Here is a re-post of something from last spring. A couple of my students who had just received rejection letters stopped by, asking about the appeal process, and/or if they should go for it.... Here are a couple of my thoughts on this.
Generally speaking, the admission decision is final; chances of a successful appeal are slim. You should not appeal simply because you are upset with the rejection, and an appeal should not move forward if your general message is something like, "You clearly made a mistake because you failed to recognize how great I am." However, a couple of circumstances may warrant an appeal.
1) You have significant new information to provide. Things like winning a major award or honor, getting back test scores that are significantly better than the ones you originally submitted.
2) You have just learned that a procedural or clerical error was made. For example, SAT scores reported incorrectly, inaccurate information on your transcript.
Examples for no grounds for appeal: Your application needs to be taken another look by another admission counselor; Friends got in with similar qualifications (SAT score/Rank/GPA etc); Rank/GPA and scores fall within the published admissions criteria; Convinced that you are a perfect match for the school; Offered admission to some "better" schools, so their rejection doesn’t make sense; Felt the decision was unfair; Family legacy deserves a reconsideration.
Here are some thoughts on being waitlisted.
First of all, regardless whether or not you want to accept a spot on the waitlist, you should always move forward with your other options. Meaning, if there is a security/housing deposit requirement for another,"second best", school which has offered admission, you should go ahead and fulfill that requirement, as if you have been rejected by that waitlist school from the very beginning.
Secondly, communicate with the Waitlist School making it very clear on several issues. Reaffirm that you are still very much interested in that school and reasons why it remains your top choice. Find out specifically how their waitlist works in terms of who gets picked first and why, when it may happen, what percentage of taking off in the past, etc.
Thirdly, always send in new, significant information, such as new test scores, awards/honors, etc. as soon as it becomes available
Other things to do at this particular point. Keep track of all acceptances, rejections, and waitlists. If you have ruled out any colleges that accepted you, please notify them. This is a courtesy to the school and other applicants. Go to accepted student open houses if offered.
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This year, we have more students than usual got admitted to good schools like UC Berkeley, UT/Austin, Stanford, Emory, Chicago, Rice and of course, the Ivies. On top of that, millions of dollars as scholarships are offered to the same group. While we all are very much proud of our students’ accomplishments, it does create issues for those with multiple offers, making the final college choice can be agonizing, too.
ReplyDeleteHere are some of the areas we usually look at when we make college choices, about which I did discuss on my blog extensively a couple of years ago. Please read the following and remember, the process remains the same.
Generally speaking, one looks at following when he determines which one to choose.
The Needs of the Student - What is he looking for in his college experience? What is/are his personality, interest(s), his strengths and weaknesses?
Location - Where does he want to go to school? Far from, or close to home? Eastern/Western coast, the south/north, mid-west, plains, mountains, etc? Weather should always be a factor, too. Which does he prefer? Cold or hot? In each region, he can always find a school best fits his needs, and with “a great reputation/rank”.
Size - How big/small of a school he does want to go? Size always matters, in terms of class, school, student and professor ratio are all parts of it. Furthermore, number of programs, books in the library, and lab facility etc also usually go with the size of the college.
Setting - Urban or rural? The question is often if he wants to a school in a big city or a small town; or if he even cares about experience so-called “campus life”. Security can be a concern, too.
Program/major – Do they have what he want? How strong the program is? Job prospects, or professional school acceptance rate, or do they have many well-known scholarly program recipients like, Rhodes, Goldwater, Truman or Fulbright, etc?
Cost – How much is expected to contribute by the family? Do they offer need-based only financial assistance, or both merit and need based aid? How much can we afford? Do we have a budget?
Selectivity – How selective those schools are? Can he get in with what he has? What kind of students got in for the past 3~5 years?
There is always this public vs. private which I think ties into all of the above. Usually, private schools are smaller in size, cost more, more growth orientated college experience, better service in terms of individualized advisory, lower student teacher ratio which further leads to more individual attention/interaction/supervision etc. While as public institutions are usually bigger in size, less expensive, more diverse, have more programs/majors, bigger/better lab/library facilities, higher student teacher ratio which leads to, on the contrary, less personalized advisory/attention/interaction/supervision etc.
One more thing, college visit should always be an integral part of the process. Many questions listed above can easily be answered through college visits.
Hope this helps.
Here is a list of usual questions to ask when you are on a college visit.
ReplyDelete1) What is the percentage of students return after their freshman year?
2) What percentage of students graduate in four years or less?
3) How easy is it to change majors?
4) Which academic programs on campus are the most popular?
5) How much time do students typically spend on homework?
6) How much writing and reading are expected?
7) Will my AP credits transfer? How does that work?
8) What is the average class size of introductory classes?
9) Who teaches the freshman classes? How widely used are teaching assistants?
10) What percentage of students successfully apply to graduate/professional school?
11) What activities and services are available to help students get settled (academically and socially) during their first year?
12) What are the safety issues on campus? How are they addressed?
13) Are there any special support services for students with special needs (ADHD, LD, etc.)? How do these support services function and is there any additional cost charged for these services?
14) What tutoring, counseling, and support services are available on campus and how
are they accessed?
15) How do you provide academic advice to students?
16) What kind of career planning services are available?
17) How many students at the college get internships?
18) Is on campus living, dorm accommodations, required/guaranteed, and for how long?
19) What percentage of the student body belongs to a sorority or fraternity?
20) What is your average financial aid package?
21) What is the typical breakdown of loans versus grants?
22) What percentage of financial need does the school typically meet?
23) Do you offer merit based award, or yours is need based only?
24) What is the average college debt that students leave with?
25) What work-study opportunities are there?