Academic dismissal appeal letter feedback help

Parents Forum
1

Dear Appeal Committee,

I recently received your email regarding academic dismissal. Please reconsider dismissing me from Cal Poly Pomona. I admit to have had a difficult time this Fall Quarter and my grades suffered as a result. There were absolutely no excuses for my poor academic performance, but I would like to explain the circumstances.

Due to the past two academic probation statuses I have received Fall Quarter 2014 and Winter Quarter 2015, I decided to register for only 13 units this Fall Quarter 2015, 5 of the units being a repeat course of CHEM 216. With only this amount of units registered, I was determined to get my GPA up as well as adjust to a new job. I took on the workload with an internship at a dental office, thinking I could handle the hours that came along with it. In the beginning of the quarter, I started off with a schedule to work 22 hours per week. After the first week of classes, I could no longer see myself working this many hours, alongside juggling the schoolwork throughout the whole quarter. I felt exhausted after a day of classes and work, so I cut it down to 14 hours/week. This was my schedule for the quarter and still believed I could handle the workload since I cut hours in work. I did not consider quitting the internship completely because I knew it was valuable experience that could add to my future goals and aspirations of going to dental school. With the 14 hours per week of internship at dental office as well as Organic Chemistry Monday/Wednesday mornings, Physics Monday/Tuesday/Thursday/Friday mornings and Nutrition Tuesday/Thursday evenings, I was off to a good start of the quarter. I was still able to go to the library after work (Tuesday/Thursday 12-5, Wednesday 1-5) to review morning lectures and get ahead on readings, with nothing else on my mind.

However, on the morning of October 12th, 2015, I received news that my grandmother passed away due to lung cancer in San Francisco. In that same week, I had a Calculus 142 Exam 1 on October 16th, 2015. I missed this first exam because I had to drive down to San Francisco on Thursday, October 15th, 2015 for the viewing and the following day, October 16th, was my grandmother’s funeral. I returned on October 19th, 2015. I can provide corroboration, if needed. Though I was determined to make up this exam, I understood that I was not able to get the chance to retake this exam because it was discussed in the beginning of the quarter that my professor did not offer makeups, no matter the circumstance. This resulted as a drop score (0%) for my midterm 1, making my final count for twice as much.

I admit that I let this circumstance discourage me from working harder to catch up on the work, in addition to losing someone so close to me. I thought I could handle all these challenges, and I tried my best to stay on track with the workload needed to catch up for Physics, by going to his office hours when I could and spending time review his lectures. However, I felt an emotional drain from losing a loved one, as well as physical drain from trying to balance work and school. I started off the quarter strong, thinking I could handle work and school but I could not help but get distracted with personal matters, thus hindering my ability in succeeding in balancing both work and school. I acknowledge that I am the only one at fault for letting myself slip. As the quarter went on, I was still trying to figure out ways to gain enough energy transitioning from work to school and experiencing the loss of a loved one for the first time. Looking back at it, it was hard for me to catch up once I was starting to get a feel of what has happened, which all in all drained me emotionally and physically. I also recognize that my study habits need improvement. I felt that since I have been in college for almost 3 years now, I had to deal with these problems on my own. I now realize that is not always the right approach. This is something I am determined to change in the next quarter, to be able to reach out to higher authority for help because now I know that with every struggle I will face in the future, there will always be help and that was something I did not address and make the effort to reach out to the people and resources around me. In the next quarter, I will actively use the resources Cal Poly has to offer to improve my study habits to meet the academic demands, as well as the resources to help with personal matters.

I understand that my academic performance no longer meets the university standards, with a cumulative overall GPA below a 2.0. However, I am more than willing to get back on track with the university. There will always be unexpected roadblocks in the future and I will not always be prepared for them, but I know I can make improvements on how I can handle any situation that I am thrown in. If given the chance to continue my education at Cal Poly, my academic improvement will consist of:

• Working with my advisor to create a plan to get back on track
• Communicating more with my parents and letting them know what they can do to help
• Managing responsibilities and classes, only to the amount I can handle
• Creating short term goals for the week, while keeping long term goals in mind
• Going to office hours to improve my understanding of the material
• Visiting career services more often for practical career tips and advice
• Adding more study sessions and workshops to schedule
• Using the weekend wisely by reviewing past lectures and getting ahead on upcoming lectures
• Dedicating 25-35 hours/week to reviewing lectures and readings, in addition to outside of homework and assignments
• Cutting out activities that will not contribute to further my academic success
Though my academic performance in the past does not reflect it so, my education is still very important to me and I want to value every minute of it given to me. I do not want to lose hope and will take every opportunity given to fight for another chance at Cal Poly. I am asking for a second chance to prove that I can succeed at Cal Poly Pomona. I am confident that I can succeed by taking the actions I have listed.

