Petition for Admission to the Teacher Education Program

Question

I graduated in Dec of 2007 with a BA in History. I am returning to school to aquire the necessary certification to teach Secondary education. The grade requirement is 2.75, I gratuated with a 2.09. I am writing to petition two things. 1) Use of the Admissions catalague for the year 2001, which I was enrolled. 2) for contditional admission to the College of Education. I am currently retaking four classes and am taking two new classes. My midterm G.P.A. was a 3.6 and will raise my overall G.P.A to 2.46 at the end of this semester.

Are there any tips or templates which will help me construct a suitable petition letter? I will post the letter on here when I finish it for criticism/suggestions.

Thank you.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Here is what I have so far:

Dear Committee, I am applying for conditional admittance to the Teacher Education Program to continue progress toward obtaining my certification to teach secondary education. In this I am asking the committee to allow me to enter the Program under the 2001 General Catalog, one which I used while obtaining my B.A. in History from the University of Idaho. I am also asking conditional admittance based on the G.P.A. which I graduated with.

During my initial enrollment at the University of Idaho, my goal was to obtain my Bachelors degree while not amassing debt of any sort. In order to achieve this goal, I worked a full 40 hours a week, including during each semester. While I succeeded in receiving my Diploma without any outstanding debts, it was at the detriment to my grades. My final G.P.A. was a 2.09. I am asking for admittance using the 2.5 G.P.A. standards which were the requirement for the 2001 catalog year.

The requested conditional admittance is so I can continue to raise the previously mentioned G.P.A.. This semester I am retaking four classes in which I earned a D grade, I am also taking two new classes (EDCI 201, EDCI 302). As of the construction of this petition I am currently holding a 3.5 for this semester, and fully expect to raise it to a 3.66. Replacing the prior grades and including the two new classes will raise my cumulative G.P.A. to a 2.42. Upon my conditional acceptance I will have the opportunity to raise my cumulative G.P.A. to a 2.61 at the end of next semester by repeating the work load and 3.5 I am currently earning. Next semester's class load would include all of the required coursework for the Secondary Certification and one course taken to replace a prior grade.

BarbaraPA · Answer

Hi,
I think your letter is very honest, and if I were the decision maker, I'd admit you.

I have a few suggestions, not really related to the grammar.

The first is that I don't understand the 2001 criteria. The problem for me is that it requires a 2.5 instead of the 2.75 (got that) but you didn't have that then, and your explanation of how you'll get to 2.61 is quite confusing. You're basically saying "let me use the old rules and trust me that I'll get there, even though I'm not there yet." You could apply the same logic to your repeating a 3.5 and instead say how long it would take to get to the 2.75, and then you're asking for only one waiver instead of two.

However, based on how well you're doing now, consider instead asking for the conditional acceptance based on your current course work, for which you are earning a 3.5, with aspirations of a even higher GPA.

I think it's good that your raised the issue of working 40 hours a week while attending school, but rather than saying you wanted to "not amass debt," instead say that you were seeking to be as fiscally responsible as possible. Somehow, being fiscally responsible sounds, well... more responsible than simply seeking to not have debt. That's probably six of one, half dozen of the other, so feel free to ignore this part. Either way, state that your 2.09 is not an accurate reflection of your abilities nor of your current priorities and your commitment to your studies.

However, your explanation does raise two questions: Are you therefore prepared to amass debt this time, or are you still working? And if you are still working, what have you learned about time management that allows you to succeed in your course work this time?

Good luck - I wish that I had pursued this program when I had the chance many years ago. I'd be a physic teacher now!

Anonymous · Answer

Thanks for your encouragement, I hope the petition board sees it the same way. I agree that it seems convoluded to ask for the lower GPA, but after next semester (2.61) I will have exausted classes to retake. Then instead of replacing "D"s with "A"s, I will be adding credit hours. It will take almost an entire extra year of miscelanious classes. The following is essentially my finished product, I will add a little more, but I think this is it. Thanks again.

I am applying for conditional admittance to the Teacher Education Program to continue progress toward obtaining my certification to teach secondary education. In this I am asking the committee to allow me to enter the Program under the 2001 General Catalog, one which I used while obtaining my B.A. in History from the University of Idaho. I am also asking conditional admittance based on the G.P.A. which I graduated with.

During my initial enrollment at the University of Idaho, my goal was to obtain my Bachelors degree; I also had a sub-goal of doing so without amassing debt of any sort. In order to achieve this, I worked a full 40 hours a week, including during each semester. While I succeeded in receiving my Diploma without any outstanding debts, it was at the detriment to my grades. My final G.P.A. was a 2.09. I am asking for admittance using the 2.5 G.P.A. standards which were the requirement for the 2001 catalog year.

The requested conditional admittance is so I can continue to raise my previously mentioned G.P.A.. This semester I am retaking four classes in which I earned a D grade, I am also taking two new classes (EDCI 201, EDCI 302). As of the construction of this petition I am currently holding a 3.5 for this semester, and fully expect to raise it to a 3.66. Replacing the prior grades and including the two new classes will raise my cumulative G.P.A. to a 2.42. Upon my conditional acceptance I will have the opportunity to raise my cumulative G.P.A. to a 2.61 at the end of next semester by repeating the work load and 3.5 I am currently earning. My projected class load would include all of the required coursework for the Secondary Certification and one course taken to replace a prior grade. Initially I had planned to take the replacement class this summer but I am engaged to be married on June 5.

Just after graduating in December of 2007 I took an entry level job at the plasma donation center in Pullman. It was here that I realized how much more could be accomplished if I was not attempting to go to school and work simultaneously. While concentrating solely on my job I was able to earn rapid promotions, culminating in being named Center Manager just nine months after beginning my employment. It also became apparent during this time that I should have taken applied for the student loans during my undergraduate studies. I did apply for and was granted financial aid for the spring 2010 semester and it has certainly contributed to the improvement in my G.P.A.. Any future semesters would not only be conditional based on acceptance into the program but also upon the award of financial aid.

I believe my prior G.P.A. is not an accurate representation of my abilities nor of my commitment toward my goal of becoming a teacher, coach, and father. Should I be accepted into the Teacher Education Program, through further hard work, I believe I would be an asset not only to the University of Idaho but also to the community in which I will serve.

Petition for Admission to the Teacher Education Program

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