they admit. All of those .00001% can just be added up until there’s a decent chance of enrolling the next Steve Jobs, who mind you was a college dropout that never completed the standard coursework for a bachelor’s degree at Reed college. </p>
<p>I’m glad that you were admitted into UCLA, but I’m kind of surprised that your appeal was granted, especially given the criteria they claim to look for which is new compelling academic or personal information or some extenuating circumstance that wasn’t apparent in your original application. Like maybe you won some national merit award or you were diagnosed with some debilitating medical condition that you struggled to battle while getting good grades in CC. I would have assumed that writing how much you want to go to UCLA and trying to rationalize that they could be missing out on the next big silicon valley entrepreneur would not have fallen within that criteria. Also, your appeal lacks many concrete examples, which would’ve only helped to strengthen it. For example, you said a selling point was saying you wanted to compete with the best, but just saying something in itself isn’t necessarily persuasive. Use a concrete example to elaborate. Maybe mention a specific event where your competitiveness and determination really stood out and allowed you to be successful and then connect that to why you’d be successful at UCLA. If anything, your appeal seems to show off a great deal of personality which is nice, but it’s just pretty surprising if that was the main basis on which they approved your appeal. </p>
<p>I really don’t mean to come off harsh and I have no reason to be bitter or anything like that if that’s how it’s coming across. I’ve just read a few appeals on here, some of which were in mind very, very well-written and well-argued and were still rejected, so I’m just surprised. Here’s an example of what I mean:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/uc-transfers/729187-my-appeal-letter-ucla-inside.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/uc-transfers/729187-my-appeal-letter-ucla-inside.html</a></p>
<p>For that guy to get rejected given his appeal, his documentation, and his circumstances was surprising when I read it and I always assumed that UCLA was just then extremely strict on appeals. It seems they’ve approved a few appeals this year, so it’s somewhat shocking to me.</p>
<p>@dilapidatedmind Sorry if you feel that I should not have been granted acceptance based on my appeal, but I do feel like I deserve to be at ucla and ucla believes so too! I worked hard to get in and the reason that person that you believed had a strong appeal didnt get in is because their GPA was not strong enough. It was not because their appeal was not written correctly. It was a strong appeal; unfortunately, ucla had stronger candidates for that major.
It sounds like you are critiquing my appeal letter a little too harsh like you said and trying to tell me what I should have done but honestly, I am just trying to tell other people what I wrote because it worked for me! I was accepted because of my appeal and even if you don’t agree with ucla’s decision, my appeal is what worked for me.</p>
<p>There’s no need to apologize. I’m sorry if I came off harshly. You obviously have an exceptional GPA and I’m sure you are more than deserving for admission to UCLA. Heck, your GPA was higher than mine when I was admitted to UCLA. 
It was more of a critique of UCLA’s appeals process rather than a personal criticism of you as an applicant. It just seemed like UCLA had very specific criteria for their appeals process on their website, but there seems to be more leniency than what’s implied. But again, what do I know? I’m not an admission officer. Anyway, congratulations. Enjoy your time at UCLA, it’s a wonderful place, and I’m sure you’ll do well there.</p>
<p>Thank you! Okay I see what you mean now. And I think the reason why I was accepted on appeal is because my appeal was different from other people’s. I think that because I was creative with mine it made me stand out as an applicant. To be honest, the link you posted with the appeal was a very strong appeal with excellent basis for the decision to be overturned, but it sounded sorta cookie-cutterish. The way they wrote it sounded too similar to other appeals. At least that’s my opinion. It seemed like they used a template or basic format that many other people used and just put their own information in. Maybe if he had included that information in his original essay, he could have gotten in! But, think about how many other people had similar situations with some sort of debilitating illness or event in their life and yet they had a higher GPA than him.
I think that ucla did like me because of my personality, like you said earlier, but I also feel that I have a competitive GPA. I might have been like a borderline applicant who did not get in simply because someone else had a higher GPA or stats that me; but, after reading my appeal letter, I think the board of admissions saw something in me that showed I deserved to be at la. :)</p>
<p>Honestly, I think it was his GPA. It honestly doesn’t matter what you’ve been through. If you have a crap GPA for a competitive major, It won’t matter. Also, he could potentiality be a risky applicant due to his condition. It sounds cynical, but it could play a factor. I’m not saying it did.</p>
<p>Wow! First, I just want to say that I think you are insanely brave for having the guts to be so confident in your appeal letter! I was just wondering of you thought my information is “compelling” enough to get me accepted and how I should go about writing my appeal. </p>
<p>Stats:
Unweighted gpa 4.0
SAT 1730
ACT 25
Varsity tennis for 3 years
Volunteer work at a library and Grossmont College Child Development Center
Other various extra curriculars </p>
<p>I realize that I have very little volunteer work and extra curriculars and my scores are not very competitive but several friends of mine got accepted with lower scores and lower GPAs. I know that the admissions process is very random but I was hoping that I may have a chance if I do appeal. </p>
<p>Also, I was sent a supplemental questionnaire in January but I blew it off because I thought I had no chance at all and I know I could have written better responses. Does the fact that they already gave me a chance to state my claim reduce my chances of being accepted? </p>
<p>Alright, I’m blabbing. Onto my initial point! I wanted to write about information I left out on my initial application like volunteer work (leading a dance for multicultural week, participating in airbands, volunteering as a freshmen tour guide at my school). I also wanted to mention the fact that I have maintained my 4.3 gpa. Finally, I wanted to talk about how difficult it was for me to stay focused when I broke my wrist while playing tennis (I know, a very laughable injury but I suffer from severe clumsiness). Anyway, I wanted to explain how I continued to support my team even though it was very difficult me to not be able to play my last year in high school. I also attended the boys tennis matches and continued to help out and cheer on my teammates. </p>
<p>I know that hundreds of other people have better reasons to get accepted but I really hope this is enough. I just need a bode of confidence or a blunt discouragement. Just need to know if I should get over this. Ok, I’ve taken up enough time haha thanks in advance! </p>
<p>-deleted-</p>