When Should You Appeal a College Admissions Decision?

A stamp reading rejected

While many students celebrate April 1 and the release of college decisions, students who were not admitted into their school of choice may have a different feeling. For some students (and parents) the disappointment that comes with a refusal may lead to the desire to take action and appeal the denial decision.

Does this sound like you? If so, you should ask yourself if it is actually worth your time to appeal a decision. First, make sure to check on the college’s website. To see if the college even accepts appeal requests – some do, some don’t. Second, understand that very few appeal requests are actually granted. Lastly, think about if it is actually worth your time to appeal. And if you have good reason to justify the appeal.

What is your reason?

Are you upset with the decision and think it is unfair?
Did one of your friends or classmates get in and you don’t understand how they got in instead of you?
Did you get in to another great school and feel that the school that rejected you was incorrect in their decision?
Were your parents alums or donors and you feel that the school must not have considered that?

These reasons alone are not reasons to appeal an admissions decision

If you try, the appeal will likely get turned down.
However, if you still feel that an appeal is warranted make sure you meet the following criteria.

Do you have new information to share with the college?

When colleges review appeal decisions they are looking for new information. They have already reviewed your application. And taken into account all of the information that you shared with them (including your grades, essays, letters of recommendation, interview, etc.). Unless you are presenting something new, you should probably not plan to appeal a decision

Has something drastically changed with your application since it was sent in? 

If you discovered something substantial was missing from your original application (not by fault of your own). Or there was an error in the reporting of grades or test scores chances you may have grounds for appeal. But again there are no guarantees.

Admissions decisions are emotional, particularly the deny decision. Know that it is okay to be disappointed, frustrated, and want to know why you weren’t offered admission. But make sure to be realistic and understand that the decision will likely stand. And the chances remain slim of it being changed with an appeal.

Coalition App essays: The "meaningful contribution" prompt

street sign reading success

This post is another in my series on how to address the college application essay prompts from the Coalition App. This year, you have five prompts from which to choose as an anchor for your essay. Each prompt presents its unique possibilities and challenges. Today we will look at the meaningful contribution prompt. This a fairly straightforward prompt that allows you both to tell a good story. As well as to reflect on how your experiences have shaped your beliefs, your expectations, and your understanding of what it is to be human.

Describe a time when you made a meaningful contribution to others in which the greater good was your focus. Discuss the challenges and rewards of making your contribution.

Meaningful Contribution to Others

So, the story you must tell in this essay is one in which you did something that made life better for someone else. You took action to give something to someone else. That something might be material or immaterial. It could be an actual object, or it could be more like a feeling. However, this contribution must be significant—to you or to the recipient or both. Your story here is a discrete anecdote in which you improved the life of someone else.

Greater Good Was Your Focus

Community service is now considered an essential element of preparation for college admission. College admissions officers love stories in which teens perform selfless acts. But one of the paradoxes of modern secondary school life is that many teens are motivated to do service only because of a perceived “requirement,” whether explicit or implied, to add this service to your resume. This prompt specifically wants you to tell a story in which your primary motivation was the “greater good.” Admissions officers would like to see this dedication to service for the sake of service—not as a check box to tick on the way to college.

One of the most common and often least effective topics for this essay is the service you rendered as part of a school trip, mission trip, or international experience organized by others to make it easy for you to do community service. In order for these experiences to work well, you must demonstrate your own motivations. Why was this organized trip the best way for you to improve the lives of others, and how can you prove that the “greater good” was the impetus for your participation in this experience?

Challenges and Rewards

Not every attempt to improve the lives of others actually works out as intended. Sometimes the contributor encounters stumbling blocks. Sometimes they even fail miserably. This prompt invites you to evaluate your actions, and to reflect upon how well you actually were able to serve the “greater good.” Keep in mind that sometimes we gain the most through our mistakes. And, so there is no harm (and sometimes great benefit) in assessing your actions honestly and forthrightly. But if your contributions clearly and unequivocally improved the lives of others, by all means, take credit for your successes.

Mark Montgomery
Educational consultant and admissions expert