Sally_Rubenstone

Question: My son received a rejection letter from Fordham (his dream school). As you can imagine, as a parent, I feel helpless and want to help. I called the school and asked about their appeal process. They told me that they rarely overturn their decision. I’ve committed to writing an appeal letter [...]

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Khendric

Know how hard that is. Def. write letter you never know!!!!

rix

While I agree with much of Sally's response, I have to disagree with one key point While I also understand how heartbroken the mom is and how much she wants to help her son, I strongly disagree with the suggestion that the parent write ANY kind of appeal letter. The letter absolutely needs to come from the son. He needs to take ownership. She can enourage and help -- but he needs to be the one to do it. If he won't do it, she shouldn't. Admissions officers want to hear the student's voice. All things being relatively equal, choosing between an appeal from a student and an appeal from a parent would be easy for an admissions officer.

I know a counselor who talks about the "God of senior year" who somehow makes sure that kids end up in the right place. There are lots of "right" places.

My daughter's first choice -- by miles -- was Occidental. She was rejected, and devastated even though she had lots of options. She ended up going to Whitman, and she LOVES it. She cannot imagine being anywhere else.

DukeBlueDevils

at top private schools it's nearly impossible because most of them make it a policy to not to consider appeals. for example harvard could fill their freshman class several times over with qualified applicants and they don't want all of them appealing their rejections simply because they don't have enough room in the class. only appeal if the original application was missing information/materials or if you have recently won a very significant award/received significant distinction. i'm currently in the process of appealing a decision at a top school and let me tell you i'm putting my heart and soul into it but it's still going to be a long shot. good luck.

moviefreak126

Yup. Write a letter. It shows how much you want to go.

lancestone

hi,

thanks for the advice. if my son does appeal, how should he proceed? Call the office or write a letter or both?

fiveoplus

So should I appeal if the Engineering school, instead of the Arts & Sciences school, read my application and rejected me??

dchow08

I remember reading an article about the admissions process in the University of Chicago, and Dean of Admissions Ted O'Neill said that every year they have parents call them and tell them how much of a mistake they made, and when the parents tell them how great their children are, Ted thinks to himself, "Well, there's nothing wrong with this student. I don't know how I could have rejected him." But once he's rejected, it's basically over. If they were still considering him, I guess they would have put him on the waitlist. I don't know how to put it any other way.

If you do decide to appeal, try to reach them as much as they can.

fiveoplus: Why did the Engineering school read your application?

tenisghs

I believe in fate. Sometimes, you're not meant to go to a certain place or region. The child can petition the school to reconsider his application. The admissions officers have reviewed thousands of freshman applications. If the family does not have extenuating circumstances or special awards to present to the admissions office, it is very rare for the school to overturn their decisions. The child may feel sad right now, but wherever they choose to matriculate, they may actually enjoy their new school and never regret their decision. If they still want to go to their dream school, try harder and apply as a transfer next year.

rejecteddad

The original post triggered some fond memories for me. Approximately 30 years ago my Dad wrote a successful appeal letter, althought that is not what he intended it to be. Coincidentally, the school involved was Fordham University, although it was the Law School, not the undergrad. Let me explain.

I attended Fordham undergrad and did very well, graduating summa cum laude in the honors program. However, my law school application was rejected. I knew I had messed up on the LSATs and refused to take them again. Whatever school was willing to overlook that mess up and focus on the four years of good work was the right school for me. That school was going to be William & Mary. Over the summer, my parents got a congratulatory letter from Fordham which presumably was sent to all summa cum laude graduates. The letter was signed by some very high University official, who happened to be a member of the Jesuit order, and happened to share my family's last name. He hand wrote a nice note to my father, something to the effect of "from one [last name deleted] to another [last name deleted], you must be very proud of your son." My father was livid. He had been unable to understand how a university could allow its law school to reject someone who has done so well in its undergraduate program. The note sent my mild mannered, even tempered dad over the edge. He wrote a scathing response explaining what had happened to his son, and he asserted that the law school was sending the wrong message about the quality of the undergraduate eductaion, for which my father had worked so hard to pay. Several weeks later, I received a call that I had been selected from the waitlist, which I was not even on (having been rejected). I accepted the offer of admission, graduated three years later, and have been a practicing lawyer ever since. I never confirmed the correlation between the two events but it had to be the reason I got in. I did just as well in the law school as I had in the undergrad, proving my Dad's point.

My Dad died several months after I graduated. I know he was proud of what I had accomplished but I wish he had lived long enough to see me in court.

Now I am on this site because my daughter, who is far more brillaint than I ever could hope to be, has been waitlisted from her dream school. I won't be writing any letters on her behalf. I am leaving that for her to do (although I will be chirping in the backgound with lots of ideas). But I do wish you luck in whatever strategy you employ. Things are so different in today's ultra-competitive application environment that I am not sure my story has any relevance. I do hope you can take some encouragement from it, but I think I had to write it more to express my appreciation for what my Dad did for me thirty years ago.

rrah

rejecteddad--great story!

Darkage1

Hello to one and all and I hate sounding like a lost and confused teenager who is upset and begrudging upon how he/she is oppressed by college tyranny. But I, among many, want to submit an appeal to a school I very much desire to attend. I suppose that the question I have is: Do I actually have a chance based on what most appeals are made for as compared to why I am appealing? I have appealed to UC Davis on the grounds of receiving a full-tuition/ books and supplies coverage of up to $180,000 (basically full pay to them) for an NROTC scholarship since my application. The application for the scholarship was very in depth and has about a 30% acceptance rate statistically. Also, I have made copies of proof of me receiving the scholarship and what it entails with any numbers of the NROTC they may wish to contact...this I have sent via mail as a supplemental to my appeal. Also I have been accepted to UC Irvine which is ranked just behind Davis, and I think that this proves I am not too far off of the mark of UC Davis success. Any comments are much appreciated and thank you for giving some of your own personal time to read this, cheers

Bobbys272

I got accepted to the SUmmer Session at Penn State. Could I appeal and ask for admission to the fall session. I have a 93 weighted average and a 1220 sat. I applied to the Business School.

DukeBlueDevils

@Darkage1
i say go for it, what do you have to lose? why go the rest of your life wondering what could have been? however i don't know what qualifications are necessary for the nrotc scholarship/what the applicant pool is like compared to uc davis' so i can't really estimate your chances of winning the appeal.

joshnewcollege

From what I understand, the appeals process is not an opportunity for one to talk about how much one loves a school. It is supposed to be used only if one feels that there was some sort of unfairness or discrimination in the admissions process.