How many admission appeals were made to your campus last year, and how many were granted? How does your campus deal with appeals? What are some of the criteria for granting them? What is the procedure for appealing?

BERKELEY We received nearly 1,000 freshman appeals for fall 2003; we granted 29 appeals for the fall term and 94 for the spring. At the transfer level we received about 500 appeals and granted 10 for fall and 46 for spring.

We completely re-review each application for which an appeal is submitted. Successful appeals generally supply significant and/or compelling new information not contained in the original application. We also consider documented instances of personal hardship such as serious illness in the applicant or family in our appeals decisions.

Students must submit a letter of appeal and supplemental application materials by mail to the Admissions Office. For freshman appeals received by April 15, we will notify students of our decision before May 1. For those received later, we will do our best to inform students as soon as possible, but due to the high volume and short time-line, we cannot guarantee we will notify students by May 1. (For transfers the appeal deadline to receive notification by June 1 is May 15). Because Berkeley ultimately admits very few students by appeal, all denied applicants are encouraged to submit an enrollment deposit at another institution.

DAVIS UC Davis had more than 850 appeals from freshman and transfer applicants for fall 2003; fewer than 50 were granted.

We ask that all appeals be in our office by April 15. Each appeal is read and categorized by type of appeal (financial, medical, extenuating circumstances, academic, general); in each area we prioritize by the greatest “need” to attend UC Davis, and then we complete a review of the student’s academic preparation and/or accomplishments, as well as his or her personal characteristics and letters of recommendation. Using the results of the review, the appeals are reprioritized. Then, based on the number of appeals that can be accepted we take the applicants with the most critical need to attend UC Davis (such as needing to attend a local institution because of sudden financial hardship) who have the greatest academic and personal attributes and highest recommendations.

Prospective applicants must submit a written appeal, along with all supporting documentation and letters of recommendation by April 15 to Admissions Review Committee, Undergraduate Admissions and Outreach Services, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616-8507.

IRVINE UC Irvine received 812 appeals for non-selection by freshman and transfer applicants for fall 2003, and 209 were granted admission.

Spaces are not set aside for students who appeal. Since every application has been reviewed extensively, for an appeal to have merit there must be substantially new and compelling information that was not present during the initial review. For freshman appeals, high grades in the senior year are not a basis for the reversal of a decision.

Appeals must be submitted by April 15. Students must send a letter to the Admissions Office stating the reason(s) for the appeal, an official high school transcript from the most recent term and one letter of recommendation from a teacher or school counselor. The Admissions Office will verify that all information provided is complete and accurate.

LOS ANGELES Of the approximately 33,650 freshmen we denied for admission in fall 2003, we reversed roughly 95 decisions; we reversed approximately 55 of the 7,850 transfer deny decisions.

UCLA does not set aside space for students who appeal admission decisions. Every denied applicant has gone through extensive reviews, so for an appeal to have merit, it must bring to light academic information that was not in the application — information that clearly shows the student to be stronger than had been earlier evidenced. High grades received in the senior year are not a basis for the reversal of a decision.

All appeals should be directed to the UCLA Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Relations with Schools. It is our usual practice to respond to appeals within three weeks of the date we receive them. Freshman appeal information is available online; transfer appeal information is available online.

RIVERSIDE We received approximately 60 appeals for fall 2003. Of those, we approved sevenfreshman and eight transfer requests.

The assistant director of admissions-evaluations reviews all appeals to determine special circumstances. If applicable, appeals are forwarded to the director of admissions, who makes the final decision.

Our major criterion is whether the circumstances that led to the deferral were outside the control of the student, such as health issues that affected the student’s ability to meet deadlines and/or to perform in class.

Students must submit their appeal in writing to the assistant director-evaluations at the Admissions Office. We review the appeal and try to make a decision within 24 hours of receiving it. However, depending on the time of year and the circumstances, a student may be advised that a decision cannot be made until all applications are processed.

SAN DIEGO For fall 2003, we received 833 freshman appeals; 64 or approximately 8 percent were found to have new and compelling information, which reversed the admission decision.

Students must first discuss their concerns with an admissions officer. If the admissions officer determines that there was a clear administrative error and the corrected information will rank the student within the select range, the application will be forwarded to the assistant director or associate director of admissions for review.

If the student insists on taking his or her request further, they are asked to write a letter to the assistant vice chancellor, who will review the application and supporting documentation. In the case of transfer applicants, an admissions officer will evaluate the application following the receipt of a letter to the associate director. Then the associate director and assistant vice chancellor will review the request.

UCSD will only consider an appeal 1) if the student can show that there was an administrative error made in the evaluation of the application, such as failure to consider an approved criteria; or there was a computational error that would have resulted in an increase in the overall comprehensive review score; or 2) if the student can provide documented new or compelling information that significantly affects the comprehensive review of his/her application such as any extraordinary situation or event that was not presented in the original application.

SANTA BARBARA UC Santa Barbara received 1,056 freshman appeals for fall 2003 and granted 72 (some of these resulted from a late decision that we could accommodate 50 more students in the fall class).

If an error has been made, such as miscomputing the grade point average or making a data entry mistake, the appeal is granted immediately (there are usually three to five of these each year). A limited number of additional appeals may be granted depending upon the nature of the appeal and available space. A medical reason or a special hardship may also be grounds for an appeal.

Students must write a letter of appeal, include a transcript with fall grades and courses in progress for the spring, and may also include up to three letters of recommendation, and mail it to Admissions Review Committee, Admissions and Outreach Services, UC, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-2014. A submission deadline (usually April 15) is specified. Senior admission staff re-review all files.

SANTA CRUZ For fall 2003, our campus received 229 freshman appeals and 174 transfer appeals. Of those, we extended offers of admission to 78 freshmen and 116 transfers.

When students ask about appealing their denial, they are told that they will need to present a written appeal that contains new or compelling information that was not included in their original application. Transcripts are also required as a part of the appeal, and a single letter of recommendation can also be included, but it is not required.

Each appeal is reviewed by an admissions officer and then forwarded to a senior official for final decision. There is no set number of admission spaces set aside for appeals; decisions are made on a case-by-case basis.

Considerations when reviewing an appeal include the up-to-date academic picture, the information that is contained in the appeal letter and any other information that has been submitted. Appeal decisions are made to assure consistency with all other freshman and transfer admission offers.

You spoke, and we listened. Taking your feedback to heart, we asked campus officials many of your most frequently asked questions and will be sharing their answers in these pages over the coming months. If you would like to submit a question, contact Steven Cohen, (510) 987-0920.