Maximum Timeframe Appeal Letter

Paying for College
1

Hi everyone, I really just need to two more semesters before I can finally completely my time at community college so that I can transfer. This upcoming Fall term would mark my 4th year at community college but I just got with an email stating that I’m no longer eligible to receive aid because I’ve exceeded the time frame to normally complete my academic program (I have 5 withdrawals and took courses that didn’t apply to my major because I was trying to find what I was interested in) I was debating whether I should write an appeal letter but honestly, I don’t think I’ll be able to attend school if I don’t have the support of financial aid so I thought I should give it ago.

I would really appreciate if you guys can read my letter and see what my chances are.

To Whom It May Concern,

Hello, my name is FN/LN and I am writing this statement to appeal the suspension of my financial aid due to reaching the maximum time frame. There was some circumstances that took place in my household beginning of my Summer 2016 term. My grandma who lived in our household all my life fell ill and was completely bedridden. It gave my household a great deal of stress and in order to help, I opted to take some online classes so I can stay home to care for my grandma when she needed me. Unfortunately, her condition got worse and eventually passed away late September 2016. My grandma’s death took a drastic toll on me emotionally and also physically drained me, leading my academic life to go down as I tried to get my life together after losing a close family member.

I tried balancing out my life by still continuing my schooling as I normally did but I couldn’t handle being a full-time student and switched to part-time. It was also around that time when I realized that the major I went into college with wasn’t what I was passionate about anymore. I switched from linguistics to sociology wanting to go into a field where I can help people in the future. However, the language courses that I took for my linguistics major in the beginning further added to my units and I didn’t know that would jeopardize my ability to receive financial aid.

I hope you can take my extenuating circumstances into consideration as I would have completed my academic program in a timely manner if it wasn’t for serious family matters that took place two years ago. After a full year since my grandma’s passing, I’ve accepted that she is gone and my life has been back on a good track. I want to appeal to the financial aid department to allow me an extension for Summer 2018 and the upcoming Fall 2018 semester and Spring 2019 semester as that is all I need to complete my program. I don’t think I will be able to continue my education without the support of financial aid.

Respectfully,
FN/LN

2

I don’t know about your CC, but in our state, the school may not have a choice in not funding you.
They rely on funding from the county and state. If you’ve taken more time than normal, to transfer, they have to stop funding you because they don’t have the budget to fund students for many years.

Find out your school policy first. Then try a letter. If they can’t grant an extension, then you need to find a way to pay those fees. You should have a job that you can access for funds.

You are fortunate that this is a CC and they don’t charge as much as a university.

My condolences to your family on your Grandmother’s passing.

3

All I’ve read up on is that if you’re found ineligible, you’ll need to complete an appeal form, provide necessary documents that support the extenuating circumstances, and a letter stating why things turned out the way it did and how it’s been resolved.

Thank you, I appreciate it.

4

Well, you can submit your letter and see how it goes.
They will wonder why you haven’t accessed student services for help to maintain your mental health. You may want to add, in your letter, what services you plan on accessing at the CC for help to maintain a strong GPA and balanced list of professors or on-site support services.

5

Hello,
Just curious how this turned out for you -I’m currently in the same situation and any advise would be great appreciated.