I am writing this letter in hopes of an appeal to XXXXX. I admit, I had a very poor year at XXXXX, and I take full responsibility of my actions and mistakes that I have made. Last year, I was faced with three issues. I did not have the finances to purchase my textbooks, my grandmother became very ill with complications resulting from diabetes, and my peers were harassing me. The accumulation of those three issues resulted in me doing very poorly. This year, if readmitted into XXXXXXX, I will be 100% committed to excelling, with plans put in place. The plans that I intend to put in place are living with my parents so that I can save money, as well as buy the books I need. I will make much more of an effort to be dedicated to my schoolwork. I will take fewer hours and manage my time more wisely. I will communicate with my advisors, and tell my professors when any issues arise.
My grandmother is no longer ill, and her health is stabilized, so there is no more worry with that. The harassment issue with my peers has been taken care of by XXXX police, so the issue no longer exists. I take full responsibility for the decline of my grades, and I know that I should have reached out for help, whether it is with my professors, advisors, or even the counselor’s office so I could talk about issues in my personal life. I was ashamed to reach out for help, and know that was not a wise choice to make. I now realize that someone who is strong is willing to recognize issues that need to be fixed, and takes action by asking for help.
Please consider that my low grades over the past year that led to my suspension does not mean I am a bad student. I am a good student that had a very bad school year. I hope that you will give me a second chance. Thank you for considering this appeal.
Make it easy for the reader. See how I numbered the issues and then numbered the solutions? It makes it easier to track. Do the same. Add more paragraph breaks.
Also, find out the name of the person or committee. “To whom it may concern” is a passive way to start out. It says “I don’t even know who this is going to.”
oh, so i should number it? Okay. I thought it would make it less formal. sorry, i know this sounds like a stupid question , but should I put dear mrxxxxx? or what exactly
I am writing this letter to you in hopes of an academic appeal to XXXXXXX. I admit I had a very poor year at XXXXXX, and I take full responsibility of my actions and mistakes that I have made. Last year, I was faced with three issues that impeded my success.
1.) I did not have the finances to purchase my textbooks.
2.) My grandmother was suffering from complications of diabetes, which resulted in a diabetic coma.
3.) I was being harassed by my peers, which made it uncomfortable for me to be on campus.
Because of the accumulation of these three issues, I did not do as well as I normally would have.
This year I am committed to striving for excellence, as I was the first year I was at XXX. Specifically, the plans of action I will take if readmitted are:
1.) I plan on living with my parents again next semester, to save money, and to pay for my books.
2.) My grandmother is no longer ill, and her health has stabilized.
3.) I have reported the harassment to XXX police, so the issue no longer exists.
Once again, I take full responsibility for my or the decline of my grades, and I know that I should have reached out for help, whether it is with my professors, advisors, or even the counselor’s office so I could talk about issues in my personal life. I was ashamed to reach out for help, and know that was not a wise choice to make. I now realize that someone who is strong is willing to recognize issues that need to be fixed, and takes action by asking for help.
Please consider that my low grades over the past year that led to my suspension does not mean I am a bad student. I am a good student that had a very bad school year. I hope that you will give me a second chance. Thank you for considering this appeal.
Thanks you guys so much. For all the constructive criticism, I needed it. I see a few tweaks here and there I need to make, and I will send it via email once i gather the courage lol
As a faculty member who sits on the appeals committee at a college, I would strongly suggest that you consider accepting the suspension and taking a semester to attend another college part time or to work. At most colleges, a successful appeal will mean that you need to meet certain criteria to continue at the college–usually grades high enough to pull you GPA over a 2.0. If you fail to meet the criteria, you will likely be severed from the college. The semester of poor grades will pull your GPA down significantly. If I were your parent, I would tell you to enroll in a community college, get excellent grades, transfer from there to a new four year institution. You will be able to transfer your passing credits from your current institution. At the new institution, your GPA will not include the poor grades from last semester. Good luck
Meismom, my GPA is actually above a 2.0. It’s a 2.5. And i know my GPA will be way above a 2.0 if I were to take classes. My first year my GPA was a 3.38. I know I can do this. I have done it before in the past. I just need to regain focus, which is something that I am working on now.
Now, I’m a little discouraged…I don’t know if i should send it in. The others that responded, what do you guys think? I’ve been scared to email my dean. I gave myself until Monday. On one hand, I think i can get back in because I have proved to be a good student, my cumulative GPA is above a 2.0…but on the other hand, I don’t know how my dean will react. I’m really anxious. Please, someone give me advice.
I did not mean to be discouraging. Your GPA will be higher if you transfer to another school and never have a bad semester. But, if you love your college, it may be worth the ding in your transcript to stay. Just make sure you are really ready to return. Do you have money for books? Have the distractions at home decreased? If you only had one bad semester, your chance of succeeding with the appeal are probably good. Academic suspensions are not meant to be a punishment. They are meant to prevent the student from further failure. I’m sorry if I upset you. I just want to make sure you are looking at the situation from a practical point of view, rather than an emotional one. Best of luck, really!
Okay. My college is one of the cheapest four year colleges in my state. As well as it being an HBCU. I want to graduate from an HBCU, i know it sounds weird. My cumulative GPA, as mentioned before is a 2.5, and I believe that I can boost my GPA, but it’s going to take a LOT of hard work. Truth is, i thought about going to another school, but i can’t afford it. I have the $$$ for books, and the distractions at home have subsided. You have a very good point, Meismom, and I appreciate your feedback
In general, I think when referring to a person rather instead of an object, one should use “who” rather than “that.” It’s not iron clad, but JMO it reads better.
"I am a good student who had a very bad school year.