Dear Financial Aid Committee,
I am writing this letter in hopes for my Financial Aid Suspension to be appealed. I have already appealed it once, and I understand this second time will be taken more into consideration. I understand I had an agreement of passing all my classes Fall 2018 in order to secure Financial Aid for Spring 2019. I did the best I could to pass all my classes, and I hope you guys understand that I am trying my hardest to stay on track to graduate in 2021.
If you check my grades, I did pass all my classes except Biology Majors. I tried my very best to pass that class. I joined a study group, I went to the library and met with them as much as I could, I did study reviews, and flashcards. I stuck to the plan I provided my last appeal, and I did meet with my advisor. I realized I was not going to be successful in that class and I was going to drop it, but it was already late, and I was going to receive the Academic Penalty, so I decided to push through that class and continue to try my hardest to pull my grades up. I fully understand that this would not be a problem if I would have taken initiative and dropped the class from the very beginning. I know this all sounds like excuses, but I wish I could get you guys to understand that I am trying my hardest. I know you guys are not required to provide me with the financial aid, and I understand there are many more students who need financial aid, but I did have a rough freshman year, and now I’m having to pick up all the slack and classes I did poorly in. I am not saying what happened my freshman year is holding me back, but it is one major reason why now I’m having to work extra hard to make sure I get everything in line for my remaining time at Lamar University.
Moving forward, I have made a new plan in order to make sure I am successful my Spring semester. I am going to 1) continue to meet with my advisor, 2) I will continue to join study groups within my class mates in order to make sure I am studying the material I should be, and to help review, 3) I will continue to make study reviews and flashcard, 4) I will take advantage of my professors study hours, and 5) I will be taking summer classes and winter classes if needed to. I really need this financial aid, I am willing to pay for my summer and winter classes out of pocket, but I can not afford my semester tuition. I need this help in order to stay in school, and I really want to graduate from Lamar University. I know I can not blame anyone else but me and I take full responsibility for my lack of effort during my freshman year. I hope you guys understand that I tried all I could Fall semester to pass my classes, but Biology Majors was very hard for me, and I know it is not a reason to fail but I do not have any more room for failures. I promise I will go above and beyond to receive good grades Spring 2019 and all the other semesters that follow. I do not have that much supporting documentation, but I will be providing my last appeal letter and my written plan to prove to you guys I am doing all I can to advance in my graduation plan.
Thank you very much for taking the time to read my letter, and I hope that even though this will be my second chance you guys believe in me. Believe in me that I can bounce back from all this and still be part of the 2021 graduating class. I am determined to graduate with a Criminal Justice major and I am willing to do whatever I can
Honestly, I don’t think your chances are good. You were already on a watch list and you didn’t meet the requirement of passing all your classes.
Schools are required to see that students are meeting academic progress when awarding federal financial aid.
This is not college level writing. Correct the grammar. Use paragraphs. Reduce the letter by at least 50%. And never use “you guys” ever again if you hope to be taken seriously.
Sorry, but I don’t see anything in this letter that would lead me to believe the appeal will be successful.
I have to agree with @“Iron Maiden” that your written language skills are not at the level expected for university students.
We can obviously see that college is “very hard” for you.
You seem very sincere and a hard worker. Big hug to you- I’m sure this is challenging.
Rewrite your letter per the suggestion above- it needs to be shorter AND be grammatical. Take the letter to your college’s writing or tutoring center if you want help with editing it.
Then spend a little time thinking about your plan B- if your appeal isn’t successful, how are you going to move forward???
This is a tough one. If you really did all you could (as you say), then what would really be different next time? When you shorten your letter, maybe you could emphasize other aspects of your progress. Did you get good grades in your other courses and is your cumulative GPA rising?
For the love of God, drop every last one of the “you guys”.
“I wish”, “I hope”, “I tried my very best” and “as much as I could” are all very passive, vague, and wishy-washy, and your letter is full of this. You need specifics: “You will meet with your advisor EVERY OTHER WEEK”, etc. Then live up to your promises.
@auntbea I KNOW I am capable of writing at college level this was my first draft. Thank You.