I am writing this appeal in reference to the recent letter I received stating that I will be withdrawn from the College of Arts and Sciences due to my poor grades my first semester at ******. It is a large disappointment my family, my roommate whom I have grown so close to, and me to hear this news. I feel as though these grades are not an accurate representation of what I am capable of and I would like to be given a second chance to prove myself. I understand that my withdrawal was chosen due to the fact that I have not earned enough credits and that it is possible that next semester will be the same as the first, but there are several factors which contributed to my failure which have recently changed and cause me to believe that ****** would be the best place to make up the credits I failed to earn.
One major problem in my first semester at ****** is that I overslept for many classes. It appeared my roommate, my family, my professors, and me that I was simply being lazy. I became very frustrated with myself and began to doubt whether I was ready for college or if ****** was right for me. When I did go to class or attempt work, it was very hard to concentrate on the material. I also became severely sick on several different occasions, which caused me to miss weeks of homework and material. When Thanksgiving break had come around, I was warned that my grades were at risk and went to my professors to make up any missed work that I could. By this time, I had lost major confidence in myself and spent the majority of Thanksgiving break oversleeping in my dorm truly doubting my abilities and becoming frustrated while the majority of my peers had gone home to visit their families. I think the biggest impact on my lack of focus was hearing about my father being hospitalized, and I was not able to go home for Thanksgiving break to visit. I think hearing this news did not necessarily benefit me when it came to pulling through finals. I had gotten to the point where I missed so much work that I could barely do any of the make up work or understand the material on my finals.
Since coming home for the first time for winter break, I went to a doctor and blood tests were done that showed that the medication I was put on made me excessively fatigued. I did not realize it at the time but this is what was causing my oversleeping and lack of concentration, and it was not pure laziness. This in turn had made me lose much confidence in my abilities. Since going off the medication, I already feel much better and sleep much less. I believe that this is the biggest factor which impacted me, in addition to adjusting to my new environment, but I do believe it is no one else’s fault but my own for not going to a university doctor about my fatigue or realizing the great impact this medication was having on my brain and motivation. I knew how little work I had turned in and how far behind I was, but for some reason I lacked the will to persevere through these struggles.
To make up the credits that I did not have first semester, I feel as though ****** would be the best location for me to do it in. Going home would be yet another adjustment, and I believe being around my father and his mental illness would be a large distraction and it would make it much more difficult to stay at home and concentrate on work. Although ****** is a long way from home, it is an idyllic place to be in comparison to witnessing my father’s bipolar episodes. It was my last few weeks at ****** where I started to reflect and realize what an amazing school I have been at. It was my last few weeks where I found great study spots around campus, and just as I was beginning to find my niche at ******, the opportunity to continue has, understandably, been taken away from me.
I believe I was accepted into ****** because I am a hardworking and disciplined person, and while my first semester does not reflect this fact, seeing failing grades on my first semester record has made me realize the great impact that my actions, or lack thereof, can cause. If anything, I believe that this past semester has been a bigger motivation to me to excel in my second semester than I would otherwise. I fully understand the decision to withdraw me from the college, and I realize what a blessing it would be to be able to come back. If I were given the opportunity to return, I believe I would feel a greater sense of appreciation and motivation than most people at the school. I do not want to go back solely for my friends and family’s satisfaction or to save face, but because I genuinely believe that I have reflected and learned enough from first semester to go back the second semester and reverse everything that I did wrong.