Appeal Letter Signed By Faculty?

[WeOutHereWaiting]

Hello all,
I was recently rejected from my top choice school (a top 5 school) and would like to submit an appeal letter. I currently work at this institution as a researcher and one of the physicians who works on the same study as me (also a professor at the school) has offered to submit a letter of support. What do you think the best course of action is? My current plan was to draft a PDF letter of appeal (a short summary of why I think I am a great fit for the school and some major updates such as pubs). Should I also ask them to send me the letter of support and include it in the same email? Should I ask them to email it directly to the school? Or should I just politely refuse the letter of support?

I appreciate your insights.

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[srirachamayonnaise]

Hello all,
I was recently rejected from my top choice school (a top 5 school) and would like to submit an appeal letter. I currently work at this institution as a researcher and one of the physicians who works on the same study as me (also a professor at the school) has offered to submit a letter of support. What do you think the best course of action is? My current plan was to draft a PDF letter of appeal (a short summary of why I think I am a great fit for the school and some major updates such as pubs). Should I also ask them to send me the letter of support and include it in the same email? Should I ask them to email it directly to the school? Or should I just politely refuse the letter of support?

I appreciate your insights.

Don’t waste your time. Your letter will go straight into trash. Schools don’t owe anyone a reason for rejection. No one has ever got into any school by appealing. The only option you have is to sue the school in court and you are sure gonna lose that case.

 

[LunaOri]

A letter would help if you were waitlisted. Rejections, on the other hand, are final. The letter may help you if you re-apply next year.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I agree that this will likely not be productive at all. Is there a reason why you want to appeal? Why would you want to guarantee you would never get accepted to that program, in all likelihood?

Faculty should know better... leave those arguments among faculty to themselves. They won't get involved.

 

[LizzyM]

I have seen an appeal work once, when an applicant was not sent a secondary (this was so long ago, the applicant is now an attending), but @LunaOri is correct, a denial of admission is final and no school is going to reverse a decision based on a plea from a faculty member.

Save your time and effort and that of your PI. Live with the disappointment and move on. If you really think that you are good enough for a T5 school and you've applied early enough and to enough schools, and don't have a hideous red flag on your application, you should be matriculating next year even if not to your #1 school. If that's the case, be grateful; many applicants will not be matriculating anywhere next year.

 

[WeOutHereWaiting]

Thanks everyone for your valuable insight and advice!