"I realized I lost my focus this past semester and receiving notice of my dismissal was a big wake up-call for me. I had lost sight of my purpose of coming to this university in the first place, to earn my degree. "
There’s no insight here. Why did it take you til you had a dismissal notice to realize you weren’t doing well? Also, two sentences with “lost” feels repetitive.
“Starting with attending and being punctual to class, this was a major issue this past semester.”
Try - I pledge to ensure I attend every single class period, as well as proactively schedule office hours at least once/week for every professor.
"will see tutors for the extra help that I need, and see professors during office hours when I struggle to grasp the material. "
How is this any different from what you could have done last year? What will signal to you that it’s time to call a tutor? A B on a quiz? A C? A D? Would you / will you seek out tutoring even if you feel you get the material? Where are these tutors from? Do you have them lined up for your next courses? You need to be detailed on HOW you plan to do this.
"will have a weekly schedule with adequate study hours to prepare for upcoming assignments, quizzes and exams. "
What are adequate study hours? Be specific.
"I will take advantage of all the resources available to me. ".
it was more of i could have handled the material. I made some edits. But i need to focus on Why i won’t make the same poor choices.
Being away from home for so long was a very new experience for me, and I greatly overestimated the ability to manage myself in the freedom I now had. I made poor choices this past year, especially during my second semester. I didn’t to class because I could sleep in, going to parties knowing that I had upcoming exams, and letting my social life take over my academic career. I was irresponsible in not seeking help and I’m not proud of my choices or actions.
I realized I lost my focus this past semester and receiving notice of my dismissal was a big wake up-call for me. I will start with attending and being punctual to class. I will see tutors for the extra help that I need, and see professors during office hours when I struggle to grasp the material. I will have a weekly schedule with adequate study hours to prepare for upcoming assignments, quizzes and exams. I will take advantage of all the resources available to me. I have contacted my adviser to retake one class I did poorly in last semester for fall 2016. I am committed raising my GPA above the minimum requirement within one semester. Nothing is more important to me than graduating xxxxxx and I plan to make my schoolwork a priority.
I realized I lost my focus this past semester and receiving notice of my dismissal was a big wake up-call for me. I pledge to ensure I attend every single class period, as well as proactively schedule office hours at least once a week for every professor. I will see on-campus tutors for the extra help that I need as soon as I feel I can’t grasp the course material. I will have a weekly schedule with at least 8 hours of accumulative study time to prepare for upcoming assignments, quizzes, and even more adequate time for exams. I have contacted my adviser to retake one class I did poorly in last semester for fall 2016. I am committed raising my GPA above the minimum requirement within one semester. Nothing is more important to me than graduating xxxxxxx and I plan to make my schoolwork a priority.
“accumulative” is not actually a word and it can be left out entirely.
((let me add – 8 hours of study time in a week is barely an hour a day. Here, we discover the root of your problem! If you are only studying outside of class an hour a day, you aren’t studying nearly enough))
you’re right, I am not studying outside of class enough. Thank you for pointing that out. that was roughly an hour a day if not a little more. I edited the paragraph further
I realized I lost my focus this past semester and receiving notice of my dismissal was a big wake up-call for me. I pledge to ensure I attend every single class period, as well as proactively schedule office hours at least once a week for every professor. I will see on-campus tutors for the extra help that I need as soon as I feel I can’t grasp the course material. I will have a weekly schedule with at least 20 hours of study time outside of class to prepare for upcoming assignments, quizzes, and even more adequate time for exams. I have contacted my adviser to retake one class I did poorly in last semester for fall 2016. I am committed raising my GPA above the minimum requirement within one semester. Nothing is more important to me than graduating xxxxxxxxxx and I plan to make my schoolwork a priority.
These 2 sentences still have grammatical errors. But YOU need to be able to find them, not us. In general, you need to pay more attention to detail and improve your own proofreading if you expect to succeed at the college level.
"I didn’t to class because I could sleep in, going to parties knowing that I had upcoming exams, and letting my social life take over my academic career. "
"I am committed raising my GPA above the minimum requirement within one semester. "
wow i made an obvious mistake “i didn’t go to class” is better,
and “I am committed to raising my GPA above the minimum requirement within one semester.” Thank you for pointing that out. I should really work on my proof reading
Being away from home for so long was a very new experience for me, and I greatly overestimated the ability to manage myself in the freedom I now had. I made poor choices this past year, especially during my second semester. I didn’t go to class because I could sleep in, I went to parties knowing that I had upcoming exams, and I let my social life take over my academic career. I was irresponsible in not seeking help and I’m not proud of my choices or actions.