Thank you very much for taking the time to consider my request.

2

Personally, I think your letter is much too long. Remember, yours,won’t be the only one these folks read. You need to edit this…and reduce the length. Stick to the facts, succinctly.

3

thank you for your feedback.

I revised my letter and cut the first paragraph, took out irrelevant details.

Dear Appeal Committee,

I recently received your email regarding academic dismissal. Please reconsider dismissing me from Cal Poly Pomona. I admit that the past two years have been difficult for me and I realize that my academic performance has not been satisfactory.

In the beginning of the quarter, I had problems with adjusting to a new work schedule in addition to the classes I had been taking. Finding the time to work for the first time while studying for school was often difficult and quickly became impossible for me. I cut down my internship hours at the dental office from 22 hours a week to 14. This made it a little more bearable to do both. I was afraid to cut more hours and quit completely because I knew this internship was a great opportunity for me to gain valuable experience to add to my goal of getting into dental school. I was torn between the decisions of keeping this internship or letting an experience like this go, so I kept it. The struggles of balancing work and school affected my grades. I was afraid to communicate and ask for help from my supervisors as well as my professors. I also recognize that my study habits need improvement. I felt that since I have been in college for 3 years now, I had to deal with problems on my own. I now realize that is not always the right approach.

In the middle of the quarter, on the morning of October 12th, 2015, my grandmother passed away in San Francisco, due to lung cancer. In that same week, I had a Physics 142 Exam 1 on October 16th, 2015. I missed this first exam because I had to drive down to San Francisco on Thursday, October 15th, 2015 for the viewing and the following day, October 16th, was my grandmother’s funeral. I returned on October 19th, 2015. I can provide corroboration, if needed. Though I was determined to make up this exam, I understood that I was not able to get the chance to retake this exam because it was discussed in the beginning of the quarter that my professor did not offer makeups, no matter the circumstance. This resulted as a drop score (0%) for my midterm 1, making my final count for twice as much.

I admit that I let the circumstance of not being able to makeup the first exam discourage me from working harder to catch up on the work, in addition to losing someone so close to me. I acknowledge that I am the only one at fault for letting myself slip. The struggles of dealing with these circumstances furthered my downfall. I did not seek for help when I knew I needed it and should have taken complete time off from work to prioritize my education. I did not address my faults right away in the past and make the effort to reach out to the people and resources around me. In the next quarter, I will actively use the resources Cal Poly has to offer to improve my study habits to meet the academic demands, as well as the resources to help with personal matters.

I understand that my academic performance no longer meets the university standards, with a cumulative overall GPA below a 2.0. However, I am more than willing to get back on track with the university. There will always be unexpected roadblocks in the future and I will not always be prepared for them, but I know I can make improvements on how I can handle any situation that I am thrown in. If given the chance to continue my education at Cal Poly, my academic improvement will consist of:

• Working with my advisor to create a plan to get back on track
• Communicating more with my parents and letting them know what they can do to help
• Managing responsibilities and classes, only to the amount I can handle
• Creating short term goals for the week, while keeping long term goals in mind
• Going to office hours to improve my understanding of the material
• Visiting career services more often for practical career tips and advice
• Adding more study sessions and workshops to schedule
• Using the weekend wisely by reviewing past lectures and getting ahead on upcoming lectures
• Dedicating 25-35 hours/week to reviewing lectures and readings, in addition to outside of homework and assignments
• Cutting out activities that will not contribute to further my academic success

I am asking for a second chance to prove that I can succeed at Cal Poly Pomona. I am confident that I can succeed by taking the actions I have listed.

Thank you very much for taking the time to consider my request.

4

Your letter is much too long.

5

You should be able to succinctly summarize what happened last semester in one paragraph… not an entire essay. Then another paragraph on what you’ve already done to improve what kept you from making sufficient academic progress last semester, and summarize what you plan to do in the future. You need to do your reader a favor and realize yours will be among many other letters being read. Keep it succinct.

6

I think it’s still too long. I have deleted some whole sentences from your letter. In addition, you don’t put that there will be things you can’t accomplish. That isn’t going to help your case at all.

You need to proofread your won grammar. I didn’t do that.

This letter still is not quite right. You really have not mentioned anything you already have done…like are you completely quitting work?

Dear Appeal Committee,

I recently received your email regarding academic dismissal. Please reconsider dismissing me from Cal Poly Pomona. I admit that the past two years have been difficult for me and I realize that my academic performance has not been satisfactory.

In the beginning of the quarter, I had problems with adjusting to a new work schedule in addition to the classes I had been taking. I was working a 22 hour dental internship while taking classes. I cut down my internship hours at the dental office from 22 hours a week to 14.

