No word from UW....am I rejected?

jillbot
Fri, 04 Apr 2008 20:07:53 +0000

The following is an e-mail received by a counselor at my child’s high school. It explains a lot – an amazingly high number of applicants, ect:

Good morning,
I am always wary of sending communications out on April 1 for obvious reasons, but I’ll risk it for the sake of sharing with you hopefully useful information.

The UW Seattle has finalized, with very few exceptions, all autumn 2008 freshman application decisions. Starting today and going through Thursday, we will send out all remaining admission, invitation to the waitlist, and denial of admission notification letters. These actions will affect about 3,500 applicants. (The remaining 16,500 frosh applicants have already heard from us.) Thank you all for your work and support.

Allow me to raise a couple of practical items. No doubt, some of your students and their families will express concern, shock, or even disbelief about their admission decisions. As you know, we are approaching the top of the demographic ‘boom’ – 20,000 freshman applications at UW Seattle represents a 12% increase over last year. Even with a frosh class of 5,500, these numbers necessarily create a more competitive year. Thus, some students we would have admitted last year are being denied or invited to the waitlist this year. Nonetheless, we are always willing to review decisions if sufficient cause exists. Instructions on how students can request a review are at http://admit.washington.edu/Apply/Freshman/Decision/SpecialAdmissions. I do not want students and their families go ing through unnecessary work and anxiety via this route, but some situations will exist (you can help determine them) where this process could be recommended.

Also, remember that the UW Bothell and the UW Tacoma are still accepting freshman applications. These UW campuses could be excellent options for some of your students. Additionally, the transfer option from Washington community colleges is a solid path to the UW Seattle.

Although spring has almost sprung, I feel the need to hibernate for a while. I will, however, be alert enough to answer any questions you may have.

Thanks everyone…Phil
Philip A. Ballinger, Ph.D.
Director of Admissions
University of Washington
1410 NE Campus Parkway, Suite 320
Box 355852
Seattle, Washington 98195-5852