Can someone please read my suspension appeal letter? It's due tomorrow, I'd like some advice please!

Dear [DEAN’S NAME], [ASSOCIATE DEAN’S NAME], and College of Arts and Sciences,

My name is [STUDENT] and I am writing to request an appeal to my academic suspension for the Fall 2018 semester. I am deeply disappointed with my performance across my freshman year and understand the reason why I am receiving a suspension notice, however I would like to provide some insight about the reasons of my performance and subsequent remedial action which is in progress. I sincerely hope for your consideration of allowing me the opportunity to continue pursuing my higher education at this prestigious institute. 
In my debut semester, I found the transition to independence in a new environment especially difficult. I am an out-of-state student from [X STATE] who let the stress of a new environment combined with moving away to be on my own to take a toll on my mental well-being. I found myself in toxic relationships I was scared to leave in fears of being alone, however those same relationships proved detrimental to my academic focus. I did not have the prioritization skills to achieve academic success, and quickly realized so once my grades fell and I struggled to bring them to passing standards. I was very aspirational and started off my semester well and was managing my academics, however I allowed my relationship challenges to hinder me from fully focusing on my schoolwork and managing my time. The stress from my relationships and academics started to affect my health and I had to visit the ER on three occasions during my semester for rashes and fevers that worsened with additional stress. As my health issues arose and grades fell, I lost focus of my goals and gave up when I saw I could not rectify my situation and earn passing grades by the term’s end, causing me to forego seeking help from my professors or university resources. By the end of my term I was aware of the corrective action I had to take, and I took steps to improve my academic standing my subsequent semester.  
My Spring 2018 semester, I took steps to avoid the outcome of my last semester by reducing my course load and enrolling in [STRATEGIC LEARNING COURSE] with [PROFESSOR NAME]. [STRATEGIC LEARNING COURSE PROFESSOR] helped to restore my confidence in my academics while providing guidance through any personal and academic issues of mine residing from my poor fall semester, and I talked with her throughout the semester and continued to work to overcome my academic shortcomings. Additionally, I took steps to meet with my academic advisor [ADVISOR NAME] and decided to transition from a Biology pre-med degree to a Health Science Studies program that would suit my academic strengths better and allow me to excel in the future. Aside from pursuing university resources, I improved my relationships and participated in study groups for my courses which allowed me to improve in my spring semester by nearly 0.4 points. Seeing the improvements my actions had, I was more confident in my abilities as I did better.
My improvements in the spring prompted me to take up three credits in the summer which were manageable, however I experienced an unprecedented health issue during the course which diminished my performance. My family had traveled during the summer before starting my course and my sibling and I returned with a viral case of Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease. The disease was accompanied by symptoms that developed into fevers, ulcers, and body pain which left me bedridden and under medication. With my physical condition, I found it difficult to focus on the cumulative subject matter nearing the end of the course and do well on the tests and assignments, and my grade dwindled as a result. Despite my circumstances, I recognize that my low grades are my fault, however I have faith that I can rectify my academic standing and return to making the progressive changes that allowed me to improve upon myself during the spring semester.

I have the full intentions of improving in my coming semesters and I feel confident in the history of my corrective actions to improve my grades significantly if I am granted the privilege to continue my education at Baylor. Should I be granted reinstatement for the next semester, I will strongly emphasize my focus on my GPA, retake any courses I have earned unsatisfactory grades in, continue to use university resources for academic improvement including but not limited to SI and tutoring, integrate myself into Baylor’s Academic Support Programs with the help of Professor Easley-Young and my advisor, manage my time more wisely, and keep communication open between my professors, advisors, and I when challenges arise that threaten my success. Attending Baylor is a privilege, not a right, and I am confident that I can prove myself successful to earn such a privilege. Thank you for allowing me this opportunity to speak of the reasons behind my academic difficulties to supplement your decision.

Sincerely,

[STUDENT NAME]

Too long and too focused on the problems, not the solutions. Also include medical documentation from your doctor with your appeal. Good luck!

Thank you for your feedback, I have the supporting medical documentation. Could you please specify which paragraphs I should edit? I would really appreciate it, thank you!

The debut semester paragraph. I would condense that down as much as possible. They know you were struggling, they need to know what you are doing about it. Tough transition is part of the process for many students. Medical problems are something else.

The “timeline” way you tell your story is making it too wordy. Explain in a short paragraph you had a “difficult transition to independence in a vastly different environment” and just as you were starting to pull it together you had an unexpected health issue. The “toxic relationships” lay blame on others, and while it may be true, you want to avoid shifting the blame. Focus another (new) paragraph on the remediation done (the special class, the change of major, the discovery of college resources that can be of help) and be more specific about what you will do in the fall. I wouldn’t use words about “intentions” or feelings -use “I will” or “I have already arranged…” There is no more “try your best” for you. You’ve had your “last chance” and are appealing for a second “last chance”, so you must stay focused, organized, and determined.

