I have been suspended for the fall semester of 2015 and this is my appeal letter. Please critique it as it will only help my case.
Subject: Request for Appeal of Suspension
Dear Appellate Review Board,
I am writing this letter for the purpose of appealing my suspension from Vanderbilt University and would like to have the opportunity to explain my circumstances and plead my case for reinstatement for my Fall Semester. I am confident that I will be able to demonstrate what I have learned from my actions and why this will never happen again if given the opportunity to attend Vanderbilt University for the 2015 Fall Semester.
This past semester has been a very difficult one for my family and me. Within the first few weeks of the semester I found out that my dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. This was very hard on me and I became very depressed as a result of this. I ended up missing a class here and there but then my father’s condition turned for the worse in February. I was very scared that I was going to lose my father and I started traveling back home to visit him and to be with my family. My Spanish class met 5 times a week and you were only excused 10 absences for the semester before you fail the course. I ended up visiting my dad for multiple days at time throughout this semester and this in turn resulted in many absences. I was very worried about failing Spanish and I made the worse decision of my life by creating a fake email that stated that I was my academic advisor. The only reason I did this was because I did not know how to talk about personal problems at home with my teachers and peers. I created this account to face inevitable of my father being sick and its affect on my education. I did not do this because I wanted to miss class or hang out with friends but because I did not know any other way of handling this situation. You might wonder why I did not talk to my teacher and explain my situation but I could not gather the strength to confront the fact that I was hurting and needed help. I have always been someone that people have come to when they are in need of advice or help but for the first time in my life I needed someone’s help and could not find the strength to go to my friends or teachers and ask for it. I am not a bad kid but I made a bad choice and I feel as though I have paid for my actions by failing the course in Spanish, losing respect from my teacher , and having my dad in the hospital getting worse everyday. My dad wanted me attend Vanderbilt University for a while and when I was accepted into this university he cried because of how proud he was of me. I don’t know how much longer my father has but I want to make him proud of me by graduating Vanderbilt and getting my degree. I fully understand my actions and how they breached the trust of this university but I am asking for you to give me a second chance by allowing me to attend this Fall semester at Vanderbilt because I have learned more about myself and how to be better person because of this incident. In life people make mistakes but its how they respond those mistakes that make them better people. I have learned from my mistakes and I asking you the Appellate Review Board to take into count my circumstances with my family and to give me a lighter punishment. Thank you for taking time to consider my request. Please contact me by email or phone if you have any questions.