Lost my scholarship because I failed to meet the GPA requirement, I was encouraged to appeal the scholarship committees decision. Here is the letter I plan to send to the committee, I just wanted some opinions on it. I don't think I've written a more important letter and I just wanted to ensure that it's a good one... please don't hesitate to provide your opinions, all are welcome.
Dear Provost Committee on Scholarship Review,
I am writing this letter of appeal in hopes that you reconsider your decision to not renew my scholarship for the 2012 Fall semester. The decision to not renew my scholarship was based on the fact that I failed to meet the minimum academic GPA of 3.0; my cumulative GPA for the Fall 2011/Spring 2012 academic year was a 2.94. I fully acknowledge that the loss of my scholarship was entirely my fault, and regardless of your response to this letter, I thank the committee for granting me the scholarship in the first place, as well as taking the time to read this letter.
I hope that the following information will help you to understand my situation. In the last school-year, I was faced with a host of stress-inducing news and dilemmas that took a toll on me and ultimately, my grades. In October, I was involved in a car accident that totaled my car; luckily I walked away relatively unscathed. However, it greatly affected my mobility, driving to and from school was a mere 25 minute trip but, since I had totaled the car, I had to use public transportation to get to and from school, which was a one and a half to two hour commute each way. During the school year, I was also working closing shifts at the Roosevelt Field Mall, which unfortunately meant that due to the commute on the bus, I wouldn't get home until midnight, sometimes later.
In addition to the car accident and the circumstances it put me in, I also received the news in November that my step-father had been killed. I was extremely close to my step-father, and the news that he had died sent me into a sort of depression. I spent the free time, where I was neither working nor at to school, locked in my room by myself. I had let the death affect all aspects of my life, for weeks I would sulk, and the times I should have been focusing on my studies were lost. At the end of the fall semester, I received a letter warning that my 2.7 GPA was far below where it needed to be.
Upon receiving this letter, I realized that I needed to perform much better in the Spring semester. I began the Spring 2012 semester with the mindset to do better, regardless of the events that had occurred in the previous semester. Unfortunately in March of 2012 I received the news that another one of my family members, my uncle, had unexpectedly died, this news, inevitably affected my studies yet again, and because I was not able to handle the deaths of two family members, working over 25 hours per week, as well as the two hour commute to and from school and work, my grades suffered yet again, and I fell short of finishing the semester with the GPA that I needed to keep my scholarship.
I plan to raise my GPA during the next semesters, I fully intend to remedy the issues that I can, so that I can ensure my grades do not fall this low again. I plan on working less during the rest of my years in school, and I have also given myself Fridays off next semester, which should allow me sufficient time to focus on my studying and ultimately bring my GPA to the point where it should be.
I do understand that these circumstances should not have been an excuse to let my grades slip, but I hope that you can understand my situation. I realize that my scholarship was a privilege and the renewal of said privilege was contingent on me meeting all the requirements, which I failed to do. If I am granted this scholarship again I will respect and honor it more; I fully intend on meeting all the requirements. I know how important this scholarship is and I know that it is not something I should take lightly. I sincerely hope that my situation has appealed to the committee to reconsider their decision and renew my scholarship for the fall. Again, I thank the Scholarship Committee for taking time to read this letter, as well as providing me the opportunity to try and explain my situation and the reasons for making the mistakes I made.
Sincerely,
Dear Provost Committee on Scholarship Review,
I am writing this letter of appeal in hopes that you reconsider your decision to not renew my scholarship for the 2012 Fall semester. The decision to not renew my scholarship was based on the fact that I failed to meet the minimum academic GPA of 3.0; my cumulative GPA for the Fall 2011/Spring 2012 academic year was a 2.94. I fully acknowledge that the loss of my scholarship was entirely my fault, and regardless of your response to this letter, I thank the committee for granting me the scholarship in the first place, as well as taking the time to read this letter.
I hope that the following information will help you to understand my situation. In the last school-year, I was faced with a host of stress-inducing news and dilemmas that took a toll on me and ultimately, my grades. In October, I was involved in a car accident that totaled my car; luckily I walked away relatively unscathed. However, it greatly affected my mobility, driving to and from school was a mere 25 minute trip but, since I had totaled the car, I had to use public transportation to get to and from school, which was a one and a half to two hour commute each way. During the school year, I was also working closing shifts at the Roosevelt Field Mall, which unfortunately meant that due to the commute on the bus, I wouldn't get home until midnight, sometimes later.
In addition to the car accident and the circumstances it put me in, I also received the news in November that my step-father had been killed. I was extremely close to my step-father, and the news that he had died sent me into a sort of depression. I spent the free time, where I was neither working nor at to school, locked in my room by myself. I had let the death affect all aspects of my life, for weeks I would sulk, and the times I should have been focusing on my studies were lost. At the end of the fall semester, I received a letter warning that my 2.7 GPA was far below where it needed to be.
Upon receiving this letter, I realized that I needed to perform much better in the Spring semester. I began the Spring 2012 semester with the mindset to do better, regardless of the events that had occurred in the previous semester. Unfortunately in March of 2012 I received the news that another one of my family members, my uncle, had unexpectedly died, this news, inevitably affected my studies yet again, and because I was not able to handle the deaths of two family members, working over 25 hours per week, as well as the two hour commute to and from school and work, my grades suffered yet again, and I fell short of finishing the semester with the GPA that I needed to keep my scholarship.
I plan to raise my GPA during the next semesters, I fully intend to remedy the issues that I can, so that I can ensure my grades do not fall this low again. I plan on working less during the rest of my years in school, and I have also given myself Fridays off next semester, which should allow me sufficient time to focus on my studying and ultimately bring my GPA to the point where it should be.
I do understand that these circumstances should not have been an excuse to let my grades slip, but I hope that you can understand my situation. I realize that my scholarship was a privilege and the renewal of said privilege was contingent on me meeting all the requirements, which I failed to do. If I am granted this scholarship again I will respect and honor it more; I fully intend on meeting all the requirements. I know how important this scholarship is and I know that it is not something I should take lightly. I sincerely hope that my situation has appealed to the committee to reconsider their decision and renew my scholarship for the fall. Again, I thank the Scholarship Committee for taking time to read this letter, as well as providing me the opportunity to try and explain my situation and the reasons for making the mistakes I made.
Sincerely,