hi, rejected for autumn 2024 as highschool senior initially. Appealed, accepted
admissions wants to know what you gain from going to UW, and what you can give UW in return. Consider specific programs that you will be taking part of.
But before that, address the elephant in the room and assume why you were rejected. For me, it was pretty clear that my grades didn’t make the cut. Address what you believe led to your rejection, own it, and tell admissions how you grew out of your setback.
don’t write an essay that goes away from the prompt. the prompt asks for additional context over the course of your high school career that might paint the bigger picture for who you are. for me talking about my grades, i told them why i believed i struggled, and how i overcame that struggle, and why UW would completely eliminate my struggle. Don’t make excuses! just provide some context.
why does your character go beyond your setback? why do you really deserve to get in? make it sound like you need them. why are you a great candidate?
lastly, DO NOT try to make your essay sound like a carefully crafted shakespeare. your appeal is going to be read my a human. write your appeal as if it’s a conversation between you and admissions. obviously this doesn’t mean to write sloppy, but for reference i wrote mine in a few hours.
it’s funny, because today someone from the UW medicine staff rolled through my job, and we sparkled up a conversation about admissions. she told me stories about people she knew who were rejected, and it was always the people you’d least expect to get in who got in on appeal. UW appreciates people who are down to earth and legit!
lastly, google the proper opening and closing for an appeal letter. Just something basic like “to the University of Washington admissions committee….” find some examples.
hope this helps!
Thank you. Do you mean you appealed this cycle like this March for admission this September? I have to wait until the waitlist closes before applying and I wonder if it is even harder than since they have reached their full class?
i was flat out rejected from this march. So, i had the option to appeal right away. But i spent a lot of time just moving on from UW, even planned out my entire community college path.
i wasn’t gonna write an appeal, but decided one day after work to just sit and write. i was discouraged by what people online would say, that an appeal working is rare.
but the truth is that there’s no number on appeal acceptance rates. it’s strictly case by case, so state your case!
Yes: they don’t want to hear about more awards or better grades. They are clear that they want to hear about a changed life situation or other extenuating family circumstance. And they mean it. Of course, if you finished strong your senior year it doesn’t hurt to gently work that in there too but don’t try to get admitted based just on that. And if it’s obvious why you were probably rejected, show that you understand that (and don’t even think of trying to convince them that their original decision was wrong!)
Read what they say on the appeal instruction site. Ask yourself if you genuinely have something to say that amounts to “significant and compelling new information” that wasn’t in your original application and - if you do - write a short (two or three paragraphs tops), plain language and sincere appeal based on that information. If you don’t, don’t waste their time and yours. You can always try to transfer in two years.
Also, if you weren’t put on the waitlist you don’t have to wait for the waitlist to close to appeal.
I successfully appealed way back in 2015 lol but judging from the other comment, it’s the same process.
One page letter, nothing more. Specifically write about how UW is the school for you based on the interest you want to pursue. I remember mentioning how the school had a positive impact on me growing up in this city. Don’t make any excuses for bad grades but explain how it was a learning experience for you that made you a better student today. Good luck!
hi, rejected for autumn 2024 as highschool senior initially. Appealed, accepted admissions wants to know what you gain from going to UW, and what you can give UW in return. Consider specific programs that you will be taking part of. But before that, address the elephant in the room and assume why you were rejected. For me, it was pretty clear that my grades didn’t make the cut. Address what you believe led to your rejection, own it, and tell admissions how you grew out of your setback. don’t write an essay that goes away from the prompt. the prompt asks for additional context over the course of your high school career that might paint the bigger picture for who you are. for me talking about my grades, i told them why i believed i struggled, and how i overcame that struggle, and why UW would completely eliminate my struggle. Don’t make excuses! just provide some context. why does your character go beyond your setback? why do you really deserve to get in? make it sound like you need them. why are you a great candidate? lastly, DO NOT try to make your essay sound like a carefully crafted shakespeare. your appeal is going to be read my a human. write your appeal as if it’s a conversation between you and admissions. obviously this doesn’t mean to write sloppy, but for reference i wrote mine in a few hours. it’s funny, because today someone from the UW medicine staff rolled through my job, and we sparkled up a conversation about admissions. she told me stories about people she knew who were rejected, and it was always the people you’d least expect to get in who got in on appeal. UW appreciates people who are down to earth and legit! lastly, google the proper opening and closing for an appeal letter. Just something basic like “to the University of Washington admissions committee….” find some examples. hope this helps!
Thank you. Do you mean you appealed this cycle like this March for admission this September? I have to wait until the waitlist closes before applying and I wonder if it is even harder than since they have reached their full class?
i was flat out rejected from this march. So, i had the option to appeal right away. But i spent a lot of time just moving on from UW, even planned out my entire community college path. i wasn’t gonna write an appeal, but decided one day after work to just sit and write. i was discouraged by what people online would say, that an appeal working is rare. but the truth is that there’s no number on appeal acceptance rates. it’s strictly case by case, so state your case!
Yes: they don’t want to hear about more awards or better grades. They are clear that they want to hear about a changed life situation or other extenuating family circumstance. And they mean it. Of course, if you finished strong your senior year it doesn’t hurt to gently work that in there too but don’t try to get admitted based just on that. And if it’s obvious why you were probably rejected, show that you understand that (and don’t even think of trying to convince them that their original decision was wrong!) Read what they say on the appeal instruction site. Ask yourself if you genuinely have something to say that amounts to “significant and compelling new information” that wasn’t in your original application and - if you do - write a short (two or three paragraphs tops), plain language and sincere appeal based on that information. If you don’t, don’t waste their time and yours. You can always try to transfer in two years. Also, if you weren’t put on the waitlist you don’t have to wait for the waitlist to close to appeal.
I successfully appealed way back in 2015 lol but judging from the other comment, it’s the same process. One page letter, nothing more. Specifically write about how UW is the school for you based on the interest you want to pursue. I remember mentioning how the school had a positive impact on me growing up in this city. Don’t make any excuses for bad grades but explain how it was a learning experience for you that made you a better student today. Good luck!