My D was rejected from IU and I need to know options. She has a 3.8 gpa, honors/AP student, plays 3 varsity sports, and is involved in tons of clubs and holds several officer positions. Her test scores are not good. She has lupus which affects her ability to focus and concentrate during long tests. Can we appeal the decision given her medical condition?
You can try. You might have your school guidance counselor call them to discuss it, especially if it is her first choice school.
Did she explain her low test scores and medical condition in the additional info section of the common app? Did her guidance counselor mention why her test scores may be lower than expected for a student of her caliber? Just asking because if it was already addressed when she applied it won’t make sense to attempt an appeal. As much as I want to say you should appeal, I don’t think it will be successful. Unfortunately, appeals almost never work. But, I guess you can try. The time to explain any anomalies was at the time of application. Does she have other schools that she wants to attend? I’m sure she applied elsewhere as well. @pipes2
She has applied elsewhere and did mention her lupus when applying but did not go into detail about the issues it has been causing. She has been accepted to the other four schools she applied to, but IU was her first choice. Thanks for the advice!
But have her apply to test optional colleges: Dickinson’s EA deadline is December 1st, look at Wake Forest, Bowdoin, or “colleges that change lives” (which are holistic and WILL consider her lupus when evaluating her application.)
A few comments:
- Did the guidance counselor mention the lupus and how it impacts standardized test results in his/her recommendation? If not you can ask if he/she would be willing to call the school and perhaps also add it to the LOR for future applications. The odds are not great for a change in decision but it is worth a call.
- Here is a list of test optional colleges. https://www.fairtest.org/university/optional/state
- Going forward perhaps see if she can get accommodations to break up longs tests into smaller chunks perhaps over two days. Keep in mind that many finals in college are a couple of hours so she may need this type of help moving forward.