Sample Appeal Letter for a College Rejection

Sample Appeal Letter for a College Rejection If youve been rejected from college, you often have the option of appeal. The letter below illustrates a possible approach for appealing a college rejection. Before appealing, however, make sure you have a legitimate reason for appealing a rejection. In the majority of cases, an appeal is not warranted. If you do not have significant new information to report to a college, do not write an appeal. Also, make sure the college accepts appeals before writing one.   Features of a Successful Appeal Letter Address your letter to your admissions representative.Present a legitimate reason for appealing.Be respectful and positive, not angry or whiny.Keep your letter brief and to the point. Sample Appeal Letter Ms. Jane GatekeeperDirector of AdmissionsIvy Tower CollegeCollegetown, USA Dear Ms. Gatekeeper, Although I was not surprised when I received a rejection letter from Ivy Tower College, I was extremely disappointed. I knew when I applied that my SAT scores from the November exam were below average for Ivy Tower. I also knew at the time of the SAT exam (because of illness) that my scores did not represent my true ability. However, since I applied to Ivy Tower back in January, I have retaken the SAT and improved my scores measurably. My math score went from a 570 to a 660, and my reading score went up a full 120 points. I have instructed the College Board to send these new scores to you.I know Ivy Tower discourages appeals, but I hope you will accept these new scores and reconsider my application. I have also had the best quarter yet at my high school (a 4.0 unweighted), and I have enclosed my most recent grade report for your consideration. Again, I fully understand and respect your decision to deny me admission, but I do hope you will reopen my file to consider this new information. I was tremendously impressed by Ivy Tower when I visited last fall, and it remains the school I would most like to attend. Sincerely, Joe Student Discussion of the Appeal Letter As stated above, before writing a letter of appeal, you need to make sure you have a  legitimate reason to appeal. You must also make sure the college allows appeals- many schools do not. Theres a good reason for this- nearly all rejected students feel they have been treated unfairly or that the admissions staff failed to read their applications carefully. Many colleges simply dont want to deal with the flood of appeals they would receive if they allowed applicants to argue their cases. In Joes case, he learned that Ivy Tower College (obviously not the real name) does accept appeals, although the school discourages appeals. Joe addressed his letter to the Director of Admissions at the college. If you have a contact in the admissions office- either the Director or the representative for your geographic region- it is best to write to a specific person. If you dont have the name of an individual, you can address your letter with To Whom It May Concern or Dear Admissions Personnel. An actual name, of course, sounds much better. Now on to the body of Joes letter. Note that Joe is not whining. Admissions officers hate whining, and it wont get you anywhere. Joe is not saying that his rejection was unfair, nor is he insisting that the admissions office made a mistake. He may think these things, but he isnt including them in his letter. Instead, in both the opening and closing of the letter, he notes that he respects the decision of the admissions folks. Most important for an appeal, Joe does have a reason to appeal. He  tested poorly on the SAT, and he retook the exam and brought up his scores dramatically. Notice that Joe makes mention of being sick when he first took the SAT, but he is not using that as an excuse. An admissions officer is not going to reverse a decision simply because a student claims some kind of testing hardship. You need actual scores to show your potential, and Joe comes through with the new scores. Also, Joe is wise to send along his most recent grade report. He is doing extremely well in school, and the admissions officers will like to see those strong grades. Joe is not slacking off senior year, and his grades are trending upward, not down. He is certainly not revealing signs of senioritis, and he has avoided the issues in this weak appeal letter. Note that Joes letter is brief and to the point. Hes not wasting the time of the admissions officers with a long rambling letter. The college already has Joes application, so he doesnt need to repeat that information in the appeal. Joes letter does three important things in a concise manner. He states his respect for the admissions decision; he presents the new information that is the basis for his appeal, and he reaffirms his interest in the college. Were he to write anything else, he would be wasting the time of the admissions officers. A Final Word About Joes Appeal It is important to be realistic about an appeal. Joe writes a good letter and has significantly better scores to report. However, he is likely to fail in his appeal. The appeal is certainly worth a try, but the majority of rejection appeals are not successful.