<p>Appeals Letter Sent.
What a burn is it that my teacher agreed to change my grade this morning, the day of the appeals deadline, one of the few days during the week we don’t have school.
:/</p>
<p>Sent it anyway. </p>
<p>UCLA Appeals Committee: </p>
<p>Rejection: Difficult to handle. Even more difficult to handle when you know in your heart that your image isn’t accurately represented. My art history teacher mistakenly transcribed my grade as a “B” when in actuality I had earned an “A.” Unfortunately, I couldn’t get school administration to correct the grade. With recent school district disputes over allocating the budget, much of local administration was in transition. My high school, Eastlake High School, had its principal swapped for another. Our new principal took her position when second semester commenced in January of 2009. Both her status as a temporary principal and her personal policy on grade changes prevented her from returning my grade to its rightful status. When Dr. Lawlor became our permanent principal, my teacher went on leave to take care of her family. By the time I was able to get the principal to consent to a grade change, my teacher was nearly impossible to locate to receive a signature from. </p>
<p>After months of phone calls and emails, I finally received verbal and written confirmation of a grade change. My “B” has become an “A.” This action has transformed my UC application GPA from a 4.27 to a 4.32, which is a significant increase. This more accurately illustrates who I am as a student. Though my grades sophomore year were average, after this change, my junior year grades present me as a much stronger, much improved student. I only received two “B’s” in both semesters of my junior year with all five of my academic classes being weighted and my only non-weighted class being “ASB Leadership.” My mastery of the course material for my four Advanced Placement (AP) classes is also represented by my AP test grades: 4, 5, 5, 5. </p>
<p>My grade change has only been documented recently and my transcripts will not be updated by April 15th, the appeal deadline. Proof of the change will be sent within the next week.</p>
<p>In addition to the extracurriculars and awards listed on my original application, I am continuing work at Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific as the Corporate Communications intern and a recommendation clearly outlining my impact within the organization has been provided. I also was nominated and selected as the chairman of Eastlake High School’s Election Convention, which models the nomination process of our democratic local, state and national governments. </p>
<p>I’m both capable of handling UCLA curriculum and would benefit the school the way I’ve benefitted my own community, but I also have familial reasons for needing to be in Los Angeles. My aunt is struggling with alcoholism and the use of both cocaine and marijuana paired with a debilitating eating disorder. </p>
<p>Of course, as with all addicts, her substance abuse doesn’t affect only her. It affects my cousin, her nine year old son, as well. His method of combating her neglect is by not doing well in school, thereby drawing negative attention to himself. He repeated the second grade at Fairburn Elementary School and is now a year behind and still not succeeding academically.</p>
<p>In recent months my aunt’s behavior has gotten worse. She received a DUI about a month ago when she ran out of alcohol and attempted to drive to the store to purchase more. Two days later, under the influence of both alcohol and marijuana, she popped her tire while driving and made the inhibited decision to continue driving on the tire until she began to grind at the rim. </p>
<p>My cousin is obviously not safe under this kind of parenthood. He’s is a smart, extremely quick-witted boy who has been placed in a situation that stunts his personal growth. I’ve spent the last few weekends in LA helping my cousin and my aunt in any way I can. Even in the last few weeks, as I’ve been reading with him I’ve seen a striking amount of improvement in his comprehension and ability. </p>
<p>I can’t be fully available to help him, however, and be completely committed to my education if I’m located outside Los Angeles. I simply can’t be as supportive from 100 miles away as I can from one mile. This is difficult to accept, knowing my presence there may be instrumental in his future. If I’m given the opportunity to complete my education while supporting his growth and development, who knows, maybe someday I’ll be celebrating with him as he gets his acceptance letter from UCLA. </p>
<p>Thank you for your consideration.</p>