Student Developer Pack - Multiple Rejections Due to Image Verification System Issues

[CJ-Vasquez]

Hi everyone,

Hi everyone,

I'm reaching out to the community because I've been experiencing repeated rejections when applying for the GitHub Student Developer Pack, and I'm hoping someone here has faced a similar issue or can provide guidance.

My Situation:

• I have submitted multiple applications for the Student Developer Pack
• ALL applications have been automatically rejected
• The rejection reason always states: "The image you selected does not appear to contain your school name"
• I am using my official institutional email address (@...[edu domain])
• All my academic documentation is genuine, current, and valid
• The school name IS clearly visible on the documents I've uploaded
• I have tried different photos, formats (JPG, PNG), and image qualities
• I have tried both single documents and multiple documents in one image

What I've Already Tried:

• Re-taking photos with better lighting and clarity
• Ensuring the school name and date are prominently visible
• Uploading different types of documents (enrollment letter, student ID, transcript)
• Following all the tips provided by the virtual assistant
• Verifying my institutional email is properly connected

The Problem:
Despite meeting all the stated requirements and providing legitimate documentation, the automatic image verification system continues to reject my applications. This suggests there may be an issue with how the automated system is processing images from certain institutions or document formats.

My Questions:

1. Has anyone else experienced this same issue with the image verification system?
2. Are there any specific image requirements or formats that work better than others?
3. Is there any way to escalate this for human review, since the automated system seems to have an issue?
4. Has anyone successfully resolved similar repeated rejections?

Additional Context:

• I am a legitimate student with valid institutional credentials
• My institution appears to be recognized by GitHub (the email domain is accepted)
• The rejection happens within minutes, suggesting it's purely automated

I've attempted to contact GitHub Education support, but they don't offer manual reviews for rejected applications. I'm hoping the community might have insights or solutions that have worked for others in similar situations.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you! 🙏

[davevad93]

Hi @CJ-Vasquez,

Make sure to fill in your billing info and GitHub profile with your full name exactly as it appears on your academic transcript and don't use a VPN. Then log out and log back into GitHub before reapplying, because the application system gets stuck in a loop even after the required information has been updated.

If the photo is blurry, try again until it looks good as also indicated in the Student Developer Pack Application FAQs:

Your first and last name, complete school name, and a date demonstrating current academic affiliation must appear in your document.
Make sure the image is clear and easy to read; if it looks blurry, please take a new photo. 👈

If you still get rejected or are experiencing the "red triangle" error, submit the application using another device, such as a smartphone or another PC.

If none of the above works, I recommend you contact support by opening a ticket here, select "Other" and explain your problem.

[CJ-Vasquez]

Hi @davevad93,

Thank you so much for your detailed response and helpful suggestions!

I want to let you know that I tried all the troubleshooting steps you mentioned:

• Updated my billing info and GitHub profile with my full legal name matching my academic documents
• Logged out and logged back in before reapplying
• Ensured photo quality is clear and not blurry
• Verified all required information is visible (full name, school name, current date)
• Tried submitting from different devices

Unfortunately, none of these steps resolved the issue. The automated system continues to reject my applications within minutes, despite my documentation being legitimate and meeting all requirements.

Following your recommendation, I have now opened a support ticket by going to https://support.github.com/contact and selecting "Other" as the topic, since the automated system wasn't working for me. I explained my situation in detail and attached the same images I've been uploading as proof that they meet all the requirements.

I'm now waiting for the support team to manually review my case. Hopefully, a human reviewer will be able to see that my documentation is valid and approve my application.

Thank you again for taking the time to help me! I really appreciate the community support.

Best regards,
CJ Vasquez

[Redblock6YT]

I'm currently trying to fix the same issue. It's so annoying that we have to take a photo of the documents and can't just upload a PDF ESPECIALLY when our .edu email address is verified.