Student Financial Aid Suspension Appeal

Chances are if you're reading this you have received that dreaded letter from your college stating that your Financial Aid has been suspended. This is more common than you think. It can be extremely stressful and panicking to think that you may not be able to finish school. I have experienced this first hand.

Like many, I have relied on Financial Aid to help pay for my degree. Working full-time and attending college full-time, all while trying to maintain my household, became overwhelming. Well, in turn I fell behind in my classes. I knew I messed up and had to fix my mistakes right away. Well, those mistakes lead to the dreaded letter from my college saying that I fell behind and as a result my Financial Aid had been suspended. I immediately panicked. I was so afraid that after all of my hard work I wouldn't be able to finish my first degree.

Well, little did I know, I still had a chance. My college told me that I had an opportunity to write a letter to the Financial Aid Appeal Committee and they would make a decision regarding my appeal and send me a letter with the results. So, I did just that. I wrote a letter to the Financial Aid Appeal Committee and explained why I fell behind in my classes.

While writing my letter I learned some very important information that helped me succeed with the entire process.

1.) When writing your Financial Aid Suspension Appeal Letter it is important to own up to your mistakes. Let the Financial Aid Appeal Committee know that you take full responsibility for your actions. Face it, after all you are the one that messed up. Your mistakes may have been unintentional, but they are your mistakes. The Financial Aid Appeal Committee wants to know that you fully understand and take responsibility for your actions and that you know you will have to deal with the consequences of those actions.

2.) Come up with a plan of action. Let the FAAC know that you have a plan of action in place that will help you succeed if they give you a chance and re-instate your Financial Aid. Make sure you explain to them how your outlined plan will help you succeed.

3.) Ask the FAAC for a second chance to prove that you are committed and will succeed. You cannot force them to re-instate your Financial Aid so do not insist that they do, rather encourage them to re-instate it.

Important Information Regarding The Financial Aid Suspension process.

1.) Chances are that the will re-instate your Financial Aid if this is your first and only Financial Aid Suspension, but they must see that you are committed sincere.

2.) If the FAAC chooses to re-instate your Financial Aid, in most cases, it will only be re-instated for one semester. They want to know that you are truly committed to succeeding. This is your time to shine. Do your very best during this semester to show them that you will succeed. If you fail to meet the academic requirements you might not get approved again through a Financial Aid Suspension Appeal.

3.) Hang in there, your Financial Appeal can take up to 90 days or longer before you receive a notice with the results of your appeal. This can seem like a million years, but it isn't. Just be patient, you will know soon enough.

4.)After being approved, make sure that you follow through with your plan of action. Complete everything that you told the Financial Aid Appeals Committee that you would. After all, when you wrote the letter you committed yourself to your plan of action. Stick with it!

A Copy of My Financial Aid Suspension Appeal Letter.

♦ Please note, this is my work and cannot be copied. Copying another person's work can get you expelled from school permanently. It is important to only use this letter as an example and not as your own work.

June xx, xxxx

RE: Financial Aid Suspension Appeal

Student ID: xxxxxxx

Dear SAP Appeal Committee:

I am writing this letter to appeal my Financial Aid suspension. I was extremely upset to receive a letter earlier this week stating that my Financial Aid has been suspended, but I fully understand that I have failed to successfully complete at least 66.67% of the total credit hours that I have attempted. I would like to urge you to reinstate my Financial Aid for the Fall 2014 semester.

I admit that I have had a difficult time maintaining several classes over the course of my time with Henry Ford Community College. I do not mean to make excuses for my failure to complete some of my classes or to successfully pass some of my classes, but I would like to explain some of my circumstance. When I initially decided to return to school I was not aware of the dedication that it would take, after all I had been out of school for several years. When I started at Henry Ford Community College in the winter of 2011, I found myself slightly struggling, but I was proud of myself for making it through the semester and that gave me motivation to complete a degree. In the spring of 2012 I found myself struggling with maintaining full-time enrollment, full-time employment, and my responsibilities at home. I allowed my grades to fall as I focused on my obligations at home. When the Fall 2012 semester began I worked harder and achieved passing grades. During the Spring 2013 semester I, again found my grades slipping. I did not have stable and adequate housing and I was financially struggling and therefore decided to change my employment. When I found a position with a new employer and accepted the position, I believe I did not fully grasp the responsibility that I had decided to take on. My new employment required me to work 40 hours per week and to be on-call 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. I decided to attempt Spring 2013 in spite of my already stressful employment. This proved to be extremely difficult and I found myself not focusing on school and my goal to obtain a degree. By the fall of 2013 I had adapted to my new employment and became more able to balance my employment and taking full-time classes. During the Fall 2013 semester I decided to drop my Math-110 Intermediate Algebra course because I was struggling with this course. I attempted to seek out help with learning the material and obtained help from family members who are great with math, but I continued struggling and therefore decided to drop the course. During the Winter of 2014 I successfully passed all of my courses with one A, two B’s, and a D. Although I am not proud of passing a course with a D, I am proud of passing my other courses with A’s and B’s. I have worked very hard to bring my grades up. I acknowledge that I did not handle my circumstances in the appropriate way and I have learned from my mistakes. I fully take all responsibility for not successfully completing all of my courses at HFCC.

I am working very hard to obtain and maintain good grades and I believe I will be successful, as I have outlined a plan to successfully do so. Below you will find an outline of my plan for your review.

• I will change my major from Pre-Nursing to General Studies because I am only eleven (11) credits away from obtaining an Associates degree in General Studies.
• I have taken the time to familiarize myself with the HFCC Learning Lab and tutoring that is offered. I will also utilize the HFCC Learning Lab and tutoring when I find myself having difficulties in my studies.
• I will meet with all of my instructors at the beginning of the semester to assure that I fully understand what the instructor’s expectations are and how I can successfully complete the course.
• I will schedule an appointment with an Academic Adviser/Counselor to discus my situation with them and to obtain their opinion and advice on what I can do to successfully complete my degree at Henry Ford Community College.
• I have purchased a planner and will utilize it to schedule my time more appropriately to ensure that I allow myself adequate time for my course work and studies.

I am asking you to reinstate my Financial Aid for the Fall XXXX semester, as I am unable to complete my college education without the assistance of Financial Aid. I have learned from my mistakes and I am now more dedicated to completing my degree than I have ever been. I can and will prove that I am a good student and I can successfully complete my courses and my degree.

Thank you for taking the time to review my appeal and thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Victoria Baughman

I have included a great deal of information regarding appealing a Financial Aid Suspension. To succeed you must want to succeed. After committing to my plan of action and submitting my letter to the Financial Aid Appeals Committee I was approved for a Financial Aid Re-reinstatement. When I received the approval letter in the mail I acted as if I just won the lottery, smiling from ear to ear and jumping up and down. I was just given a second chance at my future and it was one of the best moments of my life! I followed through with my plan of action and succeeded. Commit to yourself and your goals and you will succeed. Your success is important to your future! Stay committed and you can succeed!