<p>I'm simply curious to hear from people on CC on whether or not I have an actual reason to appeal. I will probably submit an appeal anyways, considering I'm already denied. They can't do much else.</p>
<p>Basically, I attend a very small school in suburban Oklahoma. To give you an idea, I have 5 classmates graduating with me this year. I forgot to mention on my application that my school doesn't offer any AP or honors classes, so my GPA and coursework might not compare well to others, although it is the maximum I can personally achieve. Also, I forgot to mention that my school has no clubs, activities, or any sort of ECs, making my list of ECs look very poor in comparison to others.</p>
<p>I might also have one of my teachers, who is a great friend of mine both in and out of school, write a letter of recommendation. His letters of recommendation have always been really strong, so that may help.</p>
<p>I know the competition is really tough, especially for my major (CSE), so I do not expect to get in, but Berkeley was my #1, so I do not want to give up quite yet.</p>
<p>Don’t send a letter of recommendation since UCs don’t consider them. Send in your letter of appeal and keep it concise. But don’t expect at all to get in since it’s very rare, make sure you have a backup college which you should consider enrolling in before the appeal decision so you can get preferred housing, etc.</p>
<p>@Truust There is a letter of recommendation option when you appeal. If you do not want to send a rec with your appeal, you have to specify. So, I thought they would at least read over it. I was planning on writing a brief, to-the-point letter. There is not some complex situation I have to explain, so I’ll just keep it short and not waste too much of their time with a drawn out letter. I do not expect to get in, and I’m trying to decide between UCSD and Univ. of OK right now, so I do have a backup. Thanks for the response!</p>
<p>Oh okay, wasn’t aware there was an option. Feel free to send it in then. With respect to your current decision, I’d chose Univ of OK UNLESS you are able to afford UCSD (and for that matter Cal) out of state tuition comfortably without taking out large loans. If you’re able to afford it, UCSD seems like the better option.</p>
<p>@Truust: I guess it’s a relatively new option in their appeals, or so it seems.
I’ll definitely have to take out loans, but they shouldn’t be too large. I’m also checking with the admissions offices at both schools to see if and how the courses transfer, since that would make it much more affordable.</p>