I Just Sent in my Appeal

Colleges and Universities A-Z Dartmouth College
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<p>Hello all, I've been a "lurker" on the Dartmouth board for a really, really long time now. I practically know all of you by heart. Why have I not posted? Ostensibly, it's because I had not activated my account when I signed up last September so the screenname was gone for good. But in reality, I guess it has to do a lot with being so damned afraid... unfortunately, most people's test scores pale in comparison to most of the kids' stats here on CC. I'm sure there's a devious boy out there who is going to post that hateful, yet inevitable request, "post your stats, please (+ plus a green smiley face)," and I'd have to be obliged to answer. </p>

<p>Anyhow, Dartmouth has been my dream school since sophomore year, and I've sent all my test scores here as a first choice. I have reasons to believe that I'll get rejected, so I've just sent my appeal via overnight mail (can you believe it costs $13.60?!). Hopefully, mine will be at the very top of the stack.</p>

<p>Here is why I think I'll get rejected/waitlisted:
(1) Dartmouth didn't request financial aid forms, and I had several missing (and you KNOW IT, too, Dartmouth!! =) )
(2) Botched interview, maybe?
(3) Discrepancy in online status page. Someone had started a thread and he/she copied the statement from their page. It included two paragraphs: the opener which was nice and cordial; and a second one which merely stated the time when decisions would be sent out. I, like some others here, got only the second half of that. Maybe I'm looking into this too much?</p>

<p>I'd just like to wish everyone good luck with the Big Green. I see Duke has posted their decisions already, but I am of "that sort" who just HAVE to wait for the mailed form (as I will be doing with Dartmouth's decision as well). Also, any lurkers out there come and join the party. I was only convinced to post as decisions from other schools have began to file in, making me at least half as good as some of you guys. I've been accepted to Carleton, Middlebury, Wesleyan, Notre Dame, NYU, UCI, & WilliamMary, but oh, how I want that Dartmouth letter so much!</p>

<p>Reverse your decision Dartmouth! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...</p>

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<p>can you appeal decisions at Dartmouht?</p>

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<p>Well, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you, ttgiang. Hopefully we'll be seeing you next year!</p>

<p>This is a really dumb question, but --- Dartmouth had RD interviews? I know there are alums in my area but I was never contacted for one. <em>shrugs confusedly</em></p>

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<p>Nope, you cannot appeal decisions .</p>

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<p>ttgiang,</p>

<p>Brighten-up, it's good for your karma. It's kind of cool to know you have been following along with us even though you were not participating, but it's much better to be here with us and share the reality of it all.</p>

<p>I don't know anything about you other than your dedication to Dartmouth...and that may be enough; for your sake, let's hope so.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>Hmm.. a bit disconcerting, but I love a challenge. Is the no-appeal thing a part of the Ivy League agreement, or is a college policy, i wonder. I'm from California, and the appeals process seems to be a significant part of the UC system. Even though the number reversed is minute, it shows that "mistakes" (for lack of a better word) could be made, especially in the case of extraordinary circumstances. The admissions office has always been very nice, so I hope they at least read the stuff I sent them.</p>

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<p>Thanks fountain, regarding the "karma" thing, after I sent away the envelope at the post office, I stopped at McDonald's. The total came to $08.05- or, August 8 (my dad's birthday) or 08:05, the time of my birth. Perhaps the stars have aligned? =)</p>

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<p>ttgiang,</p>

<p>sounds like you're in!</p>

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<p>yea, there are regular decision interviews. I had one with an alumni...</p>

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<p>My RD interview was really intimidating. There were two big guys who stared at me with these really intense calculating looks. When they finally pried out the fact that I'm also applying to princeton, they wasted the next 15 or 20 minutes just asking me what I would base my final decision on in case (God forbid) I get into both schools, despite the fact that I have a crappy shot at either institution... They really don't like Princeton, lemme tell ya! It wasn't fun at all and I don't think I produced the desired impression...</p>

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<p>ttgiang,</p>

<p>give yourself more credit...I'm sure you'll be happy wherever...hopefully at D-mouth</p>

<p>Good luck!!</p>

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<p>Thanks kb,</p>

<p>Yeah, I got an interview. Here's an excerpt of my appeal talking about the interview. It didn't go incredibly well, so I tried to offset a potentially bad review from the interviewer. (mind the grammatical errors!)</p>

<p>"I remember Mr. Ogden’s office, on the thirteenth floor of the Xerox Centre. I waited in the lobby for approximately fifteen minutes, walking around and admiring the Mark Rothko prints until he ushered me through the door. We turned left and walked about thirty paces, took a right and continued for about fifteen more, turned left and ventured about ten paces to his office on the right. He showed me the view from the office, located just over one of Southern California’s ribbon-like freeways. Off to the right was Angels Stadium and beyond was a faint glimpse of the “Happiest Place on Earth” (though I thought I was already there, in that very office). He lamented the fact that we could barely see the shoreline of the ocean on that evening, and he reassured me that we would be able to spot the buildings of downtown Los Angeles on “clear days.” To his credit, Mr. Ogden is fiercely proud alum. I fought to tell my side of the story, but he simply had too much to say. I warrant it was my fault, for I allowed myself to be enraptured by every description he had to offer of Dartmouth; I was the one who wouldn’t let him stop. But the most significant aspect of the evening was one which was not spoken nor referenced to by either party. In his office, there hung two, framed documents on the bare of the walls. No, they were not Dartmouth diplomas, but certificates for his being the best parent volunteer in his son’s school/district. He had talked a great length of what an Ivy League education could provide, but those certificates showed me what the values and principles of Dartmouth students, Dartmouth alumni, and the Dartmouth professors and administrators truly were. All the view books, all the letters, all the pictures in the world, not even the video clips of President Wright’s lectures on the school’s website can do justice to the true meaning of a Dartmouth diploma than what is signified by those two documents- it is a summation of what I want in a college education, it is a reaffirmation of what I can expect with a Dartmouth degree."</p>

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<p>What is this "appeal" that you speak of...and how successful is it?</p>

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<p>ttgiang15 that's a pretty powerful excerpt there... even if you do get rejected at first, this should definitely prompt them to reconsider their decision. Good Luck.</p>

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<p>Sorry, disregard my comment</p>

<p>loved the paragraph</p>

<p>sincerely,
a former lurker</p>

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<p>Thanks for your comments, guys. Wow, three of the posters here, besides myself, have less than 70 posts. It's a coming-out party, if I should so say myself! Keep it coming, folks. Can't hide forever!</p>

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<p>Oh, I don't want to leave out the "vets." You guys are awesome as always. =)</p>

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<p>Wait, you sent an appeal before you even got your decision?! That's ridiculous you're so sure you'll get rejected...you've already been accepted to comparable schools. I don't see why you would send it in now to be "at the top of the pile" when there really isn't any pile.</p>

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<p>Ah, therein lies the fun of it all. The better question is, what do I have to lose? If I was, by some miracle, to be accepted, then I would simply ask them to negate the whole appeal. If I was accepted, perhaps it will just show that I care so much- I don't think they'll consider rejecting me after accepting having accepted me simply because I sent in an appeal. And you are right, there is no pile, which, if I am not mistaken, would put me at the very top (would it not?). Ridiculous? Likely, but I love it, I love it, I love it. Go Dartmouth!</p>

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<p>Bravo, sir.</p>