Appeals inundate UCLA’s admissions office

Friday, April 12, 1996

Officials see increase in freshmen applicants seeking
re-evaluationBy Rachanee Srisavasdi

Daily Bruin Staff

Each year, UCLA breaks a countless number of hearts,denying
admissions to thousands of qualified high school students.

And while most of those turned away reluctantly choose another
university, a persistent few appeal to UCLA’s admissions office,
adamantly maintaining that they deserve a slot in the university’s
freshman class.

Jack Wei, one of the rejected applicants, made a special trip
with his mother to talk with UCLA admissions officials Thursday.
Wei, a student at University High School in Irvine, plans to appeal
his rejection.

"I was really disappointed," he said. "Most of my friends got
into UCLA … I was the only one to be rejected. Hopefully, they’ll
reconsider because there are extra things you can’t necessarily
mention in an application."

Hundreds of rejected applicants and their parents have been
seeking explanations from the admissions officials, as well as
pleading for the university to reconsider their decision. Beginning
last week, UCLA’s admissions office has been bombarded with calls,
visits and letters from students and parents, begging admissions
officials for a slot into the university.

Admissions officials reported a substantial increase in appeals
from rejected applicants and their parents from last year ­
receiving an average of 400 calls a day in addition to hundreds of
letters of appeal.

One reason for the rise in appeals is the competitiveness of the
fall 1996 admissions. UCLA received 28,000 applications for a
limited 3,650 spots, therefore rejecting about 17,000 ­ the
largest number of students ever to be turned away from UCLA.

Reports of special admissions favors, misinformation about
affirmative action policies and the recentering of SAT scores have
also contributed to the deluge of appeal responses, said
undergraduate admissions director Rae Lee Siporin.

The admissions process has undergone recent scrutiny, due to
news reports that UCLA grants special admissions requests to
university officials, legislators and prominent individuals. While
university officials maintain the requests were over-exaggerated by
the media, the reports have inflamed some rejected students who
assume they were denied admission because of backdoor requests,
Siporin said.

"(These reports) have made people frustrated and angry," she
said. "They’re absolutely certain that they were cheated out of a
spot."

Confusion over the UC Regents’ ruling ­ which will
eliminate race and gender as criteria starting fall 1997 ­ may
have also created a false impression that UCLA would accept more
minority applicants this year, Siporin said.

Additionally, the College Board has recentered SAT scores,
meaning students score higher than they would have before the
recentering. But though students may think they would get in with
these higher scores, universities have likewise raised their
standards for SAT scores.

Despite that, admissions officials have been open in discussing
admissions decisions with rejected applicants and their parents.
Some students will go to any lengths, including begging, to be
admitted. Admissions officials recalled parents crying in the
admissions office, threats of suing the university and repeated sob
stories from distraught students.

"The most interesting thing is that the responses have been
mostly from the parents, rather than the children," Siporin said.
"It’s like we have crushed their personal dreams for their
children."

The admissions office braces itself yearly for the mass of calls
and visits, even convening employee training sessions on how to
respond to students and their parents.

"We take it very seriously," said Cassandra Patillo, an
admissions supervisor. "We tell applicants if they are really
interested in attending UCLA, they could always transfer. If they
know going into another college that they want to (transfer to)
UCLA, they can prepare themselves academically."

A special committee of admissions officials reviews all appeals,
which must be in writing. The standards for accepting a repeal are
high ­ only one-fourth of appeals are granted admission.

Admissions officials consider academic factors alone, though a
student could cite special circumstances that might have
temporarily affected his/her academic performance.

Responses to appeal requests will be sent out by the end of
April.