<p>This is a letter petitioning for immediate reinstatement following an academic suspension. Feedback would be highly appreciated. </p>
<p>To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing to petition for reinstatement at XXX University. I have been placed on academic suspension for the upcoming fall semester due to my failure in maintaining above a 2.0 cumulative GPA. My academic suspension did not come as a surprise but I was nonetheless devastated to receive this news. I hope you will consider reinstating me for the fall 2013 semester.
I take full responsibility for my poor academic performance in the last two semesters. I entered the fall semester of college with the mindset of a high school student; still expecting teachers to actively push me in maintaining my grades. During the fall semester of 2012, I earned 16 credits and passed all my classes but received poor grades in both Physics I and Calculus I, which resulted in a 1.75 GPA and a first semester warning. I did not take my first semester warning seriously, and instead of conducting serious introspection, I immaturely blamed my professors accents and teaching techniques. With this deluded sense of thinking, I entered into the second semester with little motivation to improve my academic habits, and took on 18 credits worth of classes. Both chemistry and calculus became even harder and instead of paying attention in class and seeking help outside of the classroom, I was both too proud and too scared to ask for assistance and continuously put off learning the material and studying until the last moment. Unsurprisingly, I received failing grades in those two courses and ended up with a 1.50 GPA.
Faced with academic suspension, I have realized that I cannot maintain this self-destructive behavior. I am deeply disappointed in myself because I have the ability to do better. I have decided to switch my major from biomedical engineering to biology because I feel that my long-term academic goals lie more with biology than with physics and engineering. I have consulted with my biology advisor and as per his suggestion; I am going to retake Chemistry 132 over the summer and will reduce the amount of classes to 12 credits so that it will be manageable for me to raise my GPA. If reinstated, I plan on going to tutoring after class, utilizing office hours, and completing available extra credit assignments in order to achieve good academic standing. More importantly, I need to change the location of where I study. I have learned now that studying in my dorm is not a smart decision, due to the numerous distractions there. Instead, I will devote two hours every day towards studying in the Central Reading Room at the Melville Library in order to not just keep up with the class but to stay ahead of it.
With the understanding that a much higher emphasis must be placed on my academics, I believe I will do much better in the fall semester if reinstated, and achieve good academic standing. I will try my best to not just meet XXXs academic standards, but to exceed them. Thank you for considering this petition.</p>
<p>I think it’s important to show what you are doing now and how you have changed now, in a concrete fashion, as part of applying for reinstatement. Anybody can make a bunch of promises to change and have plans to study more, in better places, with more appropriate classes. What have you done this summer that can show a more responsible attitude? What can you show them, instead of telling them? Are you doing remedial work with a tutor now? Are you working? Are you taking an online class or working with an adult mentor? </p>
<p>Best of luck. We all make mistakes, and learn to get up and try again.</p>
<p>Though I’m not experienced with reinstatements, I like the sound of it. I would make one small suggestion. Instead of saying: “…dorm is not a smart decision” how about “… is not effective for me.”
Just an idea. Combine that with real evidence as greenbutton suggests.
Good luck</p>
<p>I’m working part time over the summer (3 days a week) and I’m rereading the textbooks and PowerPoint slides from last semester for 3 hours a day so I can be better acquainted with the material. I will be retaking chem this summer starting in July.</p>
<p>Not so sure that mentioning professors’ accents and teaching techniques is a good idea. This is a good letter but I am not sure it will work. It seems to me that if you do well on the chemistry this summer,and take some classes this fall and do well, that you could make a good appeal for reinstatement. Or are you suspended only for the fall and then reinstated? You could live at home and take classes, or, if you want to take classes far from home, rent an apartment and work hard to get back in.</p>
<p>The accents line also jumped out at me. I’d consider rephrasing to something like “I blamed external factors rather than examine my own study habits.”</p>
<p>To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing to petition for reinstatement at XXX University. I hope you will consider reinstating me for the fall 2013 semester.</p>
<p>I take full responsibility for my poor academic performance in the last two semesters. I received a warning during my first semester but I did not take it seriously. I still had an immature approach to academics and I blamed external factors instead of my own poor study habits.</p>
<p>I continued to struggle during the spring semester. I began to take my academic struggles more seriously, however, I did not know how to see help at that time. After two semesters of academic struggles, I now know that I must seek assistance from my instructors earlier in the semester.</p>
<p>If reinstated I plan to make substantial changes to improve my academic performance. I have decided to switch my major from biomedical engineering to biology. I will be retaking Chemistry 132 over this summer. I also plan to reduce the number of credits I am taking in the fall to and 12 credits so that I can focus on being academically successful in the classes that I am taking. I plan on utilizing my instructors office hours, and seeking tutors in order to be academically successful. </p>
<p>In addition to changing my study habits I intend to change the location where I study. If reinstated I am committed to spending two hours every day studying in the Central Reading Room at the Melville Library. There are too many distractions in the dorms and I cannot study effectively in that environment. </p>
<p>I believe that the changes that I plan to implement will allow me to be academically successful. If reinstated I am sure that I will meet XXX’s academic standards. Thank you for considering this petition.</p>
<p>Is money going to be an issue? If you failed to meet SAP (satisfactory academic progress) you will not be eligible for financial aid. In the event that your financial aid is also suspended, will you be able to afford to pay full freight out of pocket?</p>
<p>Why are you petitioning for immediate reinstatement? You had serious academic problems in consecutive semesters, with the second being worse than the first. And your solution is to re-take one of the classes over the summer and then jump back in with the same course load you had in the semester when you failed two classes?</p>
<p>In terms of changing your attitude and behaviors, you need to walk the walk, not just talk the talk. Your letter does an effective job of the latter, but so what? What is the point of trying to minimize the suspension? If it’s just pride, that’s the wrong approach to take.</p>
<p>You are exposing yourself to a huge risk here. You are already going to be carrying the burden of your freshman year for the rest of college. If you get nothing but full A’s from here on out, you will have a B+ GPA when you graduate, and it won’t be a B until the end of your sixth semester. And that’s the best possible case. Another tough semester, much less a meltdown, will be a terrible problem for you, much worse than what you are facing now. Forget the college administration, forget your parents – you are the one who has the most to lose if you screw up, and you should be very, very tough with yourself on doing everything you can to minimize the chances of that.</p>
<p>So, sure, do everything you say you will do in the letter, but consider taking the suspension anyway. Get out of dorm life altogether, not just for a few hours in the library. (Trust me, as a longtime library rat I can assure you there are plenty of distractions in a college library.) Do something that exercises your capacity for discipline, focus, and follow-through. Make certain that you have broken the bad habits that got you to this point. Then go back, and do a better job.</p>
<p>What is your GPA for the non-chemistry, non-calculus classes? Could you consider including that?</p>
<p>What about asking to be reviewed again after your chemistry summer grades come in? If you get a good grade in Chem 132, it may show that you’re not incapable, just had a tough freshman year.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Your letter is filled with usage and punctuation errors. Fix them. If the errors aren’t obvious to you, sit down with a manual of style and spend some time reading it. </p></li>
<li><p>Ask the moderators to delete or allow you to edit your message. It is easy to figure out which university you attend from your message. </p></li>
<li><p>I agree with JHS. Take some time off. If you go back in the fall, you probably will flunk out and it’s unlikely you’ll be given a third chance.</p></li>
<li><p>I find the promise to spend 2 hours a day studying at the library proof that you have not grown up. 2 hours a day is not enough time to study. If you were studying less than this during the past 2 semesters it’s no wonder you didn’t do well!</p></li>
</ol>