How to Complete and Submit the UW Special Admission Appeal Form

If the University of Washington denied your application or closed your file for missing information, the UW special admission appeal is the online form that reopens your case for a second review. You submit it yourself through the UW admissions site using your UW NetID, attach a current transcript and an appeal statement of 1,000 words or less, and present significant new information or extraordinary circumstances that were not part of your original application. Before you start, UW is direct about the odds: very few decisions are overturned on appeal, and the admissions office encourages denied applicants to consider other educational options.¹

Who Can Appeal

Two groups are eligible. Applicants who received a denial, and applicants whose file was closed because of incomplete or missing information. First-year and transfer applicants both have access to the process, but they use separate forms with slightly different guidelines. Running Start students who applied as first-year applicants should use the first-year appeal form rather than the transfer version.²

You have to file the appeal yourself. A parent, counselor, or other third party cannot submit it on your behalf.²

What Counts as Significant New Information

An appeal is not a chance to re-argue your original application. UW reviews appeals that present significant and compelling new information or extraordinary circumstances that were not part of the file the first time. Every eligible appeal gets a fresh review of the updated materials, transcripts, and statement alongside what was already submitted.¹

For first-year applicants, UW explicitly says the following are not, on their own, significant and compelling new information:

Improved senior-year grades
New awards
A change in academic interest
Additional activities

Those may help a future application, but they will not carry an appeal.¹ What tends to warrant an appeal is an extraordinary personal circumstance that actually prevented you from presenting your full academic or personal picture when you applied.

Transfer and Postbaccalaureate Applicants

Transfer applicants get a more specific set of prompts. UW’s transfer appeal guidelines suggest addressing questions like these:

Has your intended major changed since you applied?
If your overall academic record is not as strong as it could be, can you explain the circumstances?
If you were inadmissible because you had not completed all College Academic Distribution Requirements (CADR), have you since completed them?
Have you met with an academic adviser in your intended major?
If you attended several institutions without graduating, can you explain why?

Use these to structure your statement around the specific weakness that likely drove the denial.²

How to Submit the Appeal

The appeal form is online and requires a UW NetID to access. Every applicant is assigned a NetID during the application process, so you already have one. If your credentials aren’t working, UW’s NetID page lets you verify your identity through your applicant account information and reset the password.³

The form typically becomes available about two weeks after admission decisions are released. You complete an eligibility checklist on the admissions site to confirm you qualify, then access the form itself.¹

Documents to Upload

Upload an updated, current high school transcript. If you’re also taking college coursework, include a college transcript as well.¹ Make sure it reflects your most current grades; an outdated record undermines the point of the appeal.

Writing the Statement

The appeal statement must be 1,000 words or less. UW asks applicants to be clear and concise.¹ This is where most appeals succeed or fail. Focus on what has changed or what was missing, and explain why it matters.

If extraordinary personal circumstances affected your academic performance, describe the timeline concretely: what happened, when, and how it affected specific semesters or courses. Vague references to a hard year do less work than a direct account. Where you can, back your statement with documentation from a medical provider, counselor, or employer that corroborates what you describe.

When to Expect a Decision

For autumn quarter first-year appeals, complete appeals received by April 10 will receive a decision by May 1. Appeals received after that may be notified after May 1, and first-year applicants should generally allow up to four weeks for a decision.¹

Transfer applicants can usually expect a decision within two to four weeks after the appeal is received.² Check your UW applicant portal and the email address on file, since that’s how the admissions office communicates the outcome.

Financial Aid if the Appeal Succeeds

UW’s FAFSA priority filing deadline is February 28 for the upcoming school year. Students whose FAFSA arrives after that date are considered for a limited set of aid types only.⁴ An appeal granted in April or May will almost always fall outside that priority window.

Aid is still available. UW recommends late applicants submit the FAFSA as early as possible before the quarter in which they want to receive aid, and students with exceptional circumstances can contact the financial aid office directly to discuss options.⁴ If you already filed a FAFSA earlier in the cycle, that filing remains on record and can be directed to UW once your admission status changes.

If the Appeal Is Denied

UW does not publish a success rate, but the admissions office states plainly that very few decisions are overturned.¹ If the appeal fails, the denial for that cycle is final. You can apply again in a future cycle as either a first-year or transfer applicant.

A common route is enrolling at a Washington community college and applying later as a transfer student. The Direct Transfer Agreement (DTA) between Washington community colleges and four-year institutions grants qualifying associate-degree holders junior standing on admission and satisfies lower-division general education requirements. The DTA governs how credits transfer, not whether you’re admitted, so it is not an admissions guarantee.⁵ Even so, a completed DTA degree with a strong community-college transcript generally puts a future application on firmer ground than a second first-year attempt with only modestly improved grades.

Getting Help From the Office of Admissions

If you can’t access the form, aren’t sure what to include, or need to confirm your submission, reach the UW Office of Admissions by phone at 206-543-9686, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., or in person at Schmitz Hall, 1410 NE Campus Parkway, Seattle. An online contact form is also available through the admissions website.⁶

1
University of Washington. Guidelines for Special Admission by Appeal
2
University of Washington. Transfer and Postbaccalaureate Guidelines for Special Admission by Appeal
3
University of Washington. UW NetID
4
University of Washington. Application Process – Student Financial Aid
5
University of Washington. Transfer Credit Policies
6
University of Washington. Contact