SAP appeal

Paying for College
1

<p>I have a couple questions about a SAP appeal.</p>

<p>I'll be starting my third year of college this fall and ever since I started college I have had a Cal Grant A that covers almost all my tuition. However, last semester was very rough for me and I failed to meet the Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements for my school. They haven't officially terminated my aid yet but due to the credits I attempted but didn't earn last semester I qualify for my aid to be terminated until I achieve a higher percentage of credits attempted/earned. </p>

<p>Therefore I am going to fill out an appeal as soon as possible. The reason for my unsatisfactory progress is due to a few things, namely, my dad worked less hours so my parents couldnt help me out as much financially, therefore I had to try to work more hours to try to make it and had to take hours that conflicted with my school schedule and by that time it was past the census so I couldn't drop any classes. Also my depression was very bad last semester and it made it very hard to function at all, let alone do well in classes. A few smaller things happened, such as a stressful home situation with a roommate, trying to find a place to live, moving twice, my dog getting attacked and killed, a break up, just everything happened at once and it was too much. </p>

<p>My questions are: 1) Do you think these reasons are compelling enough? 2) It says to provide documentation, what kind of documentation could I provide for those reasons?</p>

<p>My dad just lost his job a couple weeks ago so I really need this appeal to go through or else I dont know how I'll be able to go to school at all without aid.</p>

2

<p>For documentation, you could show a copy of your work schedule or paycheck or even a letter from your boss stating you worked x numbers a week. Your dad surely has documentation too. Did you seek counseling for the depression? An appointment card, note verifying visits, etc. would document this.</p>

<p>Sorry to hear about your dog and g/b-friend. You don’t happen to own a pickup truck too do you? Just kidding…</p>

<p>You might also get an appeal based on your dad’s current job situation. Make sure you mention it in the letter.</p>

<p>Be proactive and give them a plan on how you’re going to raise your gpa to meet the requirements.</p>

3

<p>Our appeals committee looks for a clear explanation of what happened (with documentation to support, if possible), an acknowledgment by the student that this was his/her own doing, and a clearly stated explanation of what will happen differently in the future (that is, how are you going to make sure that you won’t be in the same trouble again next year?). Be clear, give full explanations. If you have met with an advisor, include a letter from your advisor. The more info you can provide, the better.</p>