Academic Dismissal Appeal Letter

College Confidential Community
1

Just want some feedback on my letter

To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing to appeal my dismissal from University. I am surprised and upset to have received the email informing me of my dismissal. I would like you to please consider reinstating me for my final semester, as of the Fall 2017 semester.
I understand that my academic progress is unsatisfactory, and this is due to my grades being unsatisfactory. I have no excuses for my poor academic performance. As a returning student and a senior, I had many expectations for this previous Spring 2017 semester. I took 17 credits, which was large step up from the previous course loads I have taken, because I assumed that I could manage it. I aimed to graduate in the fall, and by taking all these credits it would keep me on that track. However, at the beginning of the semester, my mother was diagnosed with Hepatitis C, and halfway through, very close friend of mine attempted to commit suicide. Watching my mother fight a disease and not being able to help gave me anxiety. Coupled with nearly losing my best friend, I truly suffered mentally. The time I should have spent studying or meeting with professors for help. I should have asked for a leave of absence and returned later when I was mentally sound, but I tried to forge on. I thought that perhaps if I simply carried on, my problems would fix themselves. My mother is one of my anchors, and with her sick, I tried to be strong for her. I thought I could put everything behind me and still be able to finish off strong. However, I realized that I both distracted with worry from my mother and my friend’s condition. This lead to me skipping out on doing assignments and occasionally class. I would stay at home and mope instead of going out and getting help.
My mother’s sickness is no excuse for the unsatisfactory progress, and neither is my friend’s suicide attempt. These two factors combined with a newly diagnosed anxiety disorder, however, have made this semester extremely hard to focus on my work. I hope to graduating upcoming Fall 2017, semester, and after much introspection, I have decided that a Bachelor’s of Science is no longer something I want to pursue. I have decided that a Bachelors of Arts is the best course of action. I plan to change my major to reflect this decision. My cumulative GPA is still above a 2.00 and I hope to continue to raise it in my last semester. In order to obtain satisfactory academic progress, I understand that my study habits need to change. If I need help in any class, I need to get help from both my professor and a tutor if necessary. I also understand that if a personal situation gets worse, I should seek help as quickly as possible. Getting help is not a bad thing, and it is a shame that I only now have realized this. As of such, I am currently seeing a psychiatrist and am on medication to help.
I love University, and it would mean so much to me to graduate with a degree from this school. Choosing this school has made a large impact in my life, and I would to lose the opportunities that University gives me to become a more knowledgeable person.
Sincerely,

2

Perhaps you were going to do this, but I would change the “To whom it may concern” to the name of the committee or person who will be receiving this email. Then I would not say that you are surprised to be dismissed. Surely there are standards for performance that are listed somewhere and you should be familiar with those. You are listing so many troubles that it is hard to imagine you being able to succeed, and so you might consider acknowledging some difficulties but not going into so much detail especially if your mom is still sick and your friend is still troubled. Also be more specific about how changing from a BS to a BA will solve your problems.

3

Thanks for the feedback.

4

Also, edit the letter. There are run on sentence and other technical problems. In my estimation, you are focusing too much on your mother’s health. I do know how upset when your mother is very ill. However, an academic appeal is granted because of specific steps you will take to remedy your academic situation. Appeal decisions are not based on mercy.

How were your grades and attendance before this difficult year? If you have had prior warnings of academic difficulty, your task is more difficult.

How long will your mother’s health situation expected to last? What strategies will you use to cope with her illness and attend and complete course requirements?

Why did you not drop classes last year when you knew you were in academic difficulty?

S How do you expect changing from a BS to a BA help? I assume you must change majors to change degree designation and additional classes must be taken. Degrees are not based on the number of hours. Instead, degrees are based on completing basic requirements, taking enough hours to fulfill the requirements for a specific major and other classes. You need to have the concentration and hours for the BA mapped out. Oh, if you will have a new major, you will need to declare the new major and met with a new advisor to register for classes. As an example, you can’t say you are changing to a history degree without lots of required and elective classes leading to a BA in history.

At this point you need lots of specific information, strategies to get on track for a degree and a seriously edited appeal letter.

5

At this point, I’m 5 credits from graduating with a BA. I simply need to declare my change from a BS to BA. I was on academic probation 2 years ago, but I was removed the semester afterward. Should I mention that as well?

6

–Edit it and shorten it.
–Definitely include that you are 5 credits from graduating.
–Use paragraphs. One paragraph to discuss the issues you had during the semester Another paragraph do discuss your switching to a BA and the remedial steps you are taking.