<p>I recently read in an article that if you are rejected from a college, it is perfectly acceptable to write to the admissions officer and ask why. CC parents -- do you think this is ok? Or would it come off as being pushy or desperate? I would love to know why my child was rejected. The letter would come from the student, of course.</p>
<p>I think knowing the reason would help with the future college search and give us a sense of closure about what happened. Maybe he was aiming too high, or maybe there was a stupid careless error or omission of some important information. We would love to know. </p>
<p>Of course, the admissions officer may not be totally honest about the reason, but I think it is worth taking a shot. What do you think?</p>
<p>PS -- here is the paragraph from the article:</p>
<p>Instead of wallowing, contact whomever signed that rejection letter and ask why your application was denied. “Nine out of 10 times, they will tell you the reason,” he says. “The reason is a gift because you can be comfortable with what happened.”</p>
<p>I suppose if it were an ED application, you’d have time to adjust and regroup. But with regular decision, what purpose would it serve. Hopefully there are other colleges to which a student was accepted and in some cases, when admission numbers are very low, it’s just the way it goes.</p>
<p>From what I’ve seen, few schools will give you a specific reason. You mostly get boilerplate: “Too many wonderful applicants to accommodate them all, …blah, blah blah. Best of luck…blah, blah.”</p>
I’ll bet that’s the “reason” that 9 out of 10 will give. There might be cases in which a school will tell the guidance counselor the reason, if the GC has a good relationship with an adcom at the school. But I would say that unless you’re on the waiting list, there’s no point in asking this question. It’s much better to just put that school behind you.</p>
<p>I would say…no, don’t ask. What purpose would it serve? Both of my kids received rejections from schools…and they both just “moved on”. In both cases, they were mighty happy with the colleges they attended…and that was MUCH more important than finding out why a college they were NOT going to attend didn’t accept them.</p>
<p>That’s an unsatisfying aspect of the whole process…often, you don’t know why you were rejected or why you were accepted. Son didn’t apply to any reaches so there were no rejections, but I’d love to chat with the admissions officers - Did you care all that he was an Eagle Scout? Did the essay matter at all? Would he have gotten in with no ECs?</p>
<p>Opposite with rejections…would more ECs have helped? Was it totally test scores and grades?</p>
<p>I just don’t think schools could possibly give students an honest answer. Let’s say they are trying to put together a well rounded, diverse class. They can’t really tell you, "we already had 10 white guys who played the trumpet in the marching band. " “We already had enough Asian kids with perfect math SATs.” “With your learning disablity, we really didn’t think you could cut it here, even though your grades and scores were good.” It would be multiple lawsuits waiting to happen.</p>
<p>I agree that nothing can really be gained by asking. It seems a little like asking a guy who has just proposed to some other girl to enumerate the reasons he didn’t propose to you. </p>
<p>Since many selective schools honestly get too many qualified applicants, there is little satisfaction in hearing again how well qualified they found your student… but that they found OTHER great students (with URM? started a charity? from Nebraska? had a great essay revealing some serious life challenge?) who among this pool got the tips.</p>
<p>I think there are lessons teenagers get a chance to learn in these cases. Either to figure out how to make oneself even more competitive (work for higher grades, commit to accomplishing more in one’s area of passion) in college with an eye towards grad schools, and/or to begin to accept that all things may happen for a reason. Not everything we (or our kids) may want will come easily. How we all deal with these disappointments can lead to a happier and more productive life.</p>
<p>Forget what the school says. Think about what you should say when your kid asks you why you think they were rejected.
The best answer, I think, is: “I don’t know why they rejected you, but I do know that they were crazy to do so, and (name of other school) is lucky to get you.”
