Here are some words that I wrote for a student who needed to make a case for himself to a committee that reviewed the cases of struggling students.
You can make a strong case for yourself by demonstrating your readiness to:
- make fuller use of the resources available to you at the college
- commit to investing the necessary number of hours per day in your studies
- separate yourself from the distractions outside of class that have interfered with your academic efforts
You can make fuller use of available resources by visiting with your advisor and instructors. You can draw upon the help of the staff in the Center for Teaching and Learning (including, for example, the people int the Center’s Writing Studio) and librarians. If you show your instructors the progress you are making at each stage and ask for guidance, they will be able to help you achieve your goals.
To succeed, a student must not only attend classes faithfully, but also study for several hours per day outside of class. At college, study is each student’s full-time job. The total number of hours invested in study (in and out of the classroom) should approximate the number of hours worked in a full-time job. Many students underestimate the amount of time that they must invest in their studies. Other students budget enough hours for study but have not learned how to use that time most effectively. Passive reading seldom gets the job done. Writing, solving problems, and a vigorous give and take in discussions with classmates accomplish more. How much time and effort have you invested in your studies in the past? How much are willing to invest in the coming year?
The committee is sympathetic to earnest students. Unfortunately, not all of the students whose records the committee reviews are serious. Some students do not know why they are at our college. They are indifferent about their studies. Some are focused too heavily on social opportunities. Poor personal habits adversely affect physical and emotional health. In the worst cases, personal choices not only limit the student’s own prospects of academic success, but also detract from the quality of the experiences enjoyed by classmates. Do not make a detailed confession, but acknowledge mistakes you may have made in the past and convince the committee that you are in the first category of earnest students.
You can strengthen your petition even more by making your account of
the decision, habits, and influences of the past year more
specific. You can strengthen it by making your plan for improvement
more specific.
Explain how, if you again encounter difficulty in a course, you will recognize the challenge earlier and seek help earlier.
The improvement of specific skills related to the discipline in which you have chosen to concentrate your studies (for example, programming skills if you are studying computer science) can help you. However, I suspect that improved focus, self-discipline, a willingness to make use of the resources that the college makes available to you, and a commitment to invest the necessary time and effort in your studies will be more important factors in determining your success.
Again, do not write a detailed confession, but do show that you recognize how decisions you made in the past led to trouble. I do not know what those decisions might have been in your case. I do know that many other students spend too much time playing games, get too little sleep, or eat irregularly. Some students go through a year without finding a good place to study. Emotionally intense relationships with classmates or friends back at home exhaust and distract many students. Sometimes students involve themselves too much in the problems of friends, when their friends would be better served by a professional counselor rather than by a caring but untrained peer. Think about your own circumstances. Can you identify decisions, habits, or influences that have held you back?
Very rarely does a student at our college lack the intellectual capacity to succeed academically. Do not discount your abilities. Do not denigrate yourself. With the right attitudes, habits, and the company of supportive people, you can succeed.