asking "why was i rejected?"

[brooklyn]

edit: question was whether it's possible to ask why one was rejected where this came as a surprise/disappointment.

[Happy_Weasel]

There are some that allow for an application review.

[johnnydavis]

i was rejected by phone from my first choice school today.  it's the first time i've ever been rejected from an academic program.  i covered my disappointment by asking a couple of logistical questions about applying as a transfer next year, but didn't get a good response.

the question i really wanted to ask was, "why didn't you accept me?"  i know i made some mistakes- applying very late in the cycle clearly hurt me, as did skipping any significant prep for the LSAT (i know i could have scored at least 5 points higher, which didn't seem like a lot at the time). 

still, my score was their median; my grades were pretty good; my essay was solid; excellent letters of recommendation from profs/supervisors who knew me best including the prof of an undergrad legal course i aced; several years of work experience in which i rose to the top of my field, then shifted careers into human rights work & made real contributions there; my first book is getting published this year... i mean, i think i'm pretty great, and lots of other (tier 1, lower ranked) schools do, too...

so, i'm always going to wonder what i did/said/wrote that was wrong.  their acceptance rate is around 10%, which meant that i had to beat out something like 20 other applicants.  i find it hard to believe that i couldn't do that.  i mean, i know some real idiots who applied.

has anyone tried to get a rejection explanation out of an admissions committee?  how did you go about it?  were you successful?  should i just spit out my sour grapes & remind myself that the school i attend really doesn't matter for the kind of work i want to do?

The adcom members are a fickle bunch.  They don't always accept the best applicants, so don't worry too much about it.  Having said that, try to view yourself with more of a critical eye.  My first impression was that you may have crossed the line between confidence and arrogance, and you have difficulty conceding defeat or failure.  Personality traits do show up (whether you notice it or not) in your essays, and maybe there was something in your PS that the adcoms didn't like.

[shae]

i was rejected by phone from my first choice school today.  it's the first time i've ever been rejected from an academic program.  i covered my disappointment by asking a couple of logistical questions about applying as a transfer next year, but didn't get a good response.

the question i really wanted to ask was, "why didn't you accept me?"  i know i made some mistakes- applying very late in the cycle clearly hurt me, as did skipping any significant prep for the LSAT (i know i could have scored at least 5 points higher, which didn't seem like a lot at the time). 

still, my score was their median; my grades were pretty good; my essay was solid; excellent letters of recommendation from profs/supervisors who knew me best including the prof of an undergrad legal course i aced; several years of work experience in which i rose to the top of my field, then shifted careers into human rights work & made real contributions there; my first book is getting published this year... i mean, i think i'm pretty great, and lots of other (tier 1, lower ranked) schools do, too...

so, i'm always going to wonder what i did/said/wrote that was wrong.  their acceptance rate is around 10%, which meant that i had to beat out something like 20 other applicants.  i find it hard to believe that i couldn't do that.  i mean, i know some real idiots who applied.

has anyone tried to get a rejection explanation out of an admissions committee?  how did you go about it?  were you successful?  should i just spit out my sour grapes & remind myself that the school i attend really doesn't matter for the kind of work i want to do?

what school?

[Angelina1]

i was rejected by phone from my first choice school today.  it's the first time i've ever been rejected from an academic program.  i covered my disappointment by asking a couple of logistical questions about applying as a transfer next year, but didn't get a good response.

the question i really wanted to ask was, "why didn't you accept me?"  i know i made some mistakes- applying very late in the cycle clearly hurt me, as did skipping any significant prep for the LSAT (i know i could have scored at least 5 points higher, which didn't seem like a lot at the time). 

still, my score was their median; my grades were pretty good; my essay was solid; excellent letters of recommendation from profs/supervisors who knew me best including the prof of an undergrad legal course i aced; several years of work experience in which i rose to the top of my field, then shifted careers into human rights work & made real contributions there; my first book is getting published this year... i mean, i think i'm pretty great, and lots of other (tier 1, lower ranked) schools do, too...

so, i'm always going to wonder what i did/said/wrote that was wrong.  their acceptance rate is around 10%, which meant that i had to beat out something like 20 other applicants.  i find it hard to believe that i couldn't do that.  i mean, i know some real idiots who applied.

has anyone tried to get a rejection explanation out of an admissions committee?  how did you go about it?  were you successful?  should i just spit out my sour grapes & remind myself that the school i attend really doesn't matter for the kind of work i want to do?

What amazes me is that you were rejected by phone--would you mind telling us what school? I mean, I know alot of law schools are using the phone this year to communicate acceptances, but I thought that rejections would surely still be in letter form? You'd think the admissions officers wouldn't want to have to deal with telling someone the bad news. I wouldn't want to.

Now I'm scared to answer my phone...

[postal007]

From the acceptance rate number, it appears to be Boalt.

Rejected by phone means they called in and got the answer (as many others have done on this board).

[Angelina1]

From the acceptance rate number, it appears to be Boalt.

Rejected by phone means they called in and got the answer (as many others have done on this board).

So I take it they don't just call you out of the blue and say, "It's not on," is that right, brooklyn?

[clairel]

out of all the schools i applied to, boalt was the most unpredictable in terms of numbers...i was waitlisted a few weeks ago with a 3.96/168 but was accepted to pretty much every other t-14 i applied to, so it wasn't a generalized fault in my application. i'm just chalking it up to a personality clash; my personal statement was about my experience with feminists, so my mom's theory is that berkeley has plenty of those already

it defintely helped me narrow my decision down though..

["V"]

Boalt is a pretty full campus - maybe they couldn't make room for your bloated ego?

In all seriousness, though, your first post came across as almost snotty arrogance (to me, at least) if an admissions board, especially at tier 1 schools, got even a faint hint of that kind of attitude, that may be the sole reason for your rejection. All the tier 1's, and especially the t14 have tons and tons of applicants to choose from, and their acceptance rates reflect this. Think of it this way - you had to beat out 20 applicants, maybe some idiots did apply, but let's say even 10 of every twenty were idiots. That stills means you had to beat ten qualified applicants, with perhaps different, or better, life experience. Many people are published. Many people have good GPA's. Many people have strong LSATs. The admissions boards say (and I believe) that they are also looking for people who can contribute to the campus and quality of student body.

I'm not saying you're arrogant - your second post didn't seem at all arrogant, but your first one did. And you mention puffing yourself up for the personal statement, I would check it, because high self esteem and arrogance can easily be mixed up when trying to show people your strengths.

As it is, it seems like you have a ton of fantastic options, I wouldn't let the Boalt thing get you down. I also wouldn't be afraid to call and ask why you were rejected. I wrote an email to LC to ask why I didn't get some bling-bling scholarship, and the admissions dean went and talked to the admissions and scholarship boards and got back to me with a detailed answer.

[Robespierre]

Are you the "Brooklyn" on LSN?  If not, could you fill us in on your numbers?