If your kid has a sense of humor, you might say: “I guess they just weren’t that into you.”</p>
<p>Sometimes it is not about something your child has done “wrong”, as colleges each year are trying to build a class that aligns with the institutional mission. Some years, they may need more poets, oboe players, men, students from minnesota, more pell eligible, more full pay,etc.</p>
<p>If your child is BWRK, where there is not a shortage of and does not fill the niche the school is trying to fill, there is not a lot you can do about it. All you child can do is the best over the things s/he has control over, toss their hat in the ring and let the process play itself out.</p>
<p>Why not? What have you got to lose? It’s not like they can give you an additional extra-special rejection. Just don’t expect to get a truly satisfactory answer. If you applied ED to an elite school or applied to a school where your child’s stats were below the 50th%-tile, they’re probably just going to give the, (accurate), “we have more great apps than we know what to do with and frankly you just didn’t stand out” answer. It seems pointless to me, but if it makes you feel better, give it a whirl.</p>
<p>I cant recall where I saw this or exactly how it was said… but it was to the tune of, “where are all these schools in need of oboe players…ever?”</p>
<p>I’m a “why not” person. If your child cares enough to “want” to call and ask then by all means call and ask. Parent should never call. No guarantee they will get an answer that is meaningful but to apply ED to a school means that was your #1 choice and you intended to go if accepted so my all means ask if so inclined. On the other hand many kids adopt a “if they don’t want me, I don’t want them” attitude and that is just fine, too.</p>
<p>Wow … didn’t expect everyone to say no – don’t do it. Well, I guess CC parents know best and I won’t encourage DS to write that letter. Bu just to respond to everyone who asked, what purpose would it serve … my answer would be this: it is only September and there is still time to apply to a lot more schools. Maybe the admissions person could tell him something that would help in future applications to other schools. Most likely that his SAT and GPA were just too low to be competitive. The school that just rejected him – DS thought it was a safety. Maybe some of these schools that he thought were safeties were really reaches. ARRGGGH!!! Excuse me – I have to go put my head in the oven now.</p>
<p>If I had seen this thread a few days ago, I would have said “why bother?”</p>
<p>But, I talked to a mom on Saturday night who had been confused by why her D. had been rejected from a school that seemed like an excellent match. And other students with lesser stats had been accepted.</p>
<p>So, she called the admissions office. And, got some very valuable information that doesn’t help her D. but, could help other students from her school for future application cycles. Although her D. had taken a very rigorous courseload, her senior year was much lighter because she needed to fulfill graduation requirements. She had 3 core courses and 3 non-core (all of the non-core were grad. req’s.) And, according to the college, that was why she was rejected. Had she realized what an impact her schedule would have, she could have beefed up her schedule by adding in a course at the community college. </p>
<p>All turned out well, as the D. is now at Vandy (a higher tier school than the one which rejected her). But the mother has made a point of letting the h.s. gc’s know about this so that they can better direct students who are applying to highly selective schools.</p>
<p>rt, now that you’ve given us a little more info (i.e., your S thought this was a safety and he was rejected in September – I assume rolling admissions?), it may make sense for HIM to call the admissions office. It’s early enough in the season that he may get someone who will talk to him. He should have a list of questions in advance so he can be prepared and make the most of the opportunity. </p>
<p>Consider this a wake-up call (and a fortunate one, in the sense that it is VERY early in the application season, and that it’s NOT April 1st) that he needs to review his list and get some realistic options on there. Get a copy of the transcript and make sure it’s correct. (%$#@ happens.) Get help with essays. Polish that resume. Think about another LOR from someone in an EC or community service activity who can speak to your S’s talents and abilities outside the classroom. Do the absolute best he can in his classes this fall. If he has a decent GC, go get some advice. Look at schools outside the box.</p>
<p>He’ll get there. He’ll just have to work at this a little harder.</p>
<p>If it’s a really unexpected rejection, I don’t think it hurts to ask. I’ve heard of at least one case where the student didn’t realize there was a major mistake on the transcript. For most selective schools though, there won’t be any specific reason. I know for my older son I could have thought of a number of reasons why his top schools rejected him - his essay didn’t grab him, he got a lot of B’s in English, they wanted more leadership positions, he didn’t look very well rounded etc. etc. We did get a wake-up call that he needed to stop procrastinating about obtaining extra letters of recommendation when he was deferred EA. </p>
<p>Sort of disheartening about the “too light” schedule. My younger son may have that problem - a combination of putting off a required course and scheduling conflicts.</p>
<p>You can check this by going to collegeboard.org and see what the university’s 25-75% SAT scores and GPA are. Some schools have become very competitive in the past couple of years. </p>
<p>First thing you might do is to check to see whether all university admission requirements were met. Having 2 years of lab science when three are required or not enough foreign language credits can sink an application. Sometimes just having a D or F on the transcript that hasn’t been made up can be a deal breaker. </p>
<p>Is this an application to an out of state public university? Sometimes the requirements for out of state applicants are much tougher than for in state ones.</p>
<p>Check the high school transcript for accuracy. Mistakes are on the transcript more often than you think. Was there a disciplinary action during the high school career that gave the university pause?</p>
<p>Best place to start would be the high school GC for a reality check. If this is a nearby rolling admissions school that they are familiar with, they can probably tell you right away if the GPA/SAT scores of your S are not competitive and give you advice on how to rework your list of schools you plan to apply to.</p>
<p>If the GC is as surprised as your S is on his rejection, then go ahead and have your S place the call. Maybe the GC could place the call…admissions may be more willing to speak frankly with the GC.</p>
<p>Kids and rookie CC parents often are shocked at the present competitive landscape of college admissions. It ain’t your father’s college admissions landscape, that’s for sure.</p>
<p>We parents in the Parents Forum don’t like to “chance” kids in our forum, but we have taken a look at kid’s stats/ECs/etc. and the list of colleges he wants to apply to and given our thoughts about whether the schools on the list are reaches, safeties, etc. You might try that here.</p>
<p>My initial response upon seeing this thread was don’t bother to call, but I didn’t post because everyone was saying that. However, now that we know you thought this was a safety, I’d say a call couldn’t hurt. </p>
<p>But I’m most concerned about the rest of your list. On what basis was this a safety? How are you defining safety?</p>