Financial Aid Appeal Letter

Paying for College
1

I’m a rising junior in college, and my financial aid for next year got terminated, but I plan to appeal that decision. What happened was that for the first 3 semesters, I was in the pre-medicine program, and got a subpar GPA after those 3 semesters - 2.73, and the requirement for my aid to be renewed was to have a 3.1 GPA. Last semester, I dropped pre-medicine and switched to a computer science major, and finished with a 3.5 GPA. My cumulative GPA after last semester was 2.88, and I’m planning to say how the last semester was a significant improvement, and if given more time, I can pull my GPA higher.

My college’s financial aid letter has 2 sections - the first is a letter where I explain my circumstances, and the second is about what I will do as corrective action to meet the financial aid requirement.

Here’s my first draft - is it good enough to make my appeal successful?

SECTION 1 - Explanation of Circumstances:

Dear Financial Aid Appeals Committee,

The reason I didn’t meet the requirements for minimum academic progress was because I wasn’t doing a program that was suited for me, which was pre-medicine. I was taking a
lot of science classes, and I got B’s and C’s in them, so I changed my major to Computer Science in Spring 2017. After changing, my GPA went to a 3.46, and I got A’s and B’s in all my classes. This has been a significant improvement for me compared to my performance in the Fall 2016 semester, and I am confident that I will be able to raise my cumulative GPA and GPA per semester even higher.

Without financial aid I will be unable to continue my education because I cannot afford the cost for tuition. Receiving financial aid will allow me to continue my increased performance and raise it even higher, and without it, I won’t be able to attend SLU to complete my degree. My academics are my first priority, and I know that I will be able to get my GPA to meet the minimum academic progress requirements if I get more time.

I hope those of the financial aid committee who read this will give me a second chance so that I can accomplish my goals and continue to show increased performance. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to explain my circumstances.

Sincerely,

SECTION 2 - Corrective Actions:

The actions I will take to improve my performance are:

• I will spend more time studying

• I will seek assistance with my coursework when I have difficulties, whether that is attending my professors’ office hours or seeking tutoring, or asking my fellow classmates for
help

• I will complete my future classes with a B or better.

• My previous Math grades were B+ in Calculus I, C+ in Calculus II, and a B in Discrete
Mathematics. Because of the increased course load in pre-medicine sophomore year, my Calculus II grade was bad, but after switching, my performance went up again. I am confident I will be able to attain even higher grades in my upcoming Calculus III class. I plan to go to my professor’s office hours for assistance when needed and maintain frequent communication with them. I’m also learning some of the material for Calculus III during this summer so that I can do good when I start taking the course.

• My previous Computer Science grades were B+ in Intro to Web Development and B in Intro to Object Oriented Programming. I am confident that I will be able to attain even higher grades in my upcoming Data Structures class I plan to go to my professor’s office hours for assistance when needed and maintain frequent communication with them. I’m also learning some of the material required for Data Structures during this summer so that I can do good when I start taking the course.

2

Your letter is WAYYYYY too long. Just state the facts…

What happened?

What have you done to correct the situation?

What will you continue to do to keep your grades up?

Stop trying to predict your grades. That’s impossible to do. You also don’t need to list all of your other grades…if you want to, you can attach your transcript…but that’s it. In my opinion…that does not add to your appeal letter.

3

I thought it was pretty good. Could be a bit shorter…

4

I am assuming this was merit aid. Such an appeal will not likely be successful. Most such policies will reinstate aid only after you get your CGPA up to 3.1.

5

My letter is that long because the form that I need to put the letter on is 2 pages. The reason I included my grades was because my academic advisor told me that I should explain my previous grades in math/computer science, how future classes will be, and what I am planning to do in them

The aid I’m trying to appeal for is merit aid, forgot to put it in my original post. If it helps, my college is St. Louis University. My grounds for appeal were that I improved significantly over the previous semester, and if given more time then I could get my GPA up to 3.1. Otherwise, I would not try to appeal.

6

Did you look into summer classes? They are usually half the cost and you could take easy ones to simply boost your GPA.

7
  1. Don't lead with your weak points, wrong program, low grades. The key is to inspire their confidence, not leave them shrugging that it took you so long to realize.
  2. Not what you say you will do and/or accomplish, that could be empty promises. Instead, what changes you have already instituted. Then any additional goals. Lead with the corrective actions already taken, not all the "I will."

They know you can’t continue without aid. But they can’t keep you without signs of change. Show them.

Didn’t you get a warning first?

8

On face it looks as if you have a scholarship with a GPA requirement.

After 3 terms, you did not meet the gpa requirement.
How long were you given to meet the GPA requirement?
were you suppose to originally meet the gpa requirement after year 1?
It looks like at the end of year 2, you still did not meet the GPA requirement for the scholarship?

What does your school’s policy say about meeting GPA requirements for the scholarship (it should be in your school handbook)?

What is your Overall GPA now?

9

I looked at my handbook, and it said that if I didn’t meet the requirement after the first year, then I would be placed on provisional status for the next year, and if I didn’t meet the requirement, then my aid would be terminated.

My overall GPA right now is a 2.88.

Aren’t I supposed to say what happened that kept my GPA low in the first part of the letter? Also, my semester GPA for the fall semester of the past year was a 2.73, and my semester GPA for the spring semester was a 3.5. Isn’t that a sign of change?

10

I like that you have a “hard break” - a real before and after. Your grades before you changed your major to something better suited to you were low. After the change, they shot up to a 3.5. This is in your favor.

Please note: “I’m also learning some of the material required for Class X [cut “during”] this summer so that I can do WELL when I start taking the course.” [change “good” to “well”.]

Also this: "The reason I didn’t meet the requirements for minimum academic progress was because I was [not “wasn’t”] doing a program that was [not] suited to [not “for”] me, which was pre-medicine. I was taking a lot of science classes, and I got B’s and C’s in them, so, [realizing that the lab sciences were not a fit for me], I changed my major to Computer Science in Spring 2017. [Tell them why CS is a fit. For example, you’ve always been interested in how computers work, in programming, in math… tell them why, but keep it super brief. You’re building your case here for why these good grades will continue.] After changing, my GPA went to a 3.46, and I got A’s and B’s in all my classes [last term.]

I think your plan for improving your performance needs a bit more work. You say you will get tutoring. Tell them you’ve already checked out the tutoring center and found out what resources they have to offer, for example. Make this plan be something you’ve already started, not something you plan to do. They want to see what you’re already doing to fix things, so show them - so if you haven’t found out all about the tutoring center, do that immediately.

And it sounds like you’ve been working quite closely with your advisor on all this. You’ve picked your classes carefully, talked to her about your plans for improvement, etc. Tell them this. It’s something you’ve already implemented, so that will help you. And tell them this will continue - you’ll continue to work with her on course planning and other academic issues over the course of the year.

11

“Aren’t I supposed to say what happened that kept my GPA low in the first part of the letter?”

Problem is, the way you wrote it isn’t positive. It sets an opinion you were flailing and not aware, not proactive, not minding the gpa requirement, and more. Since you lead with that, it’s the first impression they get and first impressions tend to stick.

“I wasn’t doing a program that was suited for me, which was pre-medicine.” They can smack their heads and ask, Why? And why did it take 3 semesters to wake up and smell the coffee? None of that shows mature control. And how do they know this won’t repeat with CS, which you’ve only focused on for one semester?

And then you tell them you got B and C grades in science…but still want a stem major. See it?

Before we suggest ways to alter this, can you try to come up with your own better ideas?

Here’s a truth in strategic thinking: yes, you need to answer the question. But you can lead with some positives, first. Sometimes, this is called sandwich technique: positive, harsh truth, positive.

12

I hate to say this but you have done too little too late.

You were suppose to meet the GPA requirement year 1. When you did not meet it, the school gave you another year to meet the GPA requirement. Now after the second year, you still did not meet your requirement, so you have now lost your merit scholarship.

The appeal that you are talking about is usually an appeal for who have not met SAP. You have met SAP but you did not meet the GPA requirement to keep your merit $$

13

I’m not sure what I should put before explaining why my GPA was low. Should I explain why I switched to CS?

Because of that spike in GPA over the one semester I took CS, I showed the potential performance that I have with that new major. That’s how I’m explaining that my bad grades won’t repeat with the change in major.

14

sybbie719 - The email I got that told me that my aid got terminated explained that it was because I didn’t meet satisfactory academic progress.

15

In your case meeting satisfactory academic progress to keep your merit $ was to maintain a 3.1 gpa.

They gave you a year which you did not bring it up. Do you really think that they should give you yet another year?

Many people do not meet satisfactory academic progress because they fail courses.

16

sybbie719 - If I didn’t think that they should give me another year, then I wouldn’t have bothered trying to make an appeal letter. If I get a 3.5 GPA in each of the next 2 semesters, then after another year, I would meet the requirement.

I know I keep saying this, but I had a huge spike in GPA after switching to CS. Does that mean nothing to an appeals committee?

Why did you say that last part about people not meeting satisfactory academic progress because they fail courses?

17

Does your school give need based aid? Would you be eligible for need based aid?

18

Where did this come from, and how is it related to making an appeal letter?

19

I think @sybbie719 is trying to think of /alternative/ ways that you could get aid in order to attend this year.

Yes, your GPA spike is good news, but they already gave you a second year to raise your GPA and you still didn’t meet the requirement. You say that it will take you another year of 3.5 each semester to raise your GPA enough to meet said requirement. The committee might not think it’s worth the risk.

It’s a good idea to look into need-based aid. Failing that, you should consider the possibility of taking a semester off or transferring to a university you can afford if this appeal is denied.

20

@glittervine - 1 of the 2 semesters, I made an improvement. Suppose I switched majors a semester earlier and got the same GPA of 3.5. My cumulative GPA would be ~3.0, and I’d still be stuck appealing because I was 0.1 lower. My increased performance is all I got.

Even if I looked for need based aid, I wouldn’t get any. My family is in the range where they’re too rich for need based aid, but can’t comfortably pay for college without a scholarship.