Guidelines for Special Admission and Appeal

Who Can Petition?

Any denied applicant may appeal. Generally, applicants petition if they believe their academic or personal circumstances could not be considered adequately through the normal freshman review process or that an error occurred in that review.

Waitlisted Applicants

Waitlisted freshmen may appeal.

• If you appeal and the request is denied, you will remain on the waitlist until a final decision is made.
• If you are later denied from the waitlist, you cannot appeal again.

How Do I Petition?

You, the applicant, must submit your appeal in writing, preferably typed and no longer than three pages. You may send it by postal mail or deliver it in person.

• A petition sent by postal mail should bear your signature.
• Include with your petition an updated, official high school transcript. Include a college transcript if you are enrolled in college coursework.
• The Office of Admissions does not interview petitioners or consider in-person appeals. Meeting with admissions staff will not affect the outcome of a petition.
• Artwork, portfolios, or writing samples will not be considered.
• The body of your appeal should explain your reason for seeking reconsideration.
• Your petition should be clear and concise in presenting your case for admission.
• Keep in mind that we already reviewed your entire file and expected you to present everything of significance in the initial application.
• If you believe we missed something of importance, you may direct our attention to it again.

What Issues Should My Petition Address?

You may include any information you think is important, but usually petitions address relevant items from the list below:

• Why do you think you are an excellent candidate for the Seattle campus of the University of Washington?
• Why do you believe you need to be at the Seattle campus of the University of Washington? Why at this time?
• If your overall academic record is not as strong as it could be, why do you think it is a poor predictor of your future performance? Explain your academic record fully and tell us how you plan to be a successful student at the UW. Your explanation might include (but is not limited to) a discussion of circumstances and hardships, such as personal or family illness, factors related to a disability, or familial or cultural barriers that may have affected your academic performance and record.
• If you are inadmissible because you have not completed all of the college academic distribution requirements, why were you unable to satisfy these requirements? How do you plan to complete this coursework once enrolled at the UW?

May I Submit Letters of Recommendation?

You may submit up to three letters of recommendation in support of your petition. Such letters must arrive with the petition, either mailed in one larger envelope or delivered in person.

Where Should I Send My Petition?

Send the petition with the words “Attn: AC Petition” in the lower left corner of the envelope. List the following information in your petition for identification: your legal name, address, quarter and year of application, and type of applicant (in this case, freshman).

Mailing Address

University of Washington
Office of Admissions
1410 NE Campus Parkway
Box 355852
Seattle WA 98195-5852

In Person

Schmitz Hall
1410 NE Campus Parkway
Suite 320

Visit the Admissions Office

How and When Will I Be Notified?

You will be notified by postal mail of the committee’s decision approximately 1-4 weeks after your petition has been received.

Disability Accommodation

To request disability accommodation in the appeal process, contact the Office of Admissions.

Who Can Petition?

Applicants who have been denied may write a letter of petition requesting special consideration if they believe there are extenuating circumstances not explained in the Personal Statement, or if they believe an error has occurred in the initial evaluation.

When Do I Petition?

You may submit your written petition — by mail or in person — at any time during the application processing period of the quarter for which you are seeking admission. You don’t need to wait until you receive notification that you have been denied. If you have received a decision letter, we prefer that your petition be postmarked within two weeks of receiving a letter of denial.

How Do I Petition

You, the applicant, must submit your appeal in writing, preferably typed and no longer than three pages. You may send it by postal mail or deliver it in person.

• A petition sent by postal mail should bear your signature.
• List the following information for identification: your name, address, quarter and year of application, and type of application (in this case, transfer).
• Include with your petition an updated, official transcript.
• You may submit up to three letters of recommendation in support of your petition. Such letters must arrive with the petition, either mailed in one larger envelope or delivered in person.
• The Office of Admissions does not interview petitioners or consider in-person appeals. Meeting with admissions staff will not affect the outcome of a petition.
• Artwork, portfolios, or writing samples will not be considered.
• The body of your appeal should explain your reason for seeking reconsideration.
• Your petition should be clear and concise in presenting your case for admission.
• Keep in mind that we already reviewed your entire file and expected you to present everything of significance in the initial application.
• If you believe we missed something of importance, you may direct our attention to it again.

What Issues Should My Petition Address?

Compose your petition carefully, and proofread it. A petition should state your case clearly and effectively. The appearance of the petition and the quality of the writing (organization, content, spelling, punctuation, grammar) are important in presenting the strongest case possible. The recommended length is one to three pages, typed.

Because individual circumstances vary, the following pointers are intended only as general guidelines. You should address the issues most relevant to your situation. In most cases, letters of petition should answer the following questions:

• Why do you want to attend the University of Washington?
• What major are you interested in? How did your interest in this major develop?
• If you are inadmissible because of your academic performance, why do you think your previous academic record (including grades or test scores) is an inaccurate predictor of your future academic performance? Please explain your academic record fully and tell us how you plan to be a successful student at the UW. Your explanation may include but is not limited to a discussion of circumstances and hardships such as personal or family illness, factors related to a disability, or familial or cultural barriers that may have affected your academic record.
• If you are inadmissible because you have not completed all of the college academic distribution requirements (CADR), why were you unable to satisfy these requirements? How do you plan to complete this coursework once you are enrolled at the UW?
• Have you met with an academic adviser in your intended major? Do you have a clear understanding of the admission and graduation requirements for that major? Have you completed all the prerequisites for admission to the major?
• If you have attended several institutions without graduating, please explain why graduation from the UW will now be possible.
• If you are seeking admission to a competitive degree program, do you have a letter of support from the department? Such letters of support must arrive with the petition, either mailed in one large envelope or delivered in person.
• Can you provide evidence of academic ability in recent coursework? For example, if your record shows a poor performance in the past but you have recently completed 30-45 credits with a high grade-point average, you would petition on the basis of strong recent grades. In other words, you are asking Admissions to consider you on the basis of a portion of your record, rather than averaging in recent grades with older ones.

