LOE Forms
If you nominate an applicant that doesn’t meet the requirements for admission, then your evaluator may request a Letter of Exception (LOE) in order to admit the applicant. Submitting an LOE for an applicant can be done directly in the Reader by completing the LOE Form.
Note: In rare cases, you may need to submit an LOE to GEPA in PDF format on official UCSD letterhead. These LOEs are not submitted through the Reader because they will be forwarded to the Graduate Council for approval, rather than approved at GEPA. The most common situations that call for this are LOEs regarding Duplication of Degree or Concurrent Enrollment. Your evaluator will inform you when an LOE needs to be emailed to them directly rather than submitted through the LOE form in Slate.
Reminder: LOEs are an internal process and should not be shared with applicants.
Reasons for LOEs
The most common LOEs we request are for:
Applicants whose undergraduate degree GPA was below 3.0 (or below a B-average).
Applicants who received a three-year bachelor’s degree.
International applicants whose English Language Proficiency Exam scores are below the required minimum for admission.
Applicants who are applying for a degree program that is equivalent to a degree they already hold from another institution (Duplication of Degree).
Applicants who would be enrolled at another institution during their prospective entry term at UCSD (Concurrent Enrollment).
Note on GPA: If an applicant’s undergraduate transcript lists both a cumulative GPA and an institutional GPA, the Admissions team always uses the cumulative GPA as the basis for admission. If the undergraduate transcript only lists an institutional GPA, we will use the institutional GPA as the basis for admission instead. In either case, we are always basing admission on the GPA stated on the undergraduate transcript; our team does not manually calculate a GPA across multiple transcripts (such as transfer or community college transcripts).
LOE Workflow
The LOE Workflow has a number of bins that all LOEs will pass through as they are processed. Here is a list of the bins in the workflow, along with a short description of what happens in each step:
Awaiting LOEs - Applications are placed in this bin when Admissions has reviewed the application and determined that the applicant requires an LOE before being offered admission. This is the only bin that reviewers will need to work out of during the LOE process.
Grad LOE Review - Once you have completed an LOE form for an application, it moves to this bin. Your evaluator will review the LOE for completeness before sending it forward for official approval.
Awaiting LOE Approval - Applications in this bin are awaiting approval from the Director, Dean, or Graduate Council. (Different LOEs are approved by different authorities depending on the applicant’s situation.)
LOE Decision Received - Applications in this bin have been either approved or denied by the Director or Dean. Those that have been approved will be processed by your regular evaluator and moved forward for nomination. If any LOEs are denied, your evaluator will contact you to let you know.
Completing the LOE Form
Click on the GEPA - Awaiting LOEs bin to view your applicants who require LOEs.
Click on the application to highlight it and click the “Add to Queue” button at the top right to add the application to your queue. You can highlight multiple applications to add them all to your queue at once.
You will be brought to your queue, where you will see the names of the applicants. Click on an applicant to read it.
In the left column, click the tab named LOE Department. You will see the LOE Form that was completed by your evaluator, which should include an explanation for why an LOE has been requested.
When you are ready to complete the LOE form, click on the button on the bottom right of the page that says Review Form/Send to Bin. In the form that pops up on the right side, click the checkbox next to “LOE Department Comments.” This will populate the LOE form.
Answer the two questions in the review form. Please be specific and detailed with your responses; if the information provided is not sufficient to approve an LOE, your evaluator may send the application back to you for further clarification.
When you’re finished, scroll to the bottom and click “Send to Bin.” You may optionally enter the name of your evaluator as the “Next Reader” before sending. You evaluator will review the form and send the request to the Director or Dean for review.
Guidelines for LOE Form Responses
If your responses on the LOE Form are incomplete or not detailed enough, Admissions will send the application back to you again for additional information. You can avoid this by being specific with your responses on the form. Below are some guidelines for what information you should include in your LOE Form responses.
LOEs for below 3.0 GPA
Did the applicant’s GPA improve from the start of their coursework to the end?
Was the applicant successful in courses that are relevant to your program?
Does the applicant have additional grades to consider from coursework outside of their bachelor’s degree, such as graduate coursework or certifications?
Does the applicant have relevant research or employment experience that is not taken into account by GPA?
Does the applicant have strong letters of recommendation from their professors that suggest they would be successful in your program?
Has the applicant offered any explanation for their low GPA that suggests they would be more successful in the future?
LOEs for below required English Language Proficiency Exam scores
Has the department interviewed or otherwise communicated with the applicant to determine their English language proficiency?
Has the applicant offered any explanation for their scores or evidence to suggest they will be able to succeed in an English-speaking environment?
LOEs for Duplication of Degree
How is the degree the applicant already holds significantly different from the degree they’re interested in at UCSD?
How will the additional degree from UCSD support the applicant’s future goals?
How will admitting this applicant for a duplicate degree benefit the department and UCSD community?