On October 12, 2015, my grandmother passed away. In that same week, I had a Physics 142 Exam 1 on October 16th, 2015. I missed this exam because I had to drive down to San Francisco for the viewing and funeral on October 15 and 16. I understood that I was not able to retake this exam because my professor did not offer makeup exams. This resulted as a drop score (0%) for my midterm 1.

I did not seek help when I knew I needed it and should have taken complete time off from work to prioritize my education. I did not access resources to help me academically. In the next quarter, I will actively use the resources Cal Poly has to improve my study habits to meet the academic demands, as well as the resources to help with personal matters.

I understand that my academic performance no longer meets the university standards, with a cumulative overall GPA below a 2.0. However, I am more than willing to get back on track with the university. If given the chance to continue my education at Cal Poly, my academic improvement will consist of:

• Working with my advisor to create a plan to get back on track
• Communicating more with my parents and letting them know what they can do to help
• Managing responsibilities and classes, only to the amount I can handle
• Creating short term goals for the week, while keeping long term goals in mind
• Going to office hours to improve my understanding of the material
• Visiting career services more often for practical career tips and advice
• Adding more study sessions and workshops to schedule
• Using the weekend wisely by reviewing past lectures and getting ahead on upcoming lectures
• Dedicating 25-35 hours/week to reviewing lectures and readings, in addition to outside of homework and assignments
• Cutting out activities that will not contribute to further my academic success

I am asking for a second chance to prove that I can succeed at Cal Poly Pomona. I am confident that I can succeed by taking the actions I have listed.

Thank you very much for taking the time to consider my request.

7

OP - Why keep repeating 2015? It’s evident that if you did something October 15 and missed an exam on October 16, it’s obvious you mean the same year.

8

This is part of your problem here. It seems like you are 2.5 years in and haven’t figured out yet how to do this. Your letter does not give me confidence that things are actually going to get better next quarter.

9

If I understand correctly, you have performed below expected standards for 3 semesters in a row. Each time you made a plan and/or an adjustment, but your efforts were insufficient to help you achieve at the required level.
If I was reviewing your appeal, I would worry that I would be doing you no favors by giving you another chance. I think I would encourage you to step back and reevaluate your skills, resources and priorities. This may not be the best time or the best pathway for you to accomplish your goals.

10

To,the OP…if you have had three unsuccessful cllege terms, perhaps some time off from college should be considered by YOU, not forced on you by your college. Some folks are just more successful at college when they are older. Some folks are more successful with careers that don’t involve college at all.

11

I agree with thumper1 and jasmom. Also, I feel like your letter just provides excuses and empty promises. Maybe taking a quarter or two off and going to a cc will be a better option. You can take classes and do well, proving to the board that you are serious about your education and that you really can succeed. From my understanding, in order for you to have reached the position you are currently in, you would have to have messed up multiple quarters. In your letter, you only address this past quarter, what about the rest??? You stated that you didn’t seek help and as a result, didn’t do well in the class. This would be ok coming from a first year, however, you are in your third year. I feel like it is not a good valid reason. It is juvenile to list when you have class, it is obvious that you are a college student and have classes to attend live every other student. Also, you had 2 months to prepare for the final, I don’t understand why you were discouraged. Honestly, it seems as if you didn’t really talk about the real reasons that led to this point. If they will allow you to appeal after attending a cc, i strongly believe that is your best option. But if you’re really set on appealing now, please fix your grammar.

12

I would glance at the letter and toss it, honestly. It’s too long, repetitive, dull, and doesn’t tell me that you have changed. Take some time off, figure out what you really want to do, then reapply somewhere else. Do you really want to be in college or do you just think you should be in college? It’s perfectly okay to fail at something you do not really want, anyway. Get a job and figure out what you do want.

13

I don’t get this - so you were taking Chemistry, Physics, and Nutrition and ALSO Calculus? Why isn’t that listed in the first paragraph? And how is that only 13 credits?

14

@sylvan8798 totally agree…and that is why I deleted all that excess verbiage when I did my version of a rewrite in post 5. But even my edition needs some work!!

15

"
• Communicating more with my parents and letting them know what they can do to help"

What are you expecting your parents to do to help? This is a big red flag for me.

"
• Creating short term goals for the week, while keeping long term goals in mind"

What does this mean? This just seems like random verbiage. What is a specific example of how this might come to life?

16

Agree with post 14. Those sentences should be deleted.

17

I agree with some of what has already been said. One, the letter, even after suggested revisions, is still WAY too long.

