To Whom It May Concern,
I was enrolled as a Political Science major at DePaul University in Lincoln Park for the Winter to Spring quarters of 2014- 2015. I am writing this in hopes to be readmitted for the upcoming spring quarter. DePaul was an outstanding educational experience for me. Everything from the professors to the campus atmosphere taught me more about the world and myself during those two quarters than I have during my time at the previous educational institution I was attending. I was thrilled, honored, and proud to be a student at DePaul University.
Unfortunately, the past five years of my life has been a failed attempt on sobriety. It was almost impossible to recognize the dysfunction I was living in because it coincided perfectly with my addictive behaviors and distorted thinking. In my head, I could manage my life and my addiction, and I believed I could balance work, school, and family accordingly, but nothing was farther from the truth. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I began rapidly diminishing into drugs and alcohol.
During this transition from a somewhat functioning addict to someone who had lost sight of reality altogether, I was enrolled at DePaul University. Around the middle of my second quarter, I stopped going to classes entirely. I did not take my midterms or finals, attended the courses I was enrolled in, or contact my professors or the university to withdraw or notify them of the issues I was facing. My education and work alike; I lost my job and, until recently, I had had much difficulty keeping one. Please keep in mind that I take full responsibility of my actions and do not in any way, shape, or form blame my careless behavior towards my education on my addiction, but rather myself, and what I decided at the time was more of a priority. My life was so out of control that I was constantly facing legal issues, have been in and out of jail, crashed my car several times due to my reckless behavior, and have lost friendships and connection to certain family members in the last 3 years alone.
I do not know exactly how or why I decided enough was enough, but the feeling completely consumed me. That very same day I started making calls to rehab facilities and I was desperate and eager to get in as quickly as possible. Thankfully, I was able to get checked into the XXXX in XXXX that same week. I completed the intensive 28-day rehabilitation program and was discharged September 12, 2018. Since then, I have been attending meetings in an intensive outpatient program at XXXX in XXXX, I am attending AA and NA meetings regularly, I have a sponsor, and I am working the 12 steps. I am also holding a position as an administrative director at a fuel distribution company named Falcon Fuel, and have been moving up in the company as we expand. If requested, I would be pleased to show you any documentation proving this, such as discharge papers from the rehab facility, proof that I am attending outpatient and AA meetings, and a letter from the owner of the company I am employed at.
My mentality towards my personal growth and my goals for the future are what I am focused on. To reach my full potential and achieve academic success, I will make my education my number one priority. Currently, my GPA at DePaul is at 1.463 which is extremely disappointing to me because I recognize my potential and my GPA does not reflect what I see in myself now. If allowed, I would retake the courses that were graded as non-attendance. For the future, I plan to take full advantage of the all the campus resources such as seeking help from professors, the student tutoring program, the writing center, and meet with my advisor regularly to assure I am on the right path to achieving my degree. I will make a detailed plan to manage my time around my work schedule by either taking morning classes starting at 8 A.M. or night classes at 6 P.M. and requesting a day or two off work so that I can focus on my studies. I will improve my time management skills by making sure I have free time before and after classes to be able to study on the campus, so I am able to use the campus resources if necessary. I also find that utilizing a carefully organized daily and weekly planner to schedule and keep track of goals and prioritize assignments is extremely helpful in achieving them. In addition to my studies, I am learning new habits and behaviors, and restructuring my life in a way that will set me up for success. For example, I have realistic coping skills and I can adapt better to stressful situations, I have created a detailed relapse prevention plan, I have a strong support system and continually surround myself with successful and empowered individuals, I am seeking help from a therapist and changing my surroundings to a more therapeutic environment, I meditate in the morning and at night to give myself a sense of clarity and gratitude, I plan to volunteer for charities and organizations that I am passionate about such as the CAARPR located in Chicago, and I am even picking up old hobbies again such as playing the piano, creating abstract art, reading fiction and non-fiction books alike, and have even joined a nearby gym to keep myself physically active.
With the combination of my new-found mentality, resilience, and motivation, I do not plan to repeat the mistakes I have made in the past because I have never had such a desire and passion to achieve my academic goals and do better for myself than I have at this point in my life. I am extremely thankful to be given the opportunity to have been enrolled at DePaul University in the first place, and I would so grateful to be able to return to complete my education and prove my worth. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
xxxx
First off, congratulations on your sobriety. That’s excellent!
As for the appeal letter, it’s way too long. You can summarize that your alcoholism caused you to be academically dismissed in one or two sentences. The focus needs to be that you went to rehab, are going to AA, and the part about making full use of the campus resources and studying.
Personally, I would omit volunteering and hobbies and keep the focus solely on the academics.
Good luck!
Agree with the above. Also put spaces between paragraphs – it looks like a wall of text.
Good luck moving forward.
Too much is about the problem. And see if you can show any results from new personal management skills. Not just what you will do.
I found this line startling, think it implies you still struggle: “Unfortunately, the past five years of my life has been a failed attempt on sobriety.” Please rethink its effect on a reader. You go on to say you are doing what you can. That’s better than implying you fail now, too.
Congratulations on your sobriety. I agree with all the comments above - now that you have written all this out, it is easier to shorten it. The second and third paragraphs can be combined into perhaps 2 or 3 sentences. “While I was excited to be a student at DePaul, I quickly developed a serious problem with alcohol and stopped attending classes. I was dismissed with a GPA of 1.463. I lost my job as well. Fortunately, I went into rehab, etc…”
Good luck!
NO NO ** " I will make a detailed plan to manage my time around my work schedule by either taking morning classes starting at 8 A.M. or night classes at 6 P.M. and requesting a day or two off work so that I can focus on my studies. "**
I would NOT try to work and go to school full time if you are coming back from academic probation.
You are basically telling them that work is your first priority, and you are scheduling school around it.
Did you know that for every hour you are in the classroom, you are supposed to study/read/do homework for 2-3 hours outside it? so if you are takign the normal 15 credits, that would mean minimum 45 hours of school work/class per week which is already a full time job. Then you are adding something on top of this? And recovery from AA?
Do you have to work? Do you have to work that much?
If you have to work, would it be better to work, save money, and then go back to school?
It’s been six weeks since you completed rehab. The school will likely look for a longer period of success. You would be well served to register for one or two courses spring semester at community college. Showing DePaul two As (or even Bs) in those classes would prove your readiness more than this letter. (Agree with all the suggestions you’ve been given so far, also.)