I was initially rejected from UCLA, but appealed the decision and was rewarded admissions Fall 1996. I can answer any questions regarding this process and help those individuals who wish to try the appeal process.

Mr.Bin wrote:
i got rejected from UC Davis, and this is my letter of appealing. if you have time, can you take a look at it and give me feedback. thanks. btw, this is not final draft , i just want to get an idea on what to write about.

March fifteen, one o’clock, I’m still sitting in my desk, thinking, unable to accept the fact. Thirty minutes before that, I received my rejection notification from my dream school, UC Davis. The hardest moment in my life is four years ago, when I left Vietnam to go to America; and the second hardest moment is when I once again felt completely empty, when I read the line “…we cannot offer you admission to UC Davis.”. I was socked, all this time I though I was qualify enough to attend UC Davis, and thus the school became my ultimate goal after high school. My friends, my best friend, even my sister as transfer student will be attending UC Davis next fall, and I’m the sole source of segregation. I wrote this letter to ask for your reconsideration of the decision upon my application.

Knowing the denial, I went to my UC application and review it. I’m guessing the strongest reasons for my refusal are my weak GPA and SAT score. I shamefully admit that my eleventh grade wasn’t the greatest; I was very careless at the time, totally ignorant of the consequences. However, I did better last semester. Having to take three AP class while I never had any and receiving two high B and a C are not bad. About the SAT score, same old excuse, I was careless in my junior year. I took my SAT last October and never had a chance to retake it because I didn’t take the test in April and May like the other juniors. As I said in my application essay, I did badly in my junior year, that mistake followed and haunted me. But things changed, I got my mind straight and all for education now. Personally, I think I improved a lot, I’m studying way more than I used to. Coming from ESL 2 in 9th grade and have an A in English 4 AP now is quite a progress. I’m working to be a better student, so that I can be more productive in college. I hope you can take that into consideration. Going to Davis mean a lot to me, that my whole future. If this can help, I didn’t mention in the application that I’m a NHS member.

Hi Mr.Bin,
I would focus more on your strengths and how you will add value to the Davis campus if admitted and I would not mention anything about Davis having denied your application. Davis already knows that you were denied so you don't need to mention that anymore. You need to build a convincing argument that you should be admitted to Davis for certain reasons. Then you need to mention these reasons in your essay. Things like how you mentioned taking AP classes and received good grades. I would focus more on the UC weighted GPA for those classes so that it shows the admissions committee your improvement in grades. I would probably leave out anything regarding your friends attending Davis as your main reason for wanting acceptance and focus more on your academic reasons for choosing Davis. Maybe you like Davis because of the agriculture program which you intend to study. Make sure to stay positive throughout your essay, you want to make a strong and confident impression. You mention that you are an NHS member, I don't know what that is so you may want to elaborate more on that membership if you feel that it is a distinguishable accomplishment. Last advice I can give you is get your essay corrected by your English teacher and friends that you know write better than you so you don't have silly grammer mistakes in your essay.

Good luck on your appeal and keep us updated on your results. I'm sure somebody else in this forum is going thru the same appeal process so take comfort knowing that your not alone. When I appealed at UCLA, they admitted approximately 25% of appeals so the process does work.

-Lawrence

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University Admissions Consulting
"... let's help each other get into the University of your choice"
http://groups.myspace.com/UniversityAdmissionsConsulting

Mr.Bin wrote:
Thanks a lot! that's really helpful. I'm working on it. One more question, Is the appeal follows the first-come-first-serve rule? I'm kinda busy right now, but if it's urgent, i can push it.
~Mr. Bin

My guess would be how fast they receive your appeal in combination with quality of the materials submitted would all be taken into account because it shows them that being admitted is your #1 priority.

-Lawrence

----
University Admissions Consulting
"... let's help each other get into the University of your choice"
http://groups.myspace.com/UniversityAdmissionsConsulting

The great thing about the internet today is just about any piece of information can be found. The internet was not as mature when I was applying to University so my knowledge had to come from reaching out to high school career counselors from my school as well as other surrounding schools.

