College Academic Dismissal Appeal Letter

Hi, I am in my last year of my bachelor of science program and I have recently been dismissed from my university. I have a choice to appeal to the dean so here is my letter. Please let me know if this would be a good appeal letter and whether or not I have a chance of reinstatement. Thank you.

Dear Members of the Academic Appeals Board,

My name is — and I am currently in my last year of the Bachelor of Science Degree Program at X University. I am writing this letter to appeal my academic dismissal from the X University with the hope that you will consider my case for reinstatement.

I had a very difficult time focusing on my studies last semester and I don’t intend to blame my poor academic performance on anyone else but myself. I take full responsibility of the grades I received and the board’s decision to withdraw me from the program. I hope you understand that my grades do not reflect my interest for the studies as I loved learning at this great university. Towards the end of the first semester, in November, 2017, my father got laid off of work due to a disc injury. As a student living apart from her family, I was receiving full support from my parents abroad as well as student loan generously granted by the government. At the time I had already received the minimum amount I have asked for loan as I was not expecting this unforeseen financial crisis. Once I heard the news about my father and our family’s financial situation, I knew I had to take more shifts at my part time job at a restaurant to help pay for my rent and living costs. Honestly, it was my mistake to think that I could handle five shifts a week along with a full course load. I thought I could handle it as I was able to juggle course work and coaching a club sports team in my second and third year of university. However, working almost full time had physically drained my energy a lot more than I expected, resulting in absences in class and less efficient study time, and these factors collectively reflected on my grades this year. I was not able to give school work my full focus while being distracted with this financial situation. I should have seeked for guidance at the student financial office and talked to my professors for extra help when I needed it. I certainly had way too much on my plate and I thought I had to handle everything on my own. And I believed I could do so but I was wrong.

I understand that this is the second warning I have received since my time at the XU. However after the first probation I have successfully kept up my GPA above 3.0 throughout my second to fourth year of the studies. If I am reinstated, I will take fewer courses to focus better on getting my grades up and seek for financial aid at the campus financial aid centre. Thankfully, I have been working full time this summer to save up so I will have to work less during the semester. I will manage my time more carefully and make sure I keep my main focus on school and nothing else. I love studying at this school and I have already learned so much during my time here. It would be a great honour to me to graduate with a Bachelor of Science Degree at this school.

I hope you will give me another chance to finish my education here at the XU. Thank you for taking your time to read this letter and considering this appeal.

Sincerely,

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,

But how are your financial issues going to be handled? Will the summer job be enough? Are you going to quit coaching?