Letter of Appeal - URGENT!!

I am appealing to get my scholarship back and so I would really appreciate if someone could check for grammatical mistakes and such in my letter. This is really important and could make or break it for me so please help.

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Dear Father,

I am writing this letter to request you not to terminate my scholarship for the 2008-2009 academic years. I expect the fact that I have not managed to fulfill my potential as an Honors student during my stay at X College however, I would like to let you know that there were some domestic and personal issues which hindered my academic performances.

As you know, I am an international student from ( ) and this was my first year in the United States of America. Before my arrival, I thought I knew enough about the American culture and believed I would not have a hard time adapting to the American college life. However, that was not the case as I had quite a difficult start to my college life. I felt more isolated and homesickness started to creep in and I felt that I tried harder to integrate myself into the X community which distracted me from my academic goals.

As Biology major, I had always had a keen interest in the field and excelled in the subject in ( ). However, the system of education in the United States is drastically different from the one in ( ) and I for one, initially could not adapt to the style of teaching and test taking in the Biology courses which adversely affected my grades. I discussed my situation with my advisor, Mr. Y, who suggested changing my major since I was doing a lot better in the other courses than those of my major. However, due to my passion for the subject, I decided to stick with biology and I believed I could overcome the hurdles if I applied myself better. In hindsight, it might not have been the safest decision but I believe that my experiences have readied me for similar challenges in the future.

I take fully responsibility for my actions and its consequences but I do believe that there were some unavoidable factors which resulted in my inability to perform to the best of my abilities. Moreover, I feel that I fully understand the expectations of my professors, my parents and the college itself. The past year has taught me that I need to filter everything around me and focus on my academics. I have realized that the best way to make my parents proud is through academic excellence. I assure you that given another opportunity to prove myself, I can show you the student that you admitted into the college. Lastly, I want to express my sincere appreciation for giving me the opportunity to explain my situation. I am looking forward to receiving the good news from you.