While every student pours their heart and soul into their college application, oftentimes they still get rejected leaving the student to wonder Why? Here are four of the most common reasons that applications can get rejected:
1. Missing the deadline:
One of the most obvious reasons for application rejection is missing the deadline. While some universities let you apply for an extension after citing valid reasons for being late, most of them do not. KNOW your deadlines before you start applying and keep at least a year’s time gap between starting the application and the deadline.
2. Incomplete application:
Application submission differs from university to university. While most of them let you resubmit and edit your documents, some of them don’t have that option. Students must be VERY vigilant when uploading relevant documents, as failure to resubmit them will lead to an application rejection.
3. Not proofreading applications:
One very common reason that can put off any university is an application that has TOO many spellings and grammatical errors. Students often think that proofreading is not an important part of submitting an application and take it too casually. On the contrary, an application with such errors reflects on your seriousness as a student and gets you rejected.
4. Weak SOP and Recommendations
Weak personal statements and recommendations can also be a major reason in getting a rejection later on in the admission process. Personal statements are supposed to be ‘personalised’ hence must talk about the student, his passion, and willingness to study abroad in detail. Generic personal statements, one that has too many grammatical and spelling errors, one that exceeds the stated word limit are all that eventually contribute to a rejection.
Similarly, recommendations are your impression on the admission officer. When giving recommendations, ensure that they are relevant to the degree that you are applying for. Always go for those recommendations that shed a positive light on you as well as your performance as a student. Recommendations that are generic also get an application rejected.
