Losing financial aid due to depression

I have just been notified that I am going to lose the ability to have financial aid due to not meeting the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). As you can see http://forums.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=126044 here I suffer from depression. This caused me to not complete 67% or more of my classes, in addition to dropping my GPA to abysmal levels. I need this aid to be able to go back to school. I am seeing a PDoc and I am going to try to appeal the SAP disqualification.

This is from the appeal form:
I just need to know how to word this, I can't just be like "I was depressed and failed". I am going to get some sort of documentation from my PDoc as well. The space provided is very small, but It allows you to attach extra sheets ect.

How should I go about writing this appeal?

"I was diagnosed with .... (state when) ... mention the symptoms you experience .... how the symