Help financial aid appeal question urgent

Paying for College
1

<p>I ended my first year of college with a 1.8 gpa which is below the minimum requirement to satisfy SAP standards. But i do have reasons. My father got hooked on and sold crack cocaine when i was 3 years old unknowningly my mother still dropped me off with him because they agreed on a custody agreement before i was born with him seeing me every other weekend. My father sould do drugs around me and even would pass out or go sell and leave me with his friends (thieves, drug addicts, you name it) one man who told me to call him uncle became the one to watch me the majority of time, who is now a known rapist. When i was five my father began to molest me. This happened for a year until my father was arrested on a drug bust october of '99. I burried everything deep inside and it was all forgotten with the birth of my sister who was born with a tumor.</p>

<p>I was always depressed, suffered from anger issues, and horfible self confidence and as tims went on i would flucfuate between horrible depression and being perfectly fine. </p>

<p>I graduated highschool received a 30 on my ACT and headed off to college. I was doing fine but after 11 years my father got back in touch with me and told me he was released from prison. This was a few weeks after the start of the semester. This brought up a lot of issues in my past, i spiralled into depression and attempted suicide one weekend. </p>

<p>Im better now, in therapy, and have an appointment booked with a psychiatrist for anxiett and depression. My father is back in prison after violating his parole. </p>

<p>What should i include in my appeal letter? I have documentation of when my father went to jail and was released and when he was sent away again. Should i get phone records? Psychologist statements? Psychiatrist and prescription notes?</p>

2

<p>Sure – you have had a challenging start and are serious about doing better. </p>

<p>But, I would start the tale with events from last September on --sorry, as horrible as your early childhood was, it is going to come across as an excuse --that sounds awfully harsh, but I am rather certain that at least some reviewers would think something along the lines of "he had an awful childhood – but if we give him this appeal, he still has that awful childhood, so why bother?</p>

<p>What you want to do (IMHO) is lay out that shortly after the term began, your father was released from prison and that caused a cascade of misery. He is now back in prison and you have taken concrete steps (therapy, meds, etc) to be on a strong path to success. That sequence presents as a stumble that can and is being corrected.</p>

<p>Stop by the financial aid office or send an email asking who you can talk to about the appeal process. Once you understand the process, you’ll be able to better understand what supporting letters/documents/records you should supply. </p>

<p>While you are at the mental health provider, see if you can get tested for Executive Functioning. Specifically, these tests:</p>

<p>Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS)
Auditory Consonant Trigrams (Brown Peterson Task)
Rey Complex Rigure Test</p>

<p>Because deficiencies in Executive Functioning also trip up many freshmen (this is the area of the brain that deals with scheduling, prioritizing, planning ahead). </p>

<p>The book “Toxic Parents” by Susan Forward may help you. She is very pragmatic – it is an older book but you are not alone in having a super difficult parent. There are ways you can love your family but not be their yo-yo. </p>

<p>Anxiety and anger are often helped by exercise and being in the out-of-doors. Be a scientist and experiment with how you feel with a daily walk through the park or other activities. </p>

<p>Lastly, please know you are still developing. The brain isn’t fully formed until the mid twenties. Give yourself some slack and don’t make yourself heartsick comparing yourself to others (The old “Ugly Duckling” story still has legs). You know you are smart – and you know you value an education. Someone once said “Comparisons make you vain or bitter.” The truth! It’s also true that the vast majority of people are more interested in what is happening in their lives than in yours – you may have anxiety over what others are thinking, when, in reality, they aren’t thinking about you at all. They are thinking about lunch. </p>

<p>Best of luck – I’m sorry this past year was so rough. You’ve learned a lot about yourself and a little bit about college life. Please trust that you are worthwhile and that better days are coming.</p>

3

<p>The only thing your college cares about is what you’ll do to change things in the future.</p>

<p>What safety mechanisms do you now have in place that will assure that you will be a successful student from now on? That’s what counts. And if you really can’t make that assurance right now, maybe it would be appropriate to take a semester off, make SURE you’ve got your life back on track, and then go back to school.</p>

<p>Tell the school what you’re going to do to fix things . . . and then do it.</p>

<p>Good luck!!!</p>

4

<p>So I should barely mention what happened? In that case should I include court documents or not?</p>

5

<p>How do “court documents” establish that you have devised a plan that will allow you to be successful with your studies from here on in?</p>

<p>The ONLY thing that’s relevant now is whether you have a tangible plan for success in the future . . . not whether you have an excuse for your failure. You’ve had a difficult life. Either you’ve found a way to overcome that and and succeed from now on . . . or you haven’t. And that’s what the school wants to know. Regardless the many reasons for your past failure, the school is ONLY interested in whether you are now able to be a successful student.</p>

<p>You wrote that you “would fluctuate between horrible depression and being perfectly fine.” That explains how you got into school . . . and then ran into difficulties again. Can you honestly say to the school that this pattern has now ended? That your therapy has finally brought you to a point of stability?</p>

<p>If so, it’s simple - you tell the school that you have struggled with mental health issues your entire life, that an incident with your father last year triggered a relapse, but you now have reason to believe that, going forward, you will not have any further incidents.</p>

<p>Mental health issues never go away. It will require constant vigilance on your part to make sure that you keep up with therapy, necessary med’s, etc. I am not trying to dismiss the magnitude of the effort that will be required. But the school does not want to fund you unless they have assurances that you have a handle on things. Do you?</p>

<p>You don’t need a note from your psychiatrist. If they want it, they’ll ask. If you, along with your therapist and psychiatrist, have a treatment plan that you all believe will be successful, then that’s what you tell the school. If you need another semester (or two) to make sure that you’re really on the road to recovery, then you tell them that also.</p>

6

<p>I have experience with SAP appeals. It is important to explain the situation that led to the bad grades if the reasons are compelling. OP’s reasons are compelling and appear to be able to be supported with a therapist’s letter. Provide the explanation of the problem, along with supporting documentation. Then focus on what is happening and what will continue to happen that will allow you to do better in the future. The fact that you are in therapy is a good sign, so do discuss that. You should also meet with an academic advisor, if possible, to make a plan of action. Good luck!</p>

7

<p>Thank you! I thought the SAP required as much documentation as possible in extenuating circumstances.</p>