<p>I was just academically disqualified from my university for the second time. I'd appreciate some feedback on my academic disqualification appeal. I'll gladly return the favor.</p>
<p>I realize that my academic performance continues to flounder in spite of multiple warnings and probations. My academic career thus far has been characterized by class withdrawals, failing grades, and broken promises. Between managing a mental illness, a physical illness, and financial responsibilities, devoting my full attention to my coursework has been an insurmountable challenge. Clearly, I have been ill-equipped to navigate the rigors of higher education. I concur that a leave of absence from the university to address these concerns will be beneficial for me, and hence, I propose to take the winter quarter off and resume my studies during the spring quarter. During my ten-week recess from the university, I will spend six weeks in the Intensive Treatment Unit of the Aurora Behavioral Health Facility, where my reactions to anti-psychotic medications will be monitored. A comfortable time frame will be allotted for me to adjust to my medications and recover from my somatic illness. Dismissing me from the university for an entire year is excessive and unnecessary. It will disqualify me from receiving financial aid upon readmission, which will steer my educational aspirations downhill. I rest assured that a short leave of absence from the university, anti-psychotic medications, and inpatient care will empower me to return to good academic standing.
I have been academically successful at XXX in the past. My freshman year, I earned only A's and B's, making Provost Honors twice.
Chemical engineering is one of the most difficult majors on campus, and its coursework is among the most time-consuming. My persistent attempts at retaking CENG courses continue to result in failure. And so, to avoid academic probation in the future, I will refrain from further enrollment in STEM courses. I plan to move forward within a much less demanding major - political science and I should be able to graduate as early as June 2015. I envision success as a political science major since I have yet to earn a grade lower than a B in a humanities course. I have additional political science units which I intend to transfer over. I earned a 5 on the AP US Government exam and I took POLI 13 (POSC 150) at Grossmont College. Dr. XXXXX, a professor within the Department of History, can comment favorably on my academic performance within the social sciences. I welcome you to contact her at XXXXX.<br>
I understand that academic disqualification is not delivered as a punishment. And while I'm sure than a yearlong dismissal is a blessing in disguise for many struggling students, for me, that cannot be the case. If I am disqualified from the university for one year, I will not qualify for financial aid upon readmission. Failure to complete 36 units within this academic year will make me fall short of FAFSA's standards for Satisfactory Academic Progress. And for me, higher education is out of the question without financial assistance. An annual income of $18,000 for a family of three makes it a struggle to survive, let alone finance a degree. But if I were to leave the university for one quarter as opposed to an entire year, I could still meet the criteria for Satisfactory Academic Progress by enrolling in summer session courses. And only then will obtaining my degree become financially feasible again.
During my ten-week recess from the university, I will resolve our financial affliction by helping my mother vacate the bottom floor of our home. We will relocate to a studio apartment, and another family will inhabit the bottom floor of our home for a monthly rent of $900. That supplementary income will greatly alleviate our financial anxiety.
Throughout the past two years, I have been overwhelmed by health concerns. On August 13, 2011, after undergoing a fasting plasma glucose test, I was diagnosed with type II diabetes. Then, on July 22, 2013, after undergoing a complete blood count test and a liver ultrasound, I was diagnosed with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The symptoms of diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty-liver disease are ameliorated through diet and exercise. And the physicians within the Aurora Behavioral Health Facility have already devised an austere diet and exercise plans for me to abide by.
On two separate occasions within the past 10 months, I have been rushed to the emergency room for psychiatric reasons. In response, Student Health Services has prescribed me a myriad of psychiatric medications some of which have triggered hallucinations and delusions. After diagnosing me with schizophrenia, my psychiatrist advised me to seek more intensive treatment from an off-campus provider. And so, on January 13, 2014, I will enter the Aurora Behavioral Health Facility's Intensive Treatment Unit. Their elaborate team of mental health professionals will monitor my reactions to neuroleptics and provide me with psychosocial treatment. My primary care clinician asserts that a medical intervention of this magnitude must restore my occupational functioning. That, of course, is my objective - I was already the first person in my family to complete a high school education, and I am intent on being the first to earn a college degree. My biological father, who also suffers from schizophrenia, was ultimately convicted of domestic abuse in 1997. And my mother, a former victim of domestic abuse, has put forward a tremendous effort to help me gain admission into XXXX, and it would bring me great shame and humiliation if this opportunity were thrown to waste.
I am prepared to provide further documentation to substantiate these declarations. Please do not hesitate to contact the Aurora Behavioral Health Facility at XXXXX or my primary care clinician, XXXX, at XXXXXX. I welcome you to consult with academic counselor XXXXX, whom I have been working very closely with. I am more than willing to meet with the Dean of Academic Advising to negotiate the terms and conditions for my reinstatement. It will be my pleasure to return to XXXX in the Spring. Thank you for your consideration.</p>