I am writing to appeal my academic suspension from XX University. I was not surprised, but very upset to receive a letter earlier this week informing me of my suspension because of failure to maintain a minimum of 2.0 GPA for fall 2015. I would like to urge you to reinstate me for next semester.
I admit I had a difficult time this semester and grades suffered as a result. I don’t mean to make excuses for my poor academic performances, but I would like to have the chance to state my circumstances. When I first changed my major from physics to math this March, I did not do very well. The grades at the end of 2015 spring were not good, so I talked with my advisor Dr. JM and Associate Dean Dr. EG about my situation and seek for help. They helped me schedule my classes and registered two classes for summer session so that I could better adapt to the math track. During summer I retook the class that I failed and received an A for it and an overall semester GPA of 3.5.
Then I developed a relationship with a girl who I really cared about during summer. However, it was not until September that I gradually found out about her mental conditions. She suffered from unstable emotions and had shown tendency of harming herself multiple times. I have never been in such a situation before. At first I spent a great amount of time and effort to appease her unstable emotion, while thinking that I could manage it well with the school workload. However, this slowly but surely started to mentally pick me away. I occasionally received calls from her at the middle of night and tried to ease her. A couple of times I had to leave during classes because of her self-harming attempts. I had a hard time concentrating during school and after school, concerning about her well-being. I was her only close person and I felt the urge to take care of her. However, I was always left mentally exhausted and could barely keep up with my studies. During these ten weeks I also suggested her to see a doctor, which she constantly refused. And it was not until I got in touch with her parents in late November did her emotion started to stabilize. As a result, her mom came over to live and take care of her. Her emotion improved significantly and I was released from worries. But it was too late, I tried my best and I started to go to as many review sessions and SI as I can, yet I was able to raise my grades above 2.
I understand the severity of my situation and I owned up completely to the mistakes and decisions I chose to make. I should have positioned myself correctly as a student and should have maintained a good academic standing before devoting my time on something else. If something similar happens next time, I will make sure that I reach out for help from professors and faculty members as soon as possible instead of taking it by myself so that I will not let the consequences hurt me so badly. XXX has always been my most desired place, and if I am reinstated I will implement my plan for next semester to make sure I do well. For two of my math major classes next semester, I will stay focused during lectures and will review notes at the end of that day, because math relies a lot on comprehension, and reviewing helps me understand better. For my physics class I will emphasize on home works and in class exercises because learning through problems works very well for me in physics. As to economy I will also focus on lecture notes and home works. From talking with my advisor I know that it is heavily math based and requires a lot of comprehension and practice. And for humanity class I will make sure that I go to global communication center and have my essay advised before turning them in. If possible I will also retake my math class to keep me back on track. I will constantly go to libraries to make sure that I have quality time devoted to study.
Please understand my low GPA that led to my suspension this semester does not indicate I’m incapable to doing better the next semester. I have proved during summer that I had capability to excel in XXX, but I was involved in a very very bad situation this semester. I hope you will give me a second chance to let me prove that I have the ability to do well the next semester, just like I did during summer. Thank you for considering this appeal.
My gut feeling is that this letter is long on details. It might be more effective to condense that third paragraph to read more like this:
“This past semester, I found myself in a relationship with a person I cared deeply for. Unfortunately, this person suffered from severe undiagnosed psychological issues, and required a great deal more attention than I had expected. After several incidents, including cases of self-harm, I had no choice but to contact her parents, and seek professional help for her mental health issues. This required a significant time commitment, and I was unable to devote the necessary time to my studies for much of the semester.”
With regards to the second, you may want to cut explanations of why reviewing notes and doing your homework will help you pass a class - anyone working at a university should know this. Passages like
can be condensed to something like this:
Over this coming term, I intend to apply myself fully to my studies. I will invest as much time as is needed in revision, and will not hesitate to seek help where necessary. If a class is of concern to me, I will not hesitate to contact my professors. I will complete all coursework diligently, and seek my b** advisor’s help if issues with a class persist. I will make use of the school’s resources, including the global communication center, in order to ensure that my work is of a satisfactory quality, and strive to address any shortcomings in this regard. I have long wished to attend XXX, and if reinstated I will ensure this opportunity is not wasted.
Others may disagree, but as a general rule administrators don’t want a lengthy note explaining how horrible your relationship was - they want to know why they should expect you to do better next term.
So this is the second time you nearly failed out, right? The first time, your advisor and associate dean helped you out and you were able to make up for one of the classes over the summer. That was your second chance. Then you got enmeshed in another student’s psychological drama and crashed again. Two strikes.
I don’t think this letter is going to be adequate even with the beneficial edits offered by NotVerySmart. Your track record is poor. Before you send in the letter, why not go have a conversation with the advisor and the dean and ask what it would take to get you reinstated one last time? They are the ones who can best advise you as to what kind of statement, if any, would convince the school to give you a third chance. And have you talked to your parents about this? What are they suggesting? Random strangers on a forum who don’t know you well can only do so much.
Do not be surprised if the school says ‘no’ to a third try. Your academic ability is not what’s on the line here - it’s your judgement about how to handle problems before they get too serious. You’re not even 20 years old (I’m assuming) so poor judgement isn’t a criminal deficiency at this point. But they may want to see some serious growing up before you are invited back.
Don’t think I’m not sympathetic. Few of us have had to handle a relationship with a self-harming person. It’s very frightening. But it’s also something that should never, ever be handled alone without professional support and notification to the school (assuming she was also a student.)