<p>But I was wondering if you could forward it to me to. it wont let me PM you! email is <a href="mailto:fahimraian@live.com">fahimraian@live.com</a>. Thank You</p>
@bbgg sorry I know this is a long time but could you message it to me? The appeal letter. I’m hoping I get in 
would you mind sending me a copy?
bbgg said above (2 years ago, in fact) that she no longer has that letter. In other words, she cannot send it to anyone. I realize you are all freaking about what to write, but part of being admitted by appeal is showing the adcom who YOU REALLY ARE. No one else’s letter can help you with that. In fact, I suspect that USC got quite a few letters modeled after bbgg’s son’s appeal, and they can spot them a mile away. Use your own voice. Reveal your own quirks and highlights. I wrote a long post about what the appeal needs to include. I’ll try to find it and repost.
Here is a copy of my other post. You’d do well to read that entire thread.
- If you appeal, and if you are admitted, will you definitely attend?
Or do you have another great school that has already admitted you?
Or do your parents really prefer you stay closer to home, attend a state school, attend their alma mater?
Or are you not sure you can afford to attend USC and would then have to get X amount of FA to afford it?
Or are you looking for vindication after being denied?
Or are you still waiting on ivies or other schools which may be preferred? Or ivy waitlists?
If you are 100% ready to commit to attending USC, that’s really the only reason to try to appeal. Period. If so, I suggest you make that simple and clear in your appeal letter. And if you can afford full-pay, you might mention that as well. USC is need-blind in regular admissions, but no one has established what their policy is for appeals. And the FA may well be drained by time they get to considering appeals.
-
Sometimes, the adcoms get it wrong, or have too many highly qualified students from a certain geographic area, major, whatever. Out of your control during regular admissions. In some cases of students with super-top scores/grades, admissions offices tell themselves that this student (they are about to deny!) will get into many other fine institutions. They expect it to be true. Perhaps they may catch a whiff from your application that you long to attend another school. This happens many times! So if you really don’t have a handful of acceptances from all those mythical “better” schools, perhaps an appeal will catch their eye now. They know those who appeal are super serious about attending USC, so they may find a spot for you now that they know USC is your first choice.
-
You must provide something new and compelling to get them to reconsider. If you had an upward trend in grades and now, in senior year, you’ve let your grades slide a bit, this is NOT good for your appeal. However, if you are taking your hardest courseload ever senior year AND you are doing extremely well, this would be something to talk about–and why it was so important for you not to succumb to senior slump. Even better is if you have won new awards (cast in a Spring play, nominated for a senior award, or bigger) or excelled at something new (not in your original essays).
-
Is there a compelling explanation for any weaknesses in your original application (if there were any weaknesses)? If you came across as too cocky or over-confident, that may have been a deal-breaker. Time to get humility and address your new perspective. Did you have a sick relative (meant you couldn’t keep up your ECs) or decide to spend more time doing your own painting (for example) so dropped those activities that held less meaning for you. This may go a ways to explain spotty ECs. Just have someone who can be brutally honest look at your full application, all essays, etc, and tell you where you may be able to fix a mistake. Again, many of you had NO mistakes, so please understand this is just a way to get a handle on something if it’s there. I have read wonderful essays by brilliant students that inadvertently gave the wrong message to the adcom. Talking about your carefree nature and explaining how you played a trick on your teacher may have sounded cool when you wrote it, but perhaps the adcoms thought it was a red flag for someone with maturity issues? If you think this may be the case with any of your essays, address that in your appeal.
-
Good luck.
@bbgg could you please send me your son’s letter if you still have it? Also, if you don’t mind me asking, what were your son’s GPA and scores?
Read post #39 and beside the answer to your question, notice that was 3 years ago. Would be good to read several posts above this one.