Two, losing a grandparent might explain difficulty in one semester, but you have had difficulty in three semesters. I understand it is tough to lose a family member (I, too, lost my grandmother during college-she also died of lung cancer in a suburb of San Fran, coincidentally). But lots of college kids lose grandparents during their college years and manage to pass their classes, even if they don’t do as well as they might have otherwise. I don’t understand how that excuses you basically giving up on your class after missing the mid term. You could have turned it around.

You may need a break to gather your resources and come up with a plan to finish your education. There may well be a better school for that. There is no shame in stepping back and taking a break. None at ALL.

Good luck going forward.

18

What I see from the letter and the proposed list of “actions” is that the OP doesn’t seem to understand why they are failing these classes. They refer to “review lectures” 4 separate times, including a very unrealistic proposal to spend 25 - 35 hours a week on reviewing lectures and readings.

This student is taking Physics, Chemistry, Calculus. You don’t succeed in these types of courses by reading and re-reading the lecture notes or even the textbook. Spending 25 hours a week reviewing your 13 hours worth of class notes would be a colossal waste of time, akin to watching videos of Van Cliburn and expecting to become a concert pianist. You have to do problems, lots of problems, until it sinks in. When I took Calculus I and II (having been a mathphobe) I was so concerned about not getting it that I did nearly every problem in each chapter. I was doing upwards of 150 problems a week. You can bet I knew what I was doing come test time.

Unfortunately, as a Physics professor, I see this type of thing all the time. Students will tell me they are studying “so hard” and their books are highlighted all over the place, but they don’t want to actually do the hard work of working problems.

19

I don’t know where to begin. My thoughts are all over the place trying to get to the root of my problem. my grandmother’s death did not lead to me failing calculus (which by the way is the actual class I was taking. I was trying to keep some facts confidential before I posted this on the forum and forgot to change “calculus 142” to physics. I did not take physics at all, I wanted to change it to make it more “confidential,” but i forgot that one detail. sorry for the confusion) Yes, she passed away but that did not happen before 2 academic probations i was on, so i know that there is NO reason or excuse at all for my poor academic performance. I squeezed that detail into my prompt to specify the steps that lead to my poor performance but that obviously got me nowhere.

I dug myself into a really deep hole since that first academic probation warning. It happened fall quarter sophomore year. In all honestly, I let myself go in sophomore year when I went through a long distance relationship breakup. Yes, it is silly and stupid of me to let a boy and a breakup come between my education and me. I didn’t realize at the time that I wasn’t focusing on my studies and that I was so caught in the idea that I needed to look good and feel good through social events, rather than focusing on my studies. I was heartbroken and i acted like everything was fine. I went out every weekend to forget what had happened between us, which took up all my studying time without even realizing it. I wanted to feel like i could have fun without him, i was selfish and superficial. I didn’t think about my actions and I completely let go of my studies. I lost sight of what i was going to college for. That goes the same for winter quarter. I was a little more disciplined and stayed in on some nights and thought about my studies, but i was still in the process of soaking everything. I was still lazy and felt like i couldnt get out of bed, skipped classes, didn’t realize the long term consequences and how much of my parents money i wasted by doing this. the spring quarter of my sophomore year, i was not on academic probation. By then, I was aware of academic standing and knew the consequence if i had another academic probation.

This quarter came (fall quarter) and i was determined to get my grades up and turn everything around. I was excited about the internship i had gotten at the dental office. but i just didnt know how to balance work and study. i was going to work in the morning and had class in the afternoons and by the time i got home, i was too tired to study and go over notes. it is definitely no excuse because i know a lot of college students go through this all the time and still manage to stay in school. i didn’t realize until nearing the end of the quarter that i just did not have the ability to do both. i could have quit the internship but i kept it because i thought it was such a great experience and opportunity that i just didnt want to let it go. I should have prioritized my education and should have known to do what i knew was best for me at the time. i did miss my first calculus exam to drive to the funeral, but i knew that was not the reason why i did so poorly in the class. i lost motivation, i lost track and sight of my goals. i thought i could easily pass with mediocre practice, but i was very wrong. i underestimated the course. i did not think i was actually going to fail the class because i passed the second midterm with a 98%. that may have gotten to my head and did not strive enough to prepare for the final. which i know was very very very stupid of me. there is no excuse for that, it was very well under my control…

im very lost right now, and i have no idea what im going to do. i took what all of you guys commented into consideration. I do want to appeal and I do feel that if cal poly takes me back, i can succeed. Now i don’t know if my appeal will have reasons serious and compelling enough for them to take me back. Im sorry for the lengthy response but it is helping me little by little by recalling past events. Thank you sooo much for taking the time to read and respond to the post. you guys have no idea how much it means to me

20

What are your options if Cal Poly doesn’t let you back this quarter?