I am also rooting for you and am hopeful the appeal worked. I find it very disheartening when kids who are fabulous students and have grown academically are rejected. Every school/ scholarship says to push hard and rigor counts, but it doesn’t seem to be credited if the grade is not perfect. I know of countless kids who have never pushed themselves at all and took the easy path who are having success in admissions and scholarships, whereas kids who took risks and challenged themselves may have had a small misstep and then recovered, but that permanent blemish hurts them. I am not sure how “holistic” that is? I would certainly think the appealing candidate would be the student who stepped out of their comfort zone and maybe stumbled at first (like your D’s C in 9th grade), but then adapted and grew and finished well. That says something about her character, and resilience. Whatever happens with this situation, those traits will serve her well in life. Best of luck to you and your daughter.