<p>I applied and was accepted to UCLA for Fall '10 as a pre-psych major.</p>
<p>About a week ago they called me and said because I dropped a major prereq (chemistry) that my offer might be rescinded. Since then I have completed about 40% of an independent study chemistry course that they'd accept (at BYU), but this morning I got an e-mail rescinded my admission. </p>
<p>I am going to try to appeal in a week and a half when I am done with the course, and I was wondering if anyone had any good ideas how to approach this or what to include.</p>
<p>My general idea is to: (1) Restate the situation surrounding why I didn't take the class in Spring focusing on the family problems and registration difficulties that plagued that semester. (2) State how I have completed the course they required and did so in a timely way that represents my qualification, dedication, and hardwork and (3) give the reasons why I wish to be a part of UCLA and what I think I could offer them as a student. I also plan on sending along some letters of recommendation I did not include in my original admission.</p>
<p>Things I already know: appeals (especially for UCLA) rarely work, my major is highly impacted which was the reason there was so little tolerance, they require new and compelling evidence. </p>
<p>I am (obviously) very worried and saddened by this turn of events, does anyone have any other ideas on what I should do to increase my chance? Or any comments on my plan? Please?</p>
<p>I’m not familiar with the UC system, but it sounds like your plan is very well thought out. It would certainly persuade me!</p>
<p>You might get better answers in the UC forums.</p>
<p>I am no expert on this matter, but the plan that you laid out seems to be fine, at least to me. I couldn’t really think of anything else to make it better: it seems very thought-out already.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>I am really sorry to hear about this. Your major being impacted had nothing to do with this if you’re a frosh; for one thing students are accepted in the College of Letters and Science regardless of intended major, and furthermore being listed as pre-anything isn’t acceptance to the major. </p>
<p>For the benefit of HS seniors reading this, they should know that in the offer of acceptance UCLA points out that your admission is contingent on completing all of the classes you listed in your application and that you should notify them immediately if anything changed. On the website at it says [Current</a> Applicants - UCLA Undergraduate Admissions](<a href=“http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/currentapp.htm]Current”>http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/currentapp.htm) “It’s critical that you let us know if the information you gave us on your application changes.” So its not like you didn’t know that you needed to tell them about this. </p>
<p>Had you contacted UCLA back in the spring when you dropped this class you could have worked out alternatives with them such as taking the class at your HS over the summer, at a junior college, or online. The adcoms are much more willing to work with you when you take the initiative to contact them up front, instead of waiting until late in the summer when they get final HS transcripts and discover shortfalls. People including me have posted about this time and again when applicants ask “what will happen if I drop this class?”</p>
<p>I wish you luck, but I think your odds have decreased significantly because you waited until they found out to do anything about the missing class.</p>
<p>One more thing – should the appeal be denied and you decide to re-apply to UCLA for next year (after all they accepted you this time around, so they should do so again) be very careful about taking any college classes in the meantime. As you’ve discovered, the UC schools are sticklers for following the rules. And they have rules about who can apply as a freshman. </p>
<p>Read the information at [How</a> to Apply - UCLA Undergraduate Admissions](<a href=“http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/applying.htm]How”>http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/applying.htm) In particular, if you take classes at any college during the fall or spring, UCLA will not consider you a freshman applicant. Which means you won’t be eligible to apply until you have enough units to be a junior xfer.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the replies!</p>
<p>Mike, I am a transfer student from a community college (I forgot to include that tidbit, sorry). I realize and am mortified by how stupidly I handled this, it wasn’t that I was hoping they wouldn’t find out – I just didn’t realize it was an important pre-req and it didn’t occur to me that I should have changed my admission because I couldn’t take it. I know, I feel horribly stupid.</p>
<p>The woman I spoke to in admissions was the one who told me there was decreased tolerance because of my major. It is my understanding that no one can be directly admitted into the psych major until completing units at UCLA, but only people admitted as pre-psych majors can declare psych.</p>
<p>You are right; when you apply as a junior transfer it is for a specific major and they do take into account whether it is impacted or not. This is different from freshman admission into L&S. There are also tight rules on junior transfers changing majors, so what you say about pre-psych to psych is probably true for them. For people starting as frosh, you just need to satisfy the prereqs with a certain GPA and then apply for the major. </p>
<p>In any event, best of luck in your appeal!</p>