Appeal Letter: Any opinions on the letter I wrote? I would really appreciate it..it's not super long

Paying for College
1

I just need opinions on it. I feel pretty scared and I am worried…
So I just received a message that I didn’t have enough credits and that it affected my financial aid. And they said I can’t receive more financial aid unless I submit them a form plus this appeal letter. Any thoughts?

"To the Office of Financial Aid at the University of _:

This letter is to appeal to the Office of Financial Aid so that I may continue receiving Financial Aid at the University of _. The reason I have not met Satisfactory Academic Progress is because of a personal family issue that my family and I encountered last year.

I understood that I dropped out of the course last year during the summer, but since I am the only family member my father and grandmother has, I had to take care of our personal issue. Our personal issue was that my father struggled to find a job. He was also unable to take care of my grandmother because he had to look for a job. During that time, both my father and grandmother struggled to find a place to stay because of the financial issue that they couldn’t afford it. Because of this, I had to take care of my grandmother during that timeframe and managed to attend two classes.

Right now, since I am no longer living in the dorms, I have decided to stay with my family to prevent any further issues. I have also finally managed to help my father find a stable job and earn better income. I also managed to help them and help myself find a place to stay as well. My education means a lot to my family and me. And being the first student to go to college makes me feel grateful because I have received the opportunity to attend a university.

I also feel grateful to receive financial aid. Without it, I would not be able to attend school since my family cannot afford it. Also, because I am now staying with my family, I can become a better student and improve myself by being resourceful in finding ways to study thoroughly while holding personal responsibilities.

As a student, I do want to make something out of myself. I have that desire to accomplish my goals in becoming successful, but that can only be reached through financial aid. Without it, and because my family cannot afford it, I would have never attended a university. I hope you understand and I hope my financial aid would be reinstated. I understand what I have done last year, which is having myself to drop the course. However, this is because I had personal and familial responsibilities.

Sincerely,
_________ "

2

Your letter needs these critical points…succinctly stated:

  1. What happened to cause your grade issue.
  2. What did you do to address this during the term.
  3. What have you already done to address your issues? In other words, what actions have you already taken?
  4. What will you continue to do, or do in the upcoming year to prevent a similar outcome.

Honestly, I don’t see these points succinctly stated at all in your letter.

Also, please proofread your letter for correct grammar, most notably sentence structure and run on sentences. You have some of each.

3

@thumper1 For 1, what do you mean? And I thought I explained what I did to address the problem for 2 and 3. And same goes for 4. It really isn’t about grades, but more about the credits. I’m one less credit.

4

If you feel you have included everything, then just take the time to fix the grammar errors.

5

@thumper1 okay, but what’s your opinion? would this be acceptable?

6

Your explanation is pretty long winded.

Basically, something like: I ended up having to drop the class because my dad became unemployed and my grandmother needed assistance.

You might want to add: Because we are a low income family even trying to maintain stable housing was a serious issue.

7

@TempeMom I understand but would that be a good reason? And thank you - I’ll add that in

8

Whether or not it is a good reason is not important. These were your circumstances and you can’t do anything to change what happened. The best you can do is submit your explanation and hope that your aid is reinstated.

9

@kgos16 So what would be the reason for it to get rejected?

10

Typically a school wants to see that there were extenuating circumstances. For example, you would have no reason for an appeal if you partied too much that year and frequently missed class/failed classes due to hangovers. Your school will want you to demonstrate that there truly was something out of your control that contributed to you not meeting the necessary completion rate for aid.

11

@kgos16 So in my case, what would the reason be? Because I rarely missed class and failed classes and partied…

12

I can’t tell you if your school will deem this as enough of an extenuating circumstance or not to reinstate your aid. Every school has committee members who will make their own decision.

13

@kgos16 But it was pretty extenuating circumstance during that time because my family needed that support. I mean, I don’t see how it’s not extenuating…

14

I would agree with you, but no one here will be able to state with certainty the outcome as we do not work at your school. The best thing to do is to truthfully present your circumstances to the committee.

15

@kgos16 Well, at least I was honest in that letter. I mean, I did point out what happened and my reasons, right? Critical points?

16

Please just fix the grammar in your letter. Try to make your sentences succinct…not rambling. Post 5 has two good examples of succinctly written information.

17

Some words* are repeated too many times - the letter just goes in circles; agree with suggestions on making it more succinct. (*struggled, issue, personal, family, job, grateful, grandmother, financial).

18

You should provide supporting documentation that shows family out of work. And how did you help your dad find a job? A lot of your statements are nebulous (weak). I’m not totally seeing how your dad out looking for a job is affecting your coursework per se. Did you go out and get a job, or increase hours on an existing job to help support the family? That would be the key element, I would think.

Whatever course you take, I think you need documentation of some sort. Right now it’s not clear exactly how it affected coursework time.