Academic dismissal appeal letter feedback help

What I see from the letter and the proposed list of “actions” is that the OP doesn’t seem to understand why they are failing these classes. They refer to “review lectures” 4 separate times, including a very unrealistic proposal to spend 25 - 35 hours a week on reviewing lectures and readings.

This student is taking Physics, Chemistry, Calculus. You don’t succeed in these types of courses by reading and re-reading the lecture notes or even the textbook. Spending 25 hours a week reviewing your 13 hours worth of class notes would be a colossal waste of time, akin to watching videos of Van Cliburn and expecting to become a concert pianist. You have to do problems, lots of problems, until it sinks in. When I took Calculus I and II (having been a mathphobe) I was so concerned about not getting it that I did nearly every problem in each chapter. I was doing upwards of 150 problems a week. You can bet I knew what I was doing come test time.

Unfortunately, as a Physics professor, I see this type of thing all the time. Students will tell me they are studying “so hard” and their books are highlighted all over the place, but they don’t want to actually do the hard work of working problems.