Dear Dean ______,
I am writing to you in hopes to appeal my academic suspension from (University). I was not surprised, but very upset to receive a letter earlier last month informing me of my dismissal. I’m writing to you with the hope to be reinstated for the spring semester. I would like the opportunity to explain my circumstances. I admit I had a very difficult time over the last semester, and my grades suffered as a result. I am not making excuses for my poor academic performance by no means, but I would like to explain the circumstances.
During this school year, I was faced with a host of stress-inducing dilemmas that took a toll on me and ultimately, my grades. In July 2019, my grandmother passed away, I was studying abroad in China at the time. This news was heartbreaking for me and my family. My grandmother helped to raise me for most of my childhood because my father was not in my life making my mother a single mom having to provide for three girls, she was also one of the last close relatives on my mother’s side. It was very hard dealing with her death since this was the second death in my family in the same year. My aunt passed away in early spring. I have never had two close family members to pass away in such a close time frame from each other and I have been an emotional wreck ever since. I, unfortunately, had no outlet and no means of coping with this situation while I was away from home. Nonetheless, I was also dealing with a multitude of roommate issues that I had to come back to every day after classes that caused me even more additive stress and I was in no way prepared for any of this.
In addition, Not only was I sad and depressed over the deaths of two matriarchs in my life but I would like to include that during this miserable and desolate time for me I informed my advisor (Name) while in China and I received no emotional support and It’s sad to say but Mrs. (Name) never checked on me during my probation period or has shown any interest in my progress or compassion for my situation. I felt like there was no guidance throughout my entire situation which I believe is crucial for any student to succeed.
I would like to mention the steps I took to prevent the second probation was taking 12 credits in hopes that I would think less about my situation at home. Needless to say, even with the 12 credits I was taking at school, I was still very distracted with the situation at home and was unable to focus on my schoolwork. When I came back home for the recent break I was able to bring closure to a situation I couldn’t address while I was at school, being home for the holidays around family helped me to finally grieve properly.
This is why I am asking for an appeal (Abeyance) because I don’t feel as if this time off would be a better option for my academics I feel as though my best is yet to come and if readmitted my plans will be to finish out my degree giving my full effort to my studies with only 6 classes left to complete. Please understand that my low GPA that led to my dismissal does not indicate that I am a bad student.I’m a good student who had one very, very bad year. Thank you for taking the time to consider my readmission.
You need to cut out a lot. And take out the part about your advisor not supporting you. You’re not in kindergarten anymore. If I read that, I would deny your appeal without reading further.
I’m sorry for the loses you suffered this past year.
I agree to exclude the part about your advisor not supporting you. It was on you to seek out support for yourself if you were struggling.
IMO, I would cut out almost all of it and focus your appeal on what you will be doing differently this semester to get your GPA up.
Good luck.
TOOO, Too LONG:
This is what I would advise my children and my students to take from your essay:
keep it short, simple and add your “work-around”
on what you plan to do:
*There were several family issues that severely impacted my ability to focus on school, but I have rectified those issues by instituting the following changes.
-I have made appointments at the counseling center. Please contact ________ for confirmation.
-I have met/spoken to my academic advisor Professor __________ and plan to meet with him/her on Fridays during office hours.
-I have availed myself of the tutoring center whose staff has scheduled me with Ms. _____ on T/th at ___. They have agreed to send biweekly reports, on my progress, to your office. *
**** Please use your own language specific to your campus.^^^^ Don’t use my example.
Your appeal will not be successful if you haven’t done research on how you will make changes. Then, make those changes immediately.
Don’t include the drama from roommates. Go to the RA and housing office and make some changes.
Also, if you left during the semester, to go to China, that’s all on you. An advisor is not going to go out of their way to try to contact you in China-via email, fax, phone, whatever. They just don’t have that kind of time. You needed to contact the counseling staff to act on your behalf. If you didn’t know that, then you need to learn to ask and advocate for yourself (ASK: classmates, staff, people at the bookstore, people at the coffee shop, people at commons-other students are very helpful because they know of other students who have gone through exactly same thing).
You could have asked your university staff how leaving would impact your semester and, maybe, could have withdrawn without penalty.
Going to a university means you handle all of your own issues. You need to be proactive and learn to seek out help before you need it. Everyone goes through personal challenges at a university. It’s how you learn to manage it that separates you from being a child or adult. This is a reactive response from you, so you have to be a big kid now, and learn how to be an adult. More challenges are coming, so you need to be prepared. Also, pay it forward. It will help you to heal.
I am not sure…as i was reading the first question I had was “Did the student reach out for help?” And the answer is yes… but clearly the student did not get what they wanted. Can you include more facts about that? Did the adviser know they should follow up? Was it a cultural difference?
A successful appeal must do several things:
- show that you understand what went wrong
- show that you take responsibility for the academic failures
- show that you have a plan for future academic success
- in a broad sense, show that you are being honest with yourself and the committee
I would also talk about more specific things you would do to make sure you are keeping up…like going to professor’s office hours, going to the Counseling Centers, getting a tutor, etc.
In short, your letter has far too much history and not enough concrete plans on how to fix problems or steps you have taken to skills to help you be successful the next time around.
Are you sure you wouldn’t rather return in the fall, or even next January? If you are truly having a difficult time getting over your family’s losses, some time to step back and decompress, get therapy, etc. might be beneficial. You’d then be approaching the college with a new sense of maturity and peace about you, and a clearer direction, that may ensure your success going forward.
Frankly, your stress shows in the letter you’ve written. I sympathize with your struggles, but it will do you no good to simply continue that pace when you haven’t managed it successfully in the past. Take time to regroup. I would think the college would look more favorably at reinstatement after a break you spend “getting it together”, learning skills to help you succeed, and doing some soul searching about why this is right for you.
You want an honest assessment. I can be a bit of a harda-- when it comes to these kinds of assessments. So, you asked for it.
Your letter sounds like a bunch of whining and poor excuses. I’m sure that these deaths in your family affected you greatly, but to get a letter at this time means that your grades were below standard before all this happened. It usually takes three semesters of poor grades to get suspended. Why did you do poorly in the beginning and why didn’t you start to correct it before all these tragedies occured? Until you answer that question, you have no credibility.
You are an adult now, people you love will pass away. Grieve and then get on with your life. Don’t let their passing mean you stop living your life as it should be lived. If you do need help dealing with these types of things, get help now.