Academic Dismissal Letter

Petition for an Exception to the Rules for Academic Dismissal

To the Members of the Academic Standards Committee:

I am writing to appeal my academic dismissal from Chapman Fowler School of Law. I was both surprised and upset to receive the letter informing me of my dismissal, but I am determined to take every step necessary to alter this situation and be reinstated as a law student at this establishment. By ways of this appeal, I urge you to consider my reinstatement as a IL student for the Fall 2017 Semester. I admit, I had a very difficult time last semester, and my grades suffered as a result. I am not one to make excuses, especially for my poor academic performance, but given the circumstances surrounding my current standing, the

I have a better grasp on managing my depression and emotional stability and have not self-harmed since beginning treatment. However, there are still many elements of my prior struggles that continue to make an appearance in my life as a law student. First and foremost, the struggle to alter my habits of cutting played a role in my ability to feel comfortable with others, as I felt ashamed or that I needed to hid the scars that are visible on my wrist and struggled for the first few months in order to not revert back to old habits under pressure. I believe that through my treatment, I have moved past this issue and can now manage pressure in a healthy way; something that I don’t believe I was capable of doing at the beginning of the semester. Similarly, a huge part of my struggle revolves around loneliness, as my anxiety and depression often causes me to withdraw from socializing or to be apprehensive in forming new relationships or ask for help. Although this normally would not be a huge detriment to my ability to succeed as a student, entering a law school environment with a mentality geared towards seclusion and social withdrawal affected my ability to access the resources available to help me succeed. Rather than being able to form a study group or reach out to my professors, I was secluded and struggling alone because I couldn’t form the proper motivation and confidence to ask for help. Although I

I have dreamed of being a lawyer for as long as I can remember, and have taken all of the necessary steps and more to get to where I am today. I have a passion and a drive for the study and practice of law that exceeds my passions for anything else, and despite the issues that I have faced in the last semester, I believe that I can be successful at Chapman Fowler School of Law. For this reason, I hope that this committee with consider my plea to be reinstated for the Fall semester of 2017 as a IL Student. Although it would be excellent to be reinstated for the current semester, I realize that time is a major factor in creating a solution for previous failures and a plan for my future successes. In the time off between now and the fall semester, I believe that I will have the opportunity to further resolve the mental health issues that I have already worked so hard to improve. Given this time to further heal prior to a potential fresh start in the fall, I believe that I can return to Chapman Fowler School of Law with a refreshed sense of purpose and be able to better manage my own circumstances and the pressures and work that law school