<p>Tell me if this is a good appeal to Oxford of Emory, which threatens to revoke my admission.
I received a call from them this morning - from junior to senior year, my GPA dropped from 3.5 to 2.5. They woman that called said I can email her a written appeal to go along with my transcript before she presents it to the admissions committee.</p>
<p>To the Admissions Committee at Oxford College of Emory University:
I regret that my senior year grades have dropped so remarkably. I assure you that
I am intelligent and hard-working by nature, therefore capable of succeeding at
Emory University. Under circumstances which I have kept hidden from most, I did not graduate
from [High School] with ideal grades.
Late into my junior year, right after I decided to add more challenging courses to
my high school curriculum, I received great news my younger brother was beginning
to recover from his frequent episodes of psychosis. He joined me as a fellow high
school student for the first time away from [special school]. [special school] is
an institution for students with extreme psychological deficiencies. After I noticed my
brothers behavior regressing for some reason, I felt responsible for checking up on him
in school in between classes. Many times, during study halls, or right before important
classes, I would catch my brother doing unspeakable acts. He was not recovering so well
after all, but our family did our best to keep him enrolled in the school. I ultimately felt
responsible for him, and wondered why my parents pressured me to act as his caregiver
throughout my senior year.
The emotional scars Ive been left with are finally healing, as I realize that I need
to prioritize my own academic success before anothers, no matter how close I am to that
person. I understand that Emory University looked forward to seeing my academic success
in the challenging course load I had made for my senior year. I did my best to finish my
schoolwork at home, while my parents took over watching my brother. I struggled greatly
to finish my work; many evenings were filled with the cacophonies of my brother coping
with his psychosis, and my parents blaming each other for his problems. Whether I had
to deal with this during the school day or at home, I was surrounded by highly upsetting
circumstances that most students do not have to speak of. Before this year, I had felt
pressure from my family to do well, but in a more realistic and positive light. This year,
however, they were not only worried about my academic performance, but how well I
could help keep my brothers problems hidden from the rest of [High School].
Yet, I understand that many successful people have had to cope with even worse
problems, and that my situation is nothing exceptional. I had always hoped to attain an
outstanding education at Emory University, uninterrupted by family issues. Under such
ideal circumstances, I will succeed. On the other hand, I completely understand why my
admission should be rescinded. I look forward to hearing from the admissions committee
very soon.
Sincerely,
[me]</p>
<p>To be completely honest with you in the most objective yet cynical way just in case the admissions office woke up on the wrong side of the bed.</p>
<p>MY personal opinion. I think it is very justifiable. I have a younger brother too, and even though he does not have psychological deficiencies, I have stopped doing my school work to help him with his. I think its justifiable.</p>
<p>in a cynical view that they MIGHT but hopefully DONT have. They might think your scapegoating and using that as an excuse.</p>
<p>Best of luck though and I hope your brother recovers.</p>
<p>Let’s take the WORST possible case scenario here.</p>
<p>“What a jerk. He’s trying to use his own brother as an excuse to shore up personal failings. That’s no excuse, and plenty of kids have dealt with much worse.”</p>
<p>Best case scenario:</p>
<p>“We’ll start him on academic probation.”</p>
<p>I hope everything turns out okay… It would be a really sad story if they rescinded you…</p>
<p>Ugh… That did worry me a bit. But I thought it was better to tell the truth than just submit a brief paragraph explaining that I simply didn’t do my best and learned from my mistakes, etc… I thought of sending THIS one but it’s just…bleh. No real justification. And if I had sent it without explaining the personal situation out of fear of what they’d think…I would definitely have regretted it.</p>
<p>I understand that it is unacceptable for my admission to sustain acceptance with such a significant drop in grade point average. I have no legitimate justification, other than the fact that I did not realize how imperative it was for me to work significantly harder than in years before, after I had already been accepted to a college. Despite this, I have outstanding educational expectations and am prepared to do my very best at Emory University. I had always dreamed of being able to attend such a reputable institution and I regret that I did not make the most mature decisions throughout my senior year. After being accepted into college, I did a lot of research on how to prepare for grad schools and lucrative careers. I now understand that my focus was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I believe that I had the best intentions to ensure my future, but I did not think things through the way I was supposed to. I will apply that same intensive research ethic to my classes at Emory, rather than on researching issues that are unrelated to my classes. I look forward to combining my intense passion for research to many of my classes at Emory University, as I believe it is a great skill to have. Once again, I understand why the admissions committee is in favor of rescinding my admission, but now that I’m getting my act together, I have so much more to offer to the University after learning from my failures.
Thank you for considering my appeal. I look forward to hearing from the committee soon</p>
<p>YEAHHHH I think that is a ******** appeal and I’m glad I did not send it.</p>
<p>Wow! You’re lucky. It’s definitely because your appeal letter was legitimate and extremely well written I thought. Now just to other senior slackers looking on this–dont get your hopes up that a 1.0 gpa drop will not get you rescinded…</p>