Would you guys let me know what you think of my appeal letter. Please be brutally honest and let me know if YOU would grant me the appeal.
My semester gears this past past 2018 fall semester has been unacceptable. There is no excuse for my failure to meet the academic requirement. I would kind to explain my situation that has lead to my unfortunate failure. I had started to become a full-time worker at taco bell to pay my dues to WTAMU. I thought that being able to balance both work and school would not be as stressful compared to the summer. This had let to me slacking off in the classroom due to being tired from the excessive work hours. I know that i could have started working less hours to get back on track. I made the mistake of procrastinating staying in touch with my boss. My failure to take responsibility for my learning has caused a great deal of stress and regret. Upon these emotions, i have learned a lot through this ordeal. Communication is key to bring successful. Using the resources provided by WTAMU to achieve academic excellence is the first step to success. I made the mistake of not fully taking advantage of the given opportunities. Towards the end of the semester. I started working less, then startedto spend more time studying for my classes. There was a gradual increase in change towards my test scores. Next came eliminating myself from distractions. For three hours a day, i was using the study rooms Stratford Hall to better prepare. I waited too long to work on an academic success plan towards the end of the semester.
I also take responsibility for not properly managing my time in making some deadlines meet. I will be sure to keep a calender up to help stay focused on the tasks at hand. I also intend on retaking the classes i have done poorly on. I plan to retake retake classes from this past summer and fall semester. Making sure that work gets done on time is mandatory. I have slacked off showing some inconsistency in the classroom. This had led to more struggles because there is no better way to obtain the information by practicing it. I take full responsibility for my failure. Seeing the consequences of my actions has opened my eyes on what really matters. Being a full-time student is more important than working. It is also important to make the most of this opportunity.
Brutally honest…,
“My semester gears this past past 2018 fall semester has been unacceptable”
You lost me and likely your appeal by the end of the first sentence. Details matter.
“Communication is key to bring successful”. The irony…
I would suggest you self edit before asking others to edit.
Here is an update
Dear committee
When receiving the email of my first academic suspension, my heart sank. Becoming a student at the University of West Texas A&M was a dream come true. I would like to explain my extenuating circumstances that contributed to my academic struggles. One of my good friends that I had played football with at west Torrance high school. His name is ****** and he was shot and killed on September 24th. I had not learned about his death until October 8th when informed by one of my other teammates by the name of ****. ******was one of the first guys to had welcomed me onto the football team while I was at West Torrance. Whenever it came to personal struggles such as custody battles between my divorced parents. **** was there to listen instead of shrug me off. He treated me like a younger brother. I had always wanted to have brother. *****was someone in my life who was truly able to touch my heart. It may sound cliché, but Brett was the only one who would go out of his way to make sure that I was able to properly function mentally. He was someone in my life that I enjoyed to have around. Being able to stay in contact with him for a brief time after graduation was a blessing. Finding out he got killed from someone playing with a gun was a dagger to my heart. It felt like I lost one of my own.
When receiving the news about his death. I was informed that he was at someone’s house when it happened. I do not have all of the information of what had led up to his death. From my knowledge, someone had made a mistake with his/her gun and took his life. I spent the next few weeks crying myself to sleep. I couldn’t eat, sleep, think, and hardly left my dorm room. My depression had led to me doing the bare minimum both academically and working wise. My lack of focus had also led to me nearly losing job. This contributed to my lack of academic success. My fear of not being able to pay off emergency loans as well as other student loans put in a hole. I tried forcing myself to take on all of these burdens myself. Once my roommate as well as my peers were able to feel my negative energy. No one wanted to check on me to see if I was okay or asked if I wanted to talk. This made it harder to focus on school because I felt that no one cared whether I succeeded or failed. Looking back at it, I would have gone to counseling to get the help I desperately needed. I was fortunate to start opening up to my family about my struggles. My father was the most understanding of what it was like to lose someone he cared about. He was empathetic in the matter he had lost people while serving in the military, his brother not too long ago, my mother in divorce, as well as my sister and I for a period of time.
When opening up about my struggles. There was a sense of hope that helped me focus on the tasks at hand. Then my mother had called me a few days before October 31st to tell me my father was in and out of the hospital. He has been suffering heart and kidney failure for some time. No one had said anything to me so I wouldn’t let it affect my school work. This has been going on for a little over a year. My father had tubes put in his heart to help with blood flow. He also now has to go to dialysis three times a week because his kidneys can no longer filter his blood properly. Upon receiving this news. It was a repeat of what happened earlier after loosing Brett. spend more of my time focusing on school work rather than on being isolated in the dorm. While going back into a point of depression, the thought of why it was hidden from me for so long made sense.
