financial aid cancelled Forum

[ria]

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[rinkrat19]

I have no idea if the letter will help or not, but you need to have someone proofread it. Lots of grammar issues.

[2012JayDee]

So this is my second semester at law school and yesterday I recieved a phone call from financial aid that they are suspending my aid because I did not meet the school requirement of 2.3 GPA. My spring GPA was 2.24. I was told that I can appeal the decision by writing a letter with supporting documents explaining the low GPA.
Has anyone been in a similar situation? I feel like my whole law school career is about to end because I have no other option of paying for the tuition.
Here is the letter which I submitted today:
June 14, 2012
Dear Financial Aid Office,

I am appealing my financial aid suspension because my GPA for spring semester was 2.24 which does not meet the 2.30 requirement. Last semester was my first semester at X Law School. I believe that my 5 and half hour commute each day prevented me from meeting the required academic standing. Often times I was unable to stay after classes for study group meetings or Dean Scholar sessions because if I did I would have no time left to prepare for the following day. The step I have taken to assure successful academic progress in the future is that I started to dorm at the campus. My schedule was very demanding and it left little time to study. If i am given another chance I can improve my grades significantly. As you can see the gap between 2.24 and 2.30 is narrow, I will definitely be able to do even better than 2.3 this semester. Without financial aid, I lack the ability to continue on with my education. I am a hardworking student and the upcoming semester will prove so. My education is of paramount importance to me. I would request the financial aid to give me one more chance and to please reinstate my financial aid package. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely yours,



Can people tell me if this letter will help me or not.
What other options do I have if they decide to deny the appeal? I am really devastated and really need lot of feedback for other options.
Thanks!

-Be prepared for 99,000,000,000 people telling you to drop out.

Don't say...do.
You can tell them that that you're going to improve, but if your circumstances haven't changed then it's unlikely that you will and more unlikely they will believe you will.
Are you still planning to commute 5 hours? (I will leave out the obvious question about why you're doing so in the first place.)

Your points about the gap between keep your scholarship and you GPA are valid. That is a very narrow gap.

Explain how a hardship such as lack of financial support is going to affect you in the second semester (do you have childcare issues, sick parent, spouse/family responsibilities).

Does your school have a PT program that maybe you could benefit from. If so, perhaps transferring to PT may be a benefit to you and the school. They may limit your award, but school should cost less. Although don't mention them limiting your award in any way.

[dixon02]

What do you mean this is your second semester of law school? Does that mean you just completed your second semester, or you are one semester in and this Fall will be your second? The timing is confusing because I would assume you have completed two semesters at this point and that they'd wait to see how you did this semester before cancelling.

Also, where do you go to school? I hate to be a jerk, but I'm not sure it makes much sense to continue to spend money on law school after getting a 2.24 GPA your first semester. Unless you are at a VERY highly ranked school, your employment prospects already look pretty bleak.

[cedarseoul]

I have no idea if the letter will help or not, but you need to have someone proofread it. Lots of grammar issues.

This. Your poorly-worded letter may have reinforced the Financial Aid department's decision to terminate your aid. Also, I'm curious to know why you chose a 5.5 hour commute during 1L. Surely there must have been alternatives?