Where Should I Send My Petition?

Send the petition with the words “Attn: AC Petition” in the lower left corner of the envelope. List the following information in your petition for identification: your legal name, address, quarter and year of application, and type of applicant (in this case, transfer).

Mailing Address

University of Washington
Office of Admissions
1410 NE Campus Parkway
Box 355852
Seattle WA 98195-5852

In Person

Schmitz Hall
1410 NE Campus Parkway
Suite 320

Visit the Admissions Office

How and When Will I Be Notified?

You will be notified by postal mail of the committee’s decision approximately 1-4 weeks after your petition has been received.

Disability Accommodation

To request disability accommodation in the appeal process, contact the Office of Admissions.

Who Can Petition?

Any denied applicant may appeal. Generally, applicants petition if they believe their academic or personal circumstances could not be considered adequately through the standard admission review process or that an error occurred in the application review.

Waitlisted Applicants

Waitlisted freshmen may appeal.

• If you appeal and the request is denied, you will remain on the waitlist until a final decision is made.
• If you are later denied from the waitlist, you cannot appeal again.

How Do I Petition?

You, the applicant, must submit your appeal in writing, preferably typed and no longer than three pages. You may send it by postal mail, email, or deliver it in person.

• A petition sent by postal mail should bear your signature.
• A petition sent by email must be sent from the same email account listed on your UW application for admission.
• Include with your petition an updated, official transcript showing all coursework completed to date. For freshman applicants, this should be a high school transcript; for transfer applicants, this should be a college transcript. If you email the petition, please attach a scanned copy of your transcript with the email.
• The Office of Admissions does not interview petitioners or consider in-person appeals. Meeting with admissions staff will not affect the outcome of a petition.
• Artwork, portfolios, or writing samples will not be considered.

The body of your appeal should explain your reason for seeking reconsideration. Your petition should be clear and concise in presenting your case for admission. Keep in mind that we already thoroughly reviewed your entire file and expected you to present everything of significance in the initial application. If you believe we missed something of importance, you may direct our attention to it again.

What Issues Should My Petition Address?

You may include any information you think is important, but usually petitions address relevant items from the list below:

• Why do you think you are an excellent candidate for the Seattle campus of the University of Washington?
• Why do you believe you need to be at the Seattle campus of the University of Washington? Why at this time?
• If your overall academic record is not as strong as it could be, why do you think it is a poor predictor of your future performance? Explain your academic record fully and tell us how you plan to be a successful student at the UW. Your explanation might include (but is not limited to) a discussion of circumstances and hardships, such as personal or family illness, factors related to a disability, or familial or cultural barriers that may have affected your academic performance and record.
• If you are inadmissible because you have not completed all College Academic Distribution Requirements, why were you unable to satisfy these requirements? How do you plan to complete this coursework once enrolled at the UW?

For transfer applicants, it is particularly important to address these additional questions:

• Do you have a clear understanding of the admission and graduation requirements of your intended major? Have you completed all of the prerequisites for admission to that major?
• If you have attended several institutions without graduating, please explain why you now expect to be able to complete your degree at the UW.
• Do you have support from your intended major department at the UW? If so, see if the department can provide a recommendation.
• If your previous academic record is weak, can you provide evidence of academic ability in recent coursework? For instance, do you have 30-45 credits of recent work demonstrating strong potential?

May I Submit Letters of Recommendation?

You may submit up to three letters of recommendation in support of your petition. If you submit your petition via postal mail or in person, your letters of recommendation must arrive together with the petition in one envelope. If you submit your petition via email, your letters of recommendation must be sent together with your email as a scanned attachment. Letters of recommendation sent to the Office of Admissions separately from your petition letter will not be considered.

Where Should I Send My Petition?

Send the petition with the words “Attn: AC Petition” in the lower left corner of the envelope or “Letter of Petition” as the subject line of an email. List the following information in your petition for identification: your name, address, quarter and year of application, and type of applicant you are (international freshman, international transfer, or international postbaccalaureate).

Mailing Address for Written Petitions

University of Washington
Office of Admissions
1410 NE Campus Parkway
Box 355852
Seattle, WA 98195-5852
Attn: AC Petition

Email

intladm@uw.edu

In Person

Schmitz Hall
1410 NE Campus Parkway
Suite 320

Visit the Admissions Office

How and When Will I Be Notified?

You will be notified by postal mail of the committee’s decision approximately 2-3 weeks after your petition has been received.

Disability Accommodation

To request disability accommodation in the appeal process, contact the Office of Admissions.