Another mistake that I made was working full-time as a full-time student. This caused me to start spending more time at taco bell than studying. I take full responsibility for my academic failure this past semester. When I could have got the help that I needed, I instead tried to take on the burdens myself. What I can proudly say throughout this entire ordeal. Once I started to get the help that I truly needed. There was an increase in test scores that ultimately helped get me back on track. I started to work less to focus on school. One of the tutors at the Math lab by the name of Musa Khan. Had tutored me throughout the remainder of the semester. My test scores in math 1314 had started rise very quickly. I would like the committee to take these scores into consideration when making a decision. The biggest error came from preparing for my final test in math 1314. Instead of coming to the test with a cool and level head. I had second guessed almost every problem I had done out of fear of getting it wrong. I had let the fear of failure ultimately cause me to fail the final test. Having self confidence was a lesson learned when it comes to finals testing. The other tests I took in the class was full of confidence.
I did start getting in contact with my professors on what could be done to increase the grades I had received at the time. By setting up meetings with my professors, they respected that I truly cared about succeeding in the classroom. This resulted in my professors to help me set up a plan on what I could do in order to pass my classes. I have made my mistakes, I put myself in a hole that was almost impossible to get out of. There was a letter grade increase in every one of my classes except for math 1314 unfortunately. Another struggle I had was being able to write a strong paper in my Western Civilization class. My professor had left notes on paper on what I could do to improve my scores. This resulted in me getting help on how to write a strong and efficient paper on whatever the topic was in class. There was an occasional grammatical error in the papers. At the same time, I did receive positive feedback on the written content that was provided. I was able to find a couple of my essay scores that I would like the committee to take into consideration when making a decision.
Looking back at it, I would have used the resources provided by the school. There is no success In failure. This experience has caused me to start realizing what I could have done differently. I would like the honor of being granted an appeal to return to the University of West Texas A&M for this upcoming semester. I have a plan on what I will do if granted the appeal. I plan on quitting my job at taco bell to focus all of my time on school. I will also retake the classes I did poorly on in order to make up the grades. Everyday of the following semester, at least an hour a day will be spent in the math lab to receive tutoring. Another hour would be spent going to tutoring sessions of computer programming. I plan on meeting with my advisor at least six times throughout the semester. I also plan on staying in contact with my professors throughout the following semester to receive updates on my progress. Also when faced with adverse situations, I will not hesitate to go to the counseling services provided by the school to get help. I am not a bad student and take pride on striving to achieve academic excellence. I would like the committee to take all of my documentation as well as the information provided into consideration when making a decision. I would like to thank the committee for taking the time out of their day to review my appeal
Very moving. Your letter of appeal is outstanding because it appears to be honest & to include an accurate self assessment of the situation while also offering a realistic plan to assure your future success.
There are some minor errors such as missing words or an incomplete sentence. But the sincerity and depth of your self-reflection merits praise, and a second chance, in my opinion.
Very compelling narrative and sorry for your struggles. Likely needs to be shortened up and a few typos but acknowledges responsibility, explains root causes, displays contrition and most importantly outlines a path to academic success.
I hope they give you a second chance but more importantly I hope you take full advantage of it.
Publisher sorry for the redundancy was typing when you posted. Fully agree.
Thank you. Anynore feedback would nice. I’ll be sure to fix some of the simple grammatical issues
At the end of the third (3rd) paragraph. you need to merge “Upon receiving the news” with the following sentence because “Upon receiving the news” is not a complete sentence.
4th paragraph: “Taco Bell”, not “taco bell”. Also, “Once I started to get the help that I fully needed” should merge into the next sentence as it is not a complete sentence. Same with “One of the tutors at the math lab Musa Khan” = this is not a complete sentence.
Add “to” = My test scores in math 1314 had started to rise very quickly.
“Instead of coming to the test with a cool and level head” is an incomplete sentence. Just merge it with the next sentence.
Also, in the last paragraph, capitalize “Taco Bell”.
Although these are not all of the errors, it should be enough to show your determination, time, effort and constructive thought & reflection put forth in assessing the reality of your situation and a possible course of corrective action.
I would not shorten the appeal letter as it might dilute its sincerity.
Suggested edit option for intro sentences. I deliberately tried to use your words to avoid loosing the authenticity of emotion it conveys.
Becoming a successful student at the University of West Texas A&M is one of my life long dreams. Consequently, my heart sank when I received notification of my academic suspension.
Not sure that the introduction should be changed. While imperfect, @Student645’s writing is heartfelt, genuine and raw. I would not polish this work as it could dilute the emotional effect & the raw honesty.
^All fair points… and your suggestions #7 are on point.
Thank you all for the current feedback. Everyone is more than welcome to add comments on how i can improve the letter. I will also make updates with the suggestions provided. I am truly thankful to the community taking time out of their day to help me.