I realized I lost my focus this past semester and receiving notice of my dismissal was a big wake up-call for me. I pledge to ensure I attend every single class period, as well as proactively schedule office hours at least once a week for every professor. I will see on-campus tutors for the extra help that I need as soon as I feel I can’t grasp the course material. I will have a weekly schedule with at least 20 hours of study time outside of class to prepare for upcoming assignments, quizzes, and even more adequate time for exams. I have contacted my adviser to retake one class I did poorly in last semester for fall 2016. I am committed raising my GPA above the minimum requirement within one semester. Nothing is more important to me than graduating xxxxxxxxx and I plan to make my schoolwork a priority.
Some of this is general, and some specific to your situation.
search this topic on CC and you will see many other posts on academic appeals
Make sure your letter states what the issue was that caused you to have academic difficulties
Did you talk to your professors/dean of students about the issue?
Did you make use of the many resources your school has? if not, why not?
Find out what those resources are…e.g. counseling center, talking to professors, talking to your adviser, withdrawing from class, talking to dean, maybe taking incompletes,
State how you would use those in the future
How are you addressing what caused the issue?
Think about if you should continue at college, or take a break.
Think about if you should continue at a community college
In general, keep in mind what the college wants…they want students who can succeed. They need to know that you understand what the issue was, know now the resources that you can use, how the problems is resolved so you will not have academic issues in the future.
"I will see on-campus tutors for the extra help that I need as soon as I feel I can’t grasp the course material. "
Again, be more specific.
So if at 2 pm this afternoon you decided you needed a tutor for your chemistry class, do you know where you’d go? Do you have a phone number, email? Do you know where their offices are located? Do you know if they are provided through the college or you would have to pay privately? Are there resources such as a Writing Center provided by your school and if so have you contacted them?
“What is your plan to do X” is not answered by simply saying “I will do X.” You need more concreteness.
I am writing in response to a letter of dismissal received from the university, which states that my GPA is below the minimum required, and, therefore, that I must leave.
I realize I lost my focus last semester, and that I need help.
I would like to request that I be permitted to stay for the fall semester, in order to have one more chance to prove I can do the work and remain here as a solid student. I need to raise my GPA by .01 points to meet the minimum requirement and hope to do much better than that.
I pledge to make use of every resource I can, whether office hours, on-campus tutors, or help with time management. I have contacted my advisor about retaking a class I did poorly in.
If the university needs further evidence that I can be a mature student, I could also request a leave, if allowed, and then apply to reenter. I would take classes at community college or work full-time or do anything the university might require in order to prove my ability to refocus, work hard, and do better.
Graduating from xxxxx is important to me, and this is a huge wake up call. I am hoping that the university will either give me one more chance on campus, or allow me to leave for a semester and reenter after proving I am serious about improving.
You need to balance between too long and rambly, and too vauge. I think “lost my focus” is to vague. You need to understand (and have them understand) what you did wrong.
search this topic on CC and you will see many other posts on academic appeals
Make sure your letter states what the issue was that caused you to have academic difficulties
Did you talk to your professors/dean of students about the issue?
Did you make use of the many resources your school has? if not, why not?
Find out what those resources are…e.g. counseling center, talking to professors, talking to your adviser, withdrawing from class, talking to dean, maybe taking incompletes,
State how you would use those in the future
How are you addressing what caused the issue?
Think about if you should continue at college, or take a break.
Think about if you should continue at a community college,
In general, keep in mind what the college wants…they want students who can succeed. They need to know that you understand what the issue was, know now the resources that you can use, how the problems is resolved so you will not have academic issues in the future.
From what I’ve seen here…many student seem to think more words make a better letter. They make rambling sentences with a lot of unneeded words in them.
Be succinct. Remember, yours will NOT be the only letter these folks are reading.
Compmom did a great job on her version. Appeals for partying too much do seem to be granted from what students report here. Although I assume the more common sick/dead grandparent stories found in other appeal letters are really partying stories.
and it can be left out entirely.