<p>If a college or University for either undergrad or grad loses your application, does that college or university have to, by law, admit you?</p>
<p>No. No college has to admit you by law. Not even by contract under such circumstances. The most they may owe you would be your application fee back, and even that could be questionable. If they don’t volunteer to return it, you’d have to sue to get it back, which will cost you more than it’s worth.</p>
<p>But you can’t sue to force them to admit you. (Well, you can - you just can’t win.)</p>
<p>Chedva is right, of course. I would think with online applications that this doesn’t happen very often anymore, anyway.</p>
<p>I guess my gripe is how can a university make an informed decision about your talent if they do not have anything to go by? It’s kinda like saying " Yeah we lost your application but we are gonna just move onto the next applicant” that sucks. I also would like to inform you that an online application does not mean that it can’t be lost!</p>
<p>You are right that online does not mean it can’t be lost but it is still there digitally and can be retrieved. If you used a site like CommonApplication.com, you will see exactly when the university downloaded the appliication and if it is lost, then they can retrieve another copy. </p>
<p>But NO! is the answer. It is your responsibility to follow up on the application. You had to send many documents to the school and you should know if they have been received. We received confirmation all along the way. Checked in at the admissions website and follow pogress. Most universities use a similar system so you can follow progress and make sure you have all needed materials in.</p>
<p>If the issue isn’t dead, you need to make sure the university has what it needs.</p>
<p>Although it’s extremely rare there have been cases where colleges have been forced to admit students by law. Bakke v UC Regents is probably the most well known example. I believe this only happens if a college discriminates against you though and a court rules in your favor. That situation does not seem to apply to the OP though.</p>