please edit the following letter which is a petition to withdraw from my courses?

Question

I submit this petition to kindly consider my request to withdraw from the above courses taken for the following reasons:

This is the first semester for me in the United States and I had undergone a lot of suffering both in terms of cultural shock as well as severe home-sickness since I had never before been out of my home for such a long period. In addition, the sudden death of my grandmother and my helplessness to visit during her last days made me emotionally weak and this was the time when I had to appear for my class exams in which I performed low. I suffered a lot emotionally and was under severe depression because I am very attached to my grandmother with whom I grew until my high school. My deep depression during the semester made me lose my on campus job.
Initially it took me few weeks to adjust with the food, climate and my surroundings. As I was sick during my initial days of stay I could not have proper food and it took me time to understand the kind of living here. It was only in mid September that I found a good room for my living. Until then I had a temporary accommodation and hence it took me a long time to get accustomed to the situation. I had to take decisions by myself which was kind of perplexing for me.
My under graduation was in Electrical Department and I had been offered a CIS course in the Business School. In spite of my good efforts to score better in CIS, my academic performance was not satisfactory owing to the change in the subject. Initially, I visited Electrical department and requested Professor Fuqin Xiong for admission into Electrical Department but I was unable to secure an admission.

In a nutshell, a sudden academic, cultural and emotional shock have led to my poor performance and left with no other option than withdrawing from the courses I have taken.

In view of the above facts, I request you kindly allow me to withdraw from the current courses so that I can equip myself for the forthcoming semester.

Answer 1

paragraph 1: (my suggestion)
I submit for your consideration this petition to withdraw from the above courses for the following reasons:

next to last paragraph:
In a nutshell, a sudden academic, cultural and emotional shock has led to my poor performance and left me with no other option than to withdraw from the courses I have taken.

There are some other minor problems, but I'm sure the Dean will understand what you are saying, and the minor problems may help your case because they will reinforce the idea that you are new to this country and still have some minor things to learn about the English language and is nuances.

P.S. Most universities will not grant a request like this. But you should at least try...

Answer 2

To The Academic Regulations Appeal Committee: I would like to request a retroactive withdrawal from the course Chez-101-L04, which I am registered for during the Summer 2008 semester. The reason that I am doing so is that I am having difficulty with my current living arrangement; I could not control my sleep schedule due to daily studying for quizzes and preparing for experiments. I was not aware of the final withdrawal date for the course, because it was not written in the syllabus nor it was mentioned in the class, thus, that is why I did not withdraw from the course within the appointed time. Furthermore, I was experiencing stress from my full class schedule which was complicated from my Calculus 201 class, which was more of a challenge and undertaking than I anticipated. I had to wake up everyday around 7:00 am and then return home around 4:00 PM, and then I was assigned to study for a quiz and prepare for an experiment the following day. However, I am not requesting a retroactive withdrawal for my other class because taking calculus from 8:00 am until 11:55 am is manageable and I still have enough time for sleeping and studying early. All of these issues have increased my emotional stress, and I could not make the right decision, because, I had pressure to complete the course in order to graduate. However, I know that if I complete this course now, I will not be at my best performance, and I do not want that to affect my G.P.A. I would like to graduate with the best G.P.A; one that matches my hard work and diligence, and this course does not represent that. I do not want this error on my part to cause my G.P.A to drop. That is why I am asking for a withdrawal without any consequences. I have always tried to make the right decisions and keep a clear head, but this semester has been very difficult for me. Please accept my request. Thank you. Sincerely, Your Signature (in pen) Your name Typed (And don’t forget the date at the top)