Why didn’t you withdraw this summer if you were so sick? It seems as if you did not know you could.

I edited this as much as I could:

Dear [DEAN’S NAME], [ASSOCIATE DEAN’S NAME], and College of Arts and Sciences,

My name is [STUDENT] and I am writing to request an appeal to my academic suspension for the Fall 2018 semester. I am disappointed with my performance across my freshman year and understand the reason why I am receiving a suspension notice. However, I would like a chance to explain some of the ways in which I have addressed the problems that caused my low grades, and will continue to address them.

As a freshman, in the Fall 2017 semester, I found the transition to independence in a new environment, in a new state, difficult. I f started off well but got involved in some personal relationships that I did not handle well, and lost sight of my priorities. particularly time management. Stress affected my health and I had to visit the ER on three occasions (documentation provided) during my semester for rashes and fevers. I did not seek adequate help from professors or advisors,

For the Spring 2018 semester, I took steps to avoid the outcome of my last semester by reducing my course load and enrolling in [STRATEGIC LEARNING COURSE] with [PROFESSOR NAME]. [STRATEGIC LEARNING COURSE PROFESSOR] helped to restore my confidence in my academics while providing guidance through any personal or academic issues leftover from from the fall. I I talked with her throughout the semester and continued to work to overcome my academic shortcomings.

Additionally, I took steps to meet with my academic advisor [ADVISOR NAME] and decided to transition from a Biology pre-med degree to a Health Science Studies program that would suit my academic strengths better and allow me to excel in the future.

Aside from pursuing university resources, I improved my relationships and participated in study groups for my courses which allowed me to improve in my spring semester by nearly 0.4 points. Seeing the improvements my actions had, I was more confident in my abilities as I did better.

My improvements in the spring prompted me to take up three credits in the summer which were manageable. However, I experienced an unexpected health issue (see documentation) during the course which diminished my performance. I suffered from Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease with fevers, ulcers and pain, and was bedridden under medication, and was unable to do well in the final weeks.

I feel confident that if I return to the changes I made during the Spring semester, I can continue to improve.Should I be granted reinstatement for the next semester, I would focus on my GPA, retake any courses I have earned unsatisfactory grades in, continue to use university resources for academic improvement including but not limited to SI and tutoring, integrate myself into Baylor’s Academic Support Programs with the help of Professor Easley-Young and my advisor, manage my time more wisely, and keep communication open with my professors and advisors.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

[STUDENT NAME]

With your health issues and problems in dealing with stress, you might also talk to them about taking a leave instead of suspension. During that leave you could do some therapy and do whatever they require for you to prove you are ready to come back successfully. The ER visits with rashes and fevers do not sound like usual stress reactions. Is it possible you have some undiagnosed health issue? You do not want to deal with outright dismissal. Get yourself in shape. Take a semester or even a year and get healthy, maybe work , or take courses- whatever the administration suggests. good luck!

Why didn’t you withdraw from the summer class?

A successful appeal must do several things:

  1. show that you understand what went wrong
  2. show that you take responsibility for the academic failures
  3. show that you have a plan for future academic success
  4. in a broad sense, show that you are being honest with yourself and the committee

Here are some examples:

http://collegeapps.about.com/od/Academic-Dismissals/a/Sample-Appeal-Letter-For-An-Academic-Dismissal.htm

Some of this is general, and some specific to your situation.

  1. search this topic on CC and you will see many other posts on academic appeals
  2. Make sure your letter states what the issue was that caused you to have academic difficulties
  3. Did you talk to your professors/dean of students about the issue?
  4. Did you make use of the many resources your school has? if not, why not?
  5. Find out what those resources are…e.g. counseling center, talking to professors, talking to your adviser, withdrawing from class, talking to dean, maybe taking incompletes. Include specifics from your college. Here are more ideas http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/1920853-college-is-a-step-up-from-hs-16-tips-on-doing-well-in-college.html
  6. State how you would use those in the future
  7. How are you addressing what caused the issue?
  8. Think about if you should continue at college, or take a break.
  9. Think about if you should continue at a community college, to be close to your family
  10. How is your college funded? Will that continue?

In general, keep in mind what the college wants…they want students who can succeed. They need to know that you understand what the issue was, know now the resources that you can use, how the problems is resolved so you will not have academic issues in the future.

And please keep in mind that your letter will not be the only one being read. Be succinct.