<p>Dear Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid,</p>
<p>My name is --------, and I am writing to ask you to appeal my suspension of financial aid. Firstly, I would like to thank the committee for giving me another opportunity to appeal my suspension and for taking the time to review my letter. I would also thank them for the financial aid I have received freshman year because it truly helped. I take complete responsibility for my academic performance in the 2010-2011 academic year. I failed to meet the SAP standards because of immaturity and lack of motivation. My lack of motivation was caused by my undecided major. It was my fault. I had no goals or no focus. Before, I was confused whether to choose a---------------------------------------… My immaturity and lack of motivation caused me to lose focus. I did not attend study groups on campus. I did not visit the ---------------------- when I could have. Most of all, I did not put much time into studying. I never learned effective time-management skills to balance my work life with academic responsibilities. I did not give education enough precedence. I put studying aside and wasted a year of education.</p>
<p>Also, I was immature in my freshman year because I did not realize how important an education is to a person. I did not focus on school. Instead I focused on other priorities such as my part-time job. I did not know how to manage my time very well and balance my work and school responsibilities. I now take education as my main priority. Over the summer, I had 2 part-time jobs and realized how important of an education is. It is truly an investment. It took a long time to understand but having a job and meeting new people caused me to realize how education is to get further in life. </p>
<p>I am fully prepared to work hard. I am determined and confident I will do very well until I have received my degree. A degree is important in attaining a decent career. I have a plan to manage my time and achieve SAP requirements. Education now is and will continue to be my main priority. I will meet with my instructors daily if there is something I do not understand or how I can become a better student in their class. If I am having trouble with coursework in any of my classes, I will contact a tutor immediately. I will visit ------------------------- regularly for many of my classes. I will attend study groups on campus and study more by myself. I have quit my part-time jobs so I can focus solely on my academic responsibilities and give myself more time to study. Working two jobs over the summer has given my single mother much needed help in paying for the tuition for my older brother and I. </p>
<p>I have learned the mistakes I have made in my freshman year and will be successful in the years to come. Next semester I am retaking my ----------------------- and start to turn things around with a A and nothing less. I would not be able to get this degree without this financial aid. I will work hard and not take this second chance for granted.
Sincerely, </p>
<p>Should I fax it or do I have to visit? whats the format? heading,signature,etc Do I abbreviate school name or spell it out? How does it look? Do they mail info...mailing system is no good and privacy is a concern....thanks in advance!</p>
<p>They won’t give back your aid based on what went wrong. You need to acknowledge briefly and let them know the actual steps you have taken which show a turnaround. Show. Some promises are ok, but you are asking them to trust you- based on-?</p>
<p>I guess what I should be asking is “what exactly are they looking for to trust me?” </p>
<p>I did not meet standards because I did not focus on studying,classes,etc and I was not motivated to try hard.But NOW, I realized education is alot more important.</p>
<p>How do I prove I will try harder next time? I need this fin aid, please help.</p>
<p>Imagine you have 5 minutes to present your case. Read your letter out loud, if needed.
You can’t say over and over and over- I did this wrong, I did that wrong, I never learned X skills-- and then repeat it. (4 times you mention immaturity, 3x motivation issues, 2x time mgt.) And, then finally squeeze in, but, believe me, I’ve changed. Read it out loud and hear it.</p>
<p>It’s unrealistic to say you will meet with teachers daily- they have other things to accomplish. Tutors cost. You’ve now quit your jobs (It’s not even mid-August!) when you and your family need the income. You say it’s to focus on academics- but how? </p>
<p>But you could tell them what you have done- spoken with profs, taken a summer class or self-studied X (or better, X and Y.) I can’t give you the words. But, the mea culpa should be outweighed by a show of how you have changed. Good luck.</p>
<p>Also, I was looking online for a format and most said that a business letter format will due but I what address do I put…what is a good format? What is necessary? Thanks,I appreciate your time.</p>
<p>For the last details, ask the school. Some say address to the committee, some say ask if there is a particular person it should be addressed to. Ask about fax vs mail. Eg, my kid’s school hates faxes as they get jumbled with others. You school may say, call me when you fax it and I’ll go grab it. Good luck. Remember, you are creating an image of yourself as a changed person.</p>
<p>I am glad that you didn’t lose your aid, after all. Maybe the summer classes were counted and that brought you up to SAP? </p>
<p>For others reading this and wanting to know if the letter was okay, here are my responses from the point of view of a financial aid officer: Be polite, but don’t add anything that is not relevant to your appeal. It’s nice to say you are thankful, but that adds nothing to your appeal. The committee has a lot of appeals to read, so stick to the facts. Explain what happened, but don’t add more detail than necessary to get your point across. Explain what will be different in the future in a concrete way, using attainable goals. If you took classes after the bad grades/withdrawals, submit the transcript for those classes. Basically, you are trying to convince very busy people that you screwed up, you know why you screwed up … than explain what you plan to do differently. You may not be reinstated without a semester in between, no matter how good your letter is. Some schools do not grant appeals based on what will be … they want to see a change first. </p>
<p>Some schools have an appeal form that must be filled out. We had a form, and students had to submit a signed personal statement along with their transcripts. Believe it or not, I had students who told me that they wouldn’t submit their transcripts, because “you can get them yourself - I went to this school, you know.” Bad move! It is far less time consuming for each student to access his/her own transcript than it is for a person or committee to get transcripts for each student appealing. Of course, the appeal was denied if no transcripts were submitted, because it was incomplete.</p>