Can You Appeal A Rejection?
Level 2 - Admissions 101
Welcome back! A parent reached out on behalf of their student who applied early decision to a university and was rejected from the college.
Understandably, this was a tough pill to swallow for the family. This was the son’s first choice college, and he wants to attend the college.
Unfortunately, some applicants will find themselves in this position. This is not just for early decision, but even for regular decision. And if you do, you need to understand your real options in this space.
Fortunately, we have put together a quick guide to help parents and students understand the rejection and appeal process.
The Appeal Process - Explained
If you happen to receive a college rejection from your application, each college has a policy of how you can appeal the admissions decision.
Each policy will be different, and you should obviously follow their protocol over our more general advice, but in general:
You have a specific time frame to appeal (usually around 4 weeks) to appeal - this is by when you have to submit a formal appeal, not by when a decision is made, so no need to rush immediately
You will usually be given the option to submit some material that explains why they should come to a different decision and change their decision
The admissions office will then provide a timeline for reviewing and either confirming or changing their original decision.
That is it in a nutshell.
The first thing we recommend is that you do not immediately reach out after a rejection. You need time to process and understand why you were rejected.
Some colleges will actually provide you with a rationale of where your application came up short - you just have to ask.
In our experience, the reasons for why someone is rejected are usually in one of the following reasons:
Test scores/GPA were not in line with the applicant pool
Extracurriculars are non-existent
The application has no aspect of it that is “remarkable” relative to the pool
There is an application error that disqualified the applicant (e.g., referring to Berkley as UCB or saying “Hook em” in a Texas A&M application)
They applied to a college that was beyond a reach for them
Once you understand the reason you are rejected, you can start thinking through how to appeal the decision.
Reasons to Appeal the Decision
To be blunt, the chance of appealing a rejection are low. Although there are no official statistics, it is about as difficult to appeal a rejection as it is getting into Harvard.
Generally, you need to show that there is some evidence that was not included that would substantially show a different admissions outcome.
Substantial is subjective, but generally would be:
Additional grades that show a substantial improvement in overall GPA (think 3-4 AP classes with As raising a 2.5 GPA)
Substantial improvement on an SAT/ACT (100+ point improvement on SAT)
A letter of recommendation from a professor currently teaching at the college
An explanation for the reason you were originally rejected
For example, if you were rejected because of an accusation of academic dishonesty, a statement explaining the accusation and how it was resolved might make a difference
Remember, the chance of a change on appeal are extremely slim. It is not enough to say that you got an A in one class. A good rule of thumb is that if you were to look at the update itself, it would read like a totally different applicant.
If there is not a substantial difference in the applicant before the change and after, you are probably wasting your time. That is the reason you should use the time allotted by the college to appeal to truly make sure you have provided them with as much of an update as possible to way opinions.
Once you receive a final decision, that is it. There is no additional appeal.
Final Takeaways
The best advice is to always make sure that you have the right college choices for application purposes.
You never know if a college will accept or reject you. Remember that admissions is a game of probabilities, not a sure thing.
If you want to avoid being categorically rejected, you have to make sure that you have gone through the proper college selection process so you make sure that you have an option that makes sense for you.
The earlier you start, the better positioned you are to prepare accordingly and makes sure your application is as competitive as possible for where you are applying.