I found this link regarding the UCLA appeal process, which I'm sure is similar for all Universities.

http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/AppealsTr.htm

Hi. I was wondering if it had to be hand written or could you type your appeal letter and how you would start an appeal letter. Thanks !

STACE wrote:
Hi. I was wondering if it had to be hand written or could you type your appeal letter and how you would start an appeal letter. Thanks !

Hi Stace,

I would recommend typing your appeal letter. It just keeps things professional and legible.

The strategy I used ini my appeal letter to UCLA was to keep a professional tone. I wrote about how I would make a positive contribution to UCLA using my extra curricular/leadership examples that weren't discussed in my application.

Good luck with your appeal. When I appealed my decision, they accepted about 25% of appeals so the process does work.


-Lawrence

----
University Admissions Consulting
"... let's help each other get into the University of your choice"
http://groups.myspace.com/UniversityAdmissionsConsulting

haha you are awesome. thanks so much for the help! and i have one last question

it says that i must include documentation...

what does that mean? i mean i have my transcripts but do they want something else?

STACE wrote:
haha you are awesome. thanks so much for the help! and i have one last question

it says that i must include documentation...

what does that mean? i mean i have my transcripts but do they want something else?

If your speaking about option 3 from the UCLA appeals webpage, the admissions committee would like official documentation that clearly shows a changed grade or incorrectly reported test scores if that is the basis of your appeal letter.

i had one more question to ask

When starting the letter of appeals should i start with

1) Dear Office of Admissions,

or

2) Dear Appeals Committee?

Thank you all for the wonderful comments about this community. I will try to address all the questions with this reply.

There seems to be some confusion about how to start your appeal letter. Everybody shouldn't worry about this too much and I think both examples that Stace gives are perfectly fine. I would focus more on the content of the letter and make sure it addresses the reasons the admissions committee should admit you as part of the incoming University freshman class. Keep in mind the topics you discuss in the letter should be new and compelling information that was not part of your initial application package.

There are different writing <myspace>style</myspace>s that you can choose when writing your appeal letter. I used a professional letter similar to cover letters my mom had written when applying for jobs at the time. I've also seen personal statement essays that effectively and cleverly communicated the same information. There is no wrong <myspace>style</myspace> for writing an appeal letter so the choice is only a personal preference and a reflection of the strategy that you must decide for yourself.

I hope this helps eleminate some of the questions you have about the appeal process. Also don't be afraid to help each other and compare your letters when finished. It's always good to get another opinion and get ideas from each other to help strengthen your own letter. I got help from friends that write better than me and of course my English teacher at my high school.

Good luck to everyone and thanks for joining my group and growing our community.

- Lawrence

----
University Admissions Consulting
"... let's help each other get into the University of your choice"
http://groups.myspace.com/UniversityAdmissionsConsulting

Pamela. wrote:
Thank you for starting this to help those of us who may be unclear regarding many aspects of this process. :) It is much appreciated.

I have some idea of what I will express in my appeals letter, but I am not sure as to what sort of format the admission officers want. My biggest concern is over the level of formality I should use. I understand that I should keep it professional and along the lines of what they ask for us to present (content-wise), but would you say it is more "I am writing to appeal blah blah blah... My reasons are blah blah, " or would it be okay to make it sort of like a personal statement essay? I do not mean that I will attempt to send them a fourth essay, but I would like to know if it could be a bit more creative and expressive.

Also, do you know whether they expect attached documents such as medical notes, if one is to mention personal problems (i.e. psychological/behavioral)?

Thanks again! :D

Hi Pamela,

If you feel that your special circumstances are worth mentioning in your appeal letter and will have an impact on your candidacy for admissions then I would definitely include official documentation that helps clarify your situation.

I'm not sure what your special circumstances are, but my advice would be to make sure that you mention it in a positive light. Perhaps it was a growing experience or a challenge that you overcame and currently fuels your drive to succeed.

I hope that helps.


- Lawrence

----
University Admissions Consulting
"... let's help each other get into the University of your choice"
http://groups.myspace.com/UniversityAdmissionsConsulting