Should I try to convince a university to reconsider their rejection of me?

I just got rejected from my favourite university (UCL) last night, I'm heartbroken

If the course you applied to is competitive, and considering its almost summer, they have probably handed out all their offers already.

Of course, no one is stopping you though so do what you will.

You dont have a right of appeal unless the university hasnt followed its rules.

To be perfectly honest you really dont have any real chance. The university have looked at your application and decided there are better applicants. There is nothing you can do about that. As far as meeting entry requirements are concerned that doesnt guarantee an offer. Due to the excessive grade inflation .and predicted grades being used at the moment there are far more applicants meeting or indeed exceeding the entry requirements in universities than there are spaces.

In the past when exams were being marked 75% of students didnt reach their predicted grades. Last year 23% of students achieved grade A* and nearly half achieved the A grade. This compares with 8% getting A* and 23% A in 2019. It is anticipated that the pass grades will be similar to last year.

Universities have had to make decisions on which applicants to accept or reject because of this. They dont have room to accept everybody. There have been a number of students on here who have been rehected by UCL this year.

All you can do is accept you were rejected by UCL and move on to another university or reapply next year but even then you could end up being rejected again.

Unless there has been an error why should UCL benefit you over other applications. What makes you think you deserve preferential treatment. Many others are also upset but nobody is guaranteed an offer by any university particularly one as competitive as UCL. When anybody applies to a very competitve university they run the risk of rejection which is what has happened to you.

I just got rejected from my top uni choice and am heartbroken and feel as though I need to fight one last time to try and make them change their minds on my application.

They said my application was not quite as strong as the others but seeming as I made it so far in the process (got to the last stage which was interviews) I feel as though I’m gonna try one last time to try and make them reconsider their decision seeming as they used the word ‘quite’ which is making me think I was so close.

The likelihood of them reconsidering my decision and giving me an offer is slim, but I feel as though I’ve got nothing to loose, especially since it’s my top choice.

Is it a good idea or not???

(I met all the minimum entry requirements (GCSE and A-level) which was a 6 in English, 5 in maths and A*AA)

Do you have those A level grades, or are they your predicted grades?

If you already have them, you're probably wasting your time reapplying unless the feedback you got suggested you were short on something you can address in a gap year.

If they are predicted grades, then when you get your actual grades is the time to make decisions. If you do better than predicted, it might be worth taking a gap year and having another try. If you get your predicted grades or less, probably not worth it.

You can always ask. They’ll tell you no if there’s no chance.
Maybe ask about if they would reconsider if your offer was deferred to 23/24.

And also if they would consider you for any waiting list for any spaces that might open up in the summer/autumn.

There’s a good chance that they’ll say no but if this is your dream course/university then there’s no harm in exploring any potential options.

If they say no then ask about whether they welcome reapplications.

Personally I worry when applicants are so committed to a single choice. There’s so many good universities and courses available that it’s a better option to explore and enjoy the variety of lots of different potential futures.

It’s up to you to weigh up exactly how committed you are to UCL.

Ahh its annoying but you make a valid argument!!

I am going to email them nonetheless but instead, I will just ask if they could elaborate on why they rejected me, then hopefully I can just improve those areas of my application for the 2023 intake if I decide to reapply, hoping that I might get in next year.

What would you do? Im still waiting on Edinburgh and I have already got an offer from Bath which I would happily go to so I don't know whether I should just firm Bath or if I should just reapply for UCL my dream uni next year, cos as you said there is no guarantee that I will get in next year either.

Also thanks for the comment, its defo not what I wanted to hear but I know its right

I have posted this a few times on TSR, but I successfully appealed my rejection from UCL (psych) a few years ago.

You have nothing to lose and everything to gain, just don't set your heart on it, I only know 2 others on TSR in the 10 years I've been on here to do this successfully too.

I'd say it's very unlikely that they will change their mind at this stage. I assume you have other options that you like (I mean you did apply to them) so i'd put one of those in as firm and insurance. If by results day the uni has clearing spaces you can reject your other uni options and go through clearing but it's a risk some unis can take ages (I mean like a week) to release you (Durham university and Bath are notorious for this.) and while that is happening clearing places are filling up. I know this isn't what you want to hear but I'd try snd put it behind you and get excited about places you can go I know it sucks but that's just the way it goes sometimes. Whatever you do don't beg that is likely to annoy them and ruin any change you might have later on maybe try for post grad or something..

If the course is what you want and you can live with being in a small city I would firm Bath. There is very little to choose between the top 20 or so universities so ignore reputation.

Would it be alright if I privately messaged you and spoke about this topic more so with you?

I know that reversals on decisions can be made but they are very rare so I’m not getting my hopes up but I just want to demonstrate to UCL that I would be a great fit for the course and that through emailing them/calling them it shows how passionate I am for studying the course

Mine was UCL too!!

It is a really competitive course but I got down to something like the last 25 people and the course usually takes 20 but its not restricted to just 20. No one for this academic year 2022 has got an offer yet as most successful applicants get their offers in May I'm pretty sure so I feel as though seeming as I made it this far it would be pointless to give up without a fight

Where else did u apply and for what?

I applied to Media courses at UCL, Warwick, Edinburgh, Loughborough, and York. Got rejected from all of them, unfortunately ;(

Pretty brutal getting rejected so many considering I actually applied to some of these universities for a different course last year (which I decided weren't really my passion) and got offers from..

The worst part about rejections is that pretty much all of their reasoning is 'the course is competitive' which pretty much translates to "Sorry, but there are people better than you in this world"

Hope they reconsider you