Appeal letters EVER work?

Lanced said:

I'm surprised this isn't already a thread (unless I missed it searching for "appeal" and "interest").

I just got rejected from Vanderbilt today and wonder if its worth writing a letter appealing the decision. Do such letters EVER get an applicant re-consideration?

I feel like some freshman grades kept me out even though I am otherwise pretty competitive... I wouldn't normally sweat it but Vandy is truely one of my top choices.

Thanks

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I think you have good reasons to appeal, and it's worth a shot. Just don't get your hopes up.

Lanced said:

I'm surprised this isn't already a thread (unless I missed it searching for "appeal" and "interest").

I just got rejected from Vanderbilt today and wonder if its worth writing a letter appealing the decision. Do such letters EVER get an applicant re-consideration?

I feel like some freshman grades kept me out even though I am otherwise pretty competitive... I wouldn't normally sweat it but Vandy is truely one of my top choices.

Thanks

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I would if it was my top choice. Who know's what will happen.

Lanced said:

Thanks for the replies. That's kind of what I was thinking, nothing left to lose...

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Yea, you have nothing left to lose, so you might as well try. That being said, I think it is highly unlikely that anything will change. Especially so early in the process and so many qualified candidates.

I think you should write them a letter saying you reject their rejection letter, and will show up for an interview on this date, and then you will look foward to the start of classes next year.

But seriously, you got nothing left to lose. I doubt much would come from it, but you never know.

musiclink213 said:

But seriously, you got nothing left to lose. I doubt much would come from it, but you never know.

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I agree...I mean, what's the worst they can do, reject you...again? At least you'd have the peace of mind of knowing you tried everything you could do, and won't have any lingering what-ifs.

yeah, perhaps a tad....

Lanced said:

I really like your suggestion. It's being proactive and agressive. It lets them know I mean business. I actually toyed with the idea of having a friend who's a grad student or another who's a resident hand deliver the letter to admissions just so it actually gets read -- maybe inappropriate though...

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I know a guy who appealed twice: once when he didn't get a secondary and a second time when he didn't get an interview. He got an interview, got admitted and graduated -- with honors, IRRC.

bruinboy310 said:

In order to appeal do one needs to have at least 3.8 and 35 MCAT?

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No, but it helps. Actually, having a gpa & MCAT that gives evidence that you could survive the med school curriculum, good ECs & LORs, and a really sincere reason for making the school your first choice. When only 10% of applicants get interviews, sometimes someone who is very good just slips through the cracks.

musiclink213 said:

I think you should write them a letter saying you reject their rejection letter, and will show up for an interview on this date, and then you will look foward to the start of classes next year.

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I like it!!!

Lanced said:

I'm surprised this isn't already a thread (unless I missed it searching for "appeal" and "interest").

I just got rejected from Vanderbilt today and wonder if its worth writing a letter appealing the decision. Do such letters EVER get an applicant re-consideration?

I feel like some freshman grades kept me out even though I am otherwise pretty competitive... I wouldn't normally sweat it but Vandy is truely one of my top choices.

Thanks

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Med schools are like girls: showing continuing interest after being rejected to them is either sweet or annoying. Let them decide which one you are.

mintendo said:

Med schools are like girls: showing continuing interest after being rejected to them is either sweet or annoying. Let them decide which one you are.

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hahaha that's right. you have to get another med school to accept you to make them jealous, then include that in your appeal letter. remember, rule #1: act disinterested. always gets attention.

TakingBakSunday said:

hahaha that's right. you have to get another med school to accept you to make them jealous, then include that in your appeal letter. remember, rule #1: act disinterested. always gets attention.

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Yes. Also, conspicuously walk around their campus and glare at the admissions office, wearing the sweatshirt of a competing medical school.

notdeadyet said:

Yes. Also, conspicuously walk around their campus and glare at the admissions office, wearing the sweatshirt of a competing medical school.

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...and don't forget to constantly drop mention of "sick Uncle Harry the quadrillionaire who has left all his money to me in his will" and gee, how with all that money you're certainly going to donate oodles of it to your beloved med school...

TakingBakSunday said:

hahaha that's right. you have to get another med school to accept you to make them jealous, then include that in your appeal letter. remember, rule #1: act disinterested. always gets attention.

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And while we're on this analogy...
If you do get an interview, should you treat THEM to lunch?

Lanced said:

I feel like some freshman grades kept me out even though I am otherwise pretty competitive...

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I am amazed that I am the first person to say this.

The reason you gave is an absolutely, totally, utterly, ridiculously horrible justification of an appeal. Do you think that the admission's committee had trouble reading your transcript? Do they think that haven't thought about their attitude towards poor freshman grades with subsequent improvement? Give me a break.

The only successful appeal I have ever heard of is when a jewish applicant was badgered by a born again interviewer and asked, "why haven't you accepted the messiah, Jesus Christ."

Let me help you out here:

Legitimate reasons for filing an appeal:

1) Marked new transcript/test/score/EC information. We're talking "I just won the nobel prize" or "I retook the MCAT in August and improved from a 25 to a 35" type of information.

2) Blatant discrimination or other form of injustice in the admissions process.

Illegitimate reasons for filing an appeal:

1) I wasn't happy with the rejection.

2) The school was my first choice

3) I didn't get in anywhere else.

4) My GPA went up by 0.2 this past semester

5) I just joined a new honor society for $79.95. Check out this cool plaque.

6) I had a cold on the interview day.

7) WAAAAHHHHHH!

foofish said:

...and don't forget to constantly drop mention of "sick Uncle Harry the quadrillionaire who has left all his money to me in his will" and gee, how with all that money you're certainly going to donate oodles of it to your beloved med school...

