am writing to appeal my academic dismissal from the fall 2019 semester. I have been struggling academically for some time now. My mental health state has been a major factor in my academic progress. Since High School I have had depression, and it affects my ability to concentrate and keep track in class. I also have Asperger’s, which has been a major factor in me not being able to communicate my academic deficiencies and other problems with the learning commons. Whenever I have problems in a class, it is difficult for me to communicate those problems with a professor, which causes me to fall behind. The school does not offer services for autistic individuals, so it has been hard for me to cope with these problems. A problem that autistic people have is that we have a very hard time understanding is grasping concepts and poor central coherence, which is why I did poorly in English. A combination of these factors and my
This semester was a wakeup call that I have to improve myself in multiple ways. I have begun a summer class, and I have 2 planned for the second session. I have the opportunity to achieve a 2.04 GPA by August, and I will do everything I can to achieve that goal. I took a summer class previously, and I achieved a B in a class I failed the semester before, so I am confident that I will meet Satisfactory Academic Progress standards over the summer. For my mental health issues, I will soon start going to a therapist to help with my depression and autism/social deficiency problems.
Last semester I failed 3 classes, yet there was one class that stood out. I received a B- in IB 201-Globalism and International Business. IB-201 was a class I was always joyful to be in. Most autistic people have that field/interest that they are very knowledgeable in, and for me that field is global politics and business. It is a subject that I have been interested in since I was little. A few days ago I changed my major to International Business, because I know it is a field I can succeed academically in. Therapy and support can help me achieve success in classes where I am currently doing poorly in. I hereby authorize the Academic Appeals Committee to examine my records in consideration of my appeal.
A successful appeal must do several things:
- show that you understand what went wrong
- show that you take responsibility for the academic failures
- show that you have a plan for future academic success
- 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.
- search this topic on CC and you will see many other posts on academic appeals
- Make sure your letter states what the issue was that caused you to have academic difficulties
- Did you talk to your professors/dean of students about the issue?
- Did you make use of the many resources your school has? if not, why not?
- 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
- State how you would use those in the future
- How are you addressing what caused the issue?
- Think about if you should continue at college, or take a break.
- Think about if you should continue at a community college, to be close to your family
- 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.
So specifically to your letter:
The first word is missing and the last sentence of the first paragraph is not finished.
-
You have depression. Have you been diagnosed by a doctor with depression? Are you on medications? Have you seen your doctor regularly? If you have not been formally diagnosed, then go immediately and get evaluated by a doctor. If they do diagnose you with depression, you could ask for a retroactive medical withdrawal.
-
You have Aspgergers. I don’t think you have explained satisfactorily what will be different. E.g., will you get someone to help you plan out your week?
-
You are going to take 2 summer courses at once. You will be doing 2 courses in less than half of the time. This will be like a full time job. What will be different that you will do better?
-
What resources have you used at school? Tutors? Going to professor office hours? Study groups? Writing center? Review sessions?
Make sure you know all of the resources your college has.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/1920853-college-is-a-step-up-from-hs-16-tips-on-doing-well-in-college.html
An update. I have to send it by 10 am tomorrow. Please tell me what i can add/remove
Dear xxxxxx and members of the Academic Appeals Committee:
I am writing to appeal my academic dismissal from the fall 2019 semester. The state of my mental health has been a major factor in my academic progress. For a long time, I have had depression, and it negatively affects my cognitive functioning, such as my ability to concentrate and keep track in class. I also have Asperger’s, which makes it difficult to communicate any problems I might have with professors and the learning commons. Because of these factors, combined with the challenging classes I took last semester, I became very overwhelmed with my coursework, and I did not do as well as I had hoped.
This semester was a wakeup call that I have to improve myself in multiple ways. I have begun a summer class, which I currently have an A in, and I have 2 planned for the second summer session. I have the opportunity to achieve a 2.04 GPA by August, and I will do everything I can to achieve that goal. For my mental health issues, I will soon start going to a therapist to help with my depression and autism/social deficiency problems. I also plan to take advantage of any resources that are available to me. I will make it a priority to meet with advisors, and utilize office hours. It has been difficult for me to reach out to the learning commons because talking about my mental health is something I am very uncomfortable doing, but I have to learn to be comfortable with it and communicate my problems so I can succeed academically. Earlier in the year I was unable to get medication for my mental health because we didn’t have great insurance, but we were able to get a new plan recently so I will have access to medication going forward. I
My plan for the semester I come back is the start the IB core, which I believe I can do well in. I recently changed my major to International Business. After taking 2 IB classes and enjoying them, I realized it is a field I want to study and eventually work in. I feel like the IB coursework comes to me easily, as for the classes I have failed, I plan to retake them over summer and winter sessions. I previously failed a math class, I retook it last summer and received a B. I felt it was less stressful for me than taking it during the school year, and I believe I can replicate these results in other classes I have failed. Also, with online classes being mostly anonymous, it was easier to communicate problems I had with my professor, because I didn’t have to see them every week. With my summer classes, I am confident I will meet satisfactory academic progress requirements by August. I will make it a priority to succeed academically, and I am determined to, because I do not want go through the process of probation and financial suspension again. I want to graduate in four years with the friends I’ve met here. I hereby authorize the Academic Appeals Committee to examine my record in consideration of my appeal.
Thanks,
xxxxxxx
Much improved. Good luck.