As college admission decisions roll out, some of them come with bad news. The bad news a student did not get into the college of their choice can be very upsetting to a whole family and those people might struggle to understand that rejection. They might be inclined to not accept that rejection and attempt to appeal their admission decision. Every college has a process for that but there are some important things to consider.
The first thing to know is, well, don’t get your
hopes up. When colleges review applications, they make a firm decision. In most cases, there might be some black and white criteria that go into it but there is also usually a lot of objectivity. I talk to parents who want to know why their child didn’t get into their favorite college. They ask, “what was the reason?” as they bang their fists on the table. The question is not that simple to answer. I kind of like to think of the process as being similar to the way I choose a meal off a menu at a restaurant. Sometimes I want chicken, sometimes I want a burger, sometimes I want noodles, sometimes I want tacos. I don’t have a rubric or set criteria that determine where or what I eat. It’s just sort of an overall feeling of I like this today or I don’t like that. So it is with application decisions.
Once I’ve made my decision about where to eat and I’ve driven to the restaurant, and sat at a table, I’m probably not going to change my mind and suddenly switch from tacos to Italian. I’d probably only do so under some pretty extenuating circumstances. Again, so it is with applications and decisions. In order for a decision appeal to be granted, your reason for your request needs to be something fairly unique and difficult to control. “But she’s such a great student,” or “This is his grandfather’s alma mater,” are not likely to cut it. Granted appeals usually result from reasons more compelling like “My chemotherapy prevented me from focusing on my grades during my junior year,” or “After my dad died and we lost our house, I was doing the best I could in the classroom while working three jobs so my siblings could eat.” See the difference in those types of reasoning for an appeal?
If you don’t have a really good reason like that, don’t hold your breath. A college has invested time in reviewing you and making their decision. If you don’t have some information that can meaningfully alter the scope of what they have already seen, it is unlikely your appeal will be granted. I tell the families I work with that ask me about appeals that it’s time to move on. I think the time and energy spent on that appeal would be better spent researching other options and adjusting to the idea of somewhere else. If a student spends the spring of their senior year pinning their hopes on something that is very unlikely to happen, they won’t be emotionally preparing for what is most likely to happen and that can translate to more negative experiences down the road.
If you don’t have a really good reason like that, don’t hold your breath. A college has invested time in reviewing you and making their decision. If you don’t have some information that can meaningfully alter the scope of what they have already seen, it is unlikely your appeal will be granted. I tell the families I work with that ask me about appeals that it’s time to move on. I think the time and energy spent on that appeal would be better spent researching other options and adjusting to the idea of somewhere else. If a student spends the spring of their senior year pinning their hopes on something that is very unlikely to happen, they won’t be emotionally preparing for what is most likely to happen and that can translate to more negative experiences down the road.
