After receiving your decision Freshman Appeals Process
If you would like UT Austin to reconsider your fall 2009 freshman admission decision based on new or different information that was not included when you originally submitted your application, you may submit an appeal to the Office of Admissions. The appeal must include documentation that supports the new or different information on which you are basing your appeal.
How Appeals Will Be Considered
Appeals that are submitted to the Office of Admissions by May 1 will be considered beginning on that date. Appeals will be reviewed on their merit, the strength of the original application, and the nature and strength of the newly submitted information.
There is no guarantee that any appeal will be approved or that any specific factor will increase the odds for an appeal to be approved. As is the case with the admissions process, appeals will be considered holistically and in conjunction with the needs of the university.
Continuing with Other Plans
The Appeals Committee will not begin to consider appeals until after May 1. If you submit an appeal, you should take the steps required to accept admission elsewhere. May 1 is the deadline that many universities have in place for admitted students to accept admission offers and is also the CAP agreement deadline for some UT System universities.
See the Appeals Questions & Answers below for more detail.
How to Submit an Appeal
Appeal letters, along with new, supporting documentation or information, should be mailed to
The Appeals Committee, Office of Admissions
The University of Texas at Austin
P.O. Box 8058
Austin, TX 78713-8058
Appeals may also be faxed to 512-475-7478.
Please include your full name and your UT EID on each item submitted as part of your appeal.
Every student submitting an appeal will receive a letter by mail to let them know that their appeal arrived. Status Check will also reflect receipt of appeals; it will take a few days for submitted appeals to show up because of mailing time and the time needed for the Office of Admissions to record receipt of the appeal.
The Appeals Timeline
Students wishing to appeal their fall 2009 freshman admission decision should submit their appeal letters and documentation to the Office of Admissions by May 1, 2009. The process of reviewing all appeals will begin on that date. (Students on the wait list will be considered for admission before students who have submitted appeals. However, it is possible that a student who appeals may be admitted even if all wait-listed students are not.)
All appeal decisions will be made by May 15, 2009; students will be able to view their final appeal decisions online through Status Check and will receive a letter by mail from the Appeals Committee informing them about final appeal decisions.
Appeals Questions and Answers
Can anyone appeal their decision?
Technically, yes, anyone can appeal his or her admission decision. However, only people who submit new or different information about their achievements or qualifications will be seriously considered for an appeal. Appeal letters that simply ask us to reconsider our decision or say that someone must have made a mistake when the applicant’s decision was made—with nothing to support that assertion—are not likely to result in an appeal’s approval.
The Office of Admissions understands that the admissions process is complex and that, from an individual student’s perspective, it may appear that less qualified applicants were admitted. Because we use a holistic review process, however, in most of these cases students are comparing a single factor—test scores, for example—when admission decisions are based on several factors for each applicant.
Each year many students who aren’t admitted would be likely to succeed at UT Austin had they been admitted—if there were space for every qualified student.
The appeals process should not be thought of as an opportunity for students who are disappointed with their decisions to express their thoughts about the situation. Although expressing those thoughts to someone at the university is perfectly acceptable, the appeals process is probably not the best venue for such an exchange.
May I speak with someone on the Appeals Committee about my appeal?
No, members of the Appeals Committee are not available to speak with applicants by phone or in person.
Students should submit as much information as they can in support of their appeal letters. Anything submitted with an appeal letter will be considered by the committee when making decisions.
Items submitted as part of an applicant’s original application do not need to be resubmitted with an appeal. The Office of Admissions still has copies of original application materials on hand.
What kinds of situations can someone appeal about?
Students appeal about a variety of things. Sometimes appeals have to do with new information about a student’s qualifications (they reach Eagle Scout rank, win a national debate tournament, learn that they’ve been accepted to a world-class internship for the summer after their senior year, etc.). These kinds of things fall in the category of “new or different information.” Applicants who appeal their decisions based on these kinds of things will be part of the group of appeals that we will consider after May 1.
At other times students find out that their situation has changed or that something they planned for didn’t happen. Some students write to us to ask if they can wait to enroll for a year (something we call a “deferment”) because a special opportunity has come up for them or their family situation has changed. At other times, students discover that the test scores they requested to have sent to us never arrived or that their request for an official transcript got lost in their school’s office and the counselor discovered it after the deadline. We consider these and similar situations as they come up—usually within a couple of weeks of their arrival.
Might any appeals be considered before May 1?
Students who submit information that points out a situation in their application that is not directly related to their qualifications for admission—like misplaced transcript requests, for example—will have their information considered as it arrives in the Office of Admissions, before May 1 if time allows. Decisions about such cases are usually made within a couple of weeks.
I was offered CAP, but I’d rather wait to see what my appeal decision is before I start that process. Is that a good idea?
No, many of the UT System universities that participate in CAP enforce May 1 as the deadline by which students must submit their CAP agreements to participate. If you submit an appeal, you should see about submitting your CAP agreement at the same time and before May 1. If your appeal is approved and you are eventually admitted to UT Austin, the Office of Admissions will inform the CAP university you select to attend that you will be enrolling at UT Austin instead.
Is this the first time UT Austin has an appeals process?
No, UT Austin has always accepted appeals from applicants. We’ve just decided to formalize the process somewhat and to publish information online to make it more accessible to everyone.
What is the likelihood that I’ll be admitted if I appeal?
The only appeals (among those that have to do with a decision based on an applicant’s qualifications) that will be given serious consideration are those that do a serious job of presenting new or different information that was not originally submitted.
Historically, few admission decisions are changed through appeals.