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To the question, what will your obituary say about you, I'd like to tell the admissions committe it will say "Donated millions for new initiatives at the medical school".

I would recommend putting it past you and moving on. It's amazing to see what schools people end up getting into and see them rejected at less competitive schools without even scoring an interview. Focus on the schools that are interested in YOU.

LizzyM, how do you feel about what Callogician said? Do you need to have something seriously new and amazing, or what?

mintendo said:

Med schools are like girls: showing continuing interest after being rejected to them is either sweet or annoying. Let them decide which one you are.

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yup...either you finally get in, or you get a restraining order...

sara3426 said:

LizzyM, how do you feel about what Callogician said? Do you need to have something seriously new and amazing, or what?

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In the instance I recall, the applicant was a non-science major who had a good MCAT & a so-so gpa with a a strong up-turn. He was borderline to get an interview and the decision was "no interview". Appealing the decision showed his interest in the school (if he got an offer he was likely to accept it over all other offers) and when schools are concerned with "yield" (proportion of offers accepted), knowing that someone is a sure thing can be attractive. It doesn't hurt to have fall semester grades as additional evidence of an upturn that might sway a committee. Of course, I know of one case and it worked out well. I don't know how many cases there are or what proportion get a positive response.

I would say go for it, but my only reservation is that you were rejected pre-secondary, meaning that even if the appealate process worked in your favor, you might get rejected post-secondary. Had it been for an interview, I would have fully agreed with you.

Either way, as long as you don't keep your hopes up, go for it. Vanderbilt is one of your top choices, and you should always pursue your dreams with a vengeance.
-Dr. P.

vanderbilt sends secondaries and interviews together (like U Mich)... OP: did they explicitly say that you were not getting a secondary/interview, or have you not heard from them and are assuming a rejection? Its been 5 weeks since they verified my amcas and i have no news from them.

This guy in my lab got rejected to UCLA post secondary and appealed, granted an interview, was placed on the wait list after the interview, but is matriculating in the fall.

cm1285 said:

vanderbilt sends secondaries and interviews together (like U Mich)... OP: did they explicitly say that you were not getting a secondary/interview, or have you not heard from them and are assuming a rejection? Its been 5 weeks since they verified my amcas and i have no news from them.

This guy in my lab got rejected to UCLA post secondary and appealed, granted an interview, was placed on the wait list after the interview, but is matriculating in the fall.

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do you know what he wrote in his letter that made him successful?

piggi said:

do you know what he wrote in his letter that made him successful?

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I'd like to know too? What did he write in his appeal letter? And how do you go about writing one anyway...how to start one? Curious...curious...

My cousins told me that a friend of his was rejected from a medical school. This person than wrote a letter (4 paragraphs)...in one sentence stating that the decision was made in haste....

he got accepted after being rejected

go for it, you've got nothing to loose.

Lanced said:

I'm surprised this isn't already a thread (unless I missed it searching for "appeal" and "interest").

I just got rejected from Vanderbilt today and wonder if its worth writing a letter appealing the decision. Do such letters EVER get an applicant re-consideration?

I feel like some freshman grades kept me out even though I am otherwise pretty competitive... I wouldn't normally sweat it but Vandy is truely one of my top choices.

Thanks

Click to expand...

I wrote an appeal letter to VCU because they rejected me for my file not being complete on time (long story). My letter ended up going to the Dean of Admissions and she wrote me back saying she'd take a look at my file over the weekend and let me know their decision whether to reinstate my app or not on Monday

So I'd say it's def worth a shot, but don't get your hopes up. I don't expect for VCU to reverse their decision, but I do feel kinda weird/anxious/hopeful that the Dean of Admissions could be personally looking at my app right now! eek!

Lanced said:

I'm surprised this isn't already a thread (unless I missed it searching for "appeal" and "interest").

I just got rejected from Vanderbilt today and wonder if its worth writing a letter appealing the decision. Do such letters EVER get an applicant re-consideration?

I feel like some freshman grades kept me out even though I am otherwise pretty competitive... I wouldn't normally sweat it but Vandy is truely one of my top choices.

Thanks

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There have actually historically been many many threads on this, so yes you missed them. Appeals almost never work-- Because if they did work, then every adcom would be asked to reconsider every rejection they ever issued, and the admissions process would never end. So appeal are discouraged and only meant for extreme circumstances, as Callogician suggested above. Appealing for something that was already obvious based on your AMCAS is not likely going to be fruitful. And you don't even necessarilly know that that was the reason you got rejected -- you could have had an unengaging PS, bad LORs or something similar. A higher yield approach would be to schedule an appointment with the dean after the process to ask how you could improve your chances for the subsequent year, and at that time try to get a sense of what kept you out the last time. I personally wouldn't waste time with appeals. Keep moving forward, not back.

I have a question on a related note... I had a phone and onsite interview at Mayo last year. I was just notified yesterday that I was "Not Selected", pre phone interview for this year's application. I am very confused why I would be worth considering last year, and this year, after improving my application (GPA, work, and volunteer experiences, etc.) I wasn't even considered. I feel as if I was lead on. Is it possible they judged me based on last years information?

So here's my problem: I believe I deserve and explanation. The email I got says they won't talk to until March 15. I don't want to go on the offensive and start throwing around accusations. I just want to understand. Right now, I am living in Rochester, Mn. Should I call, email, go in personally, or do all three.

I know it can't hurt (also probably won't help), but I feel like I need and deserve some sort of explanation.

Any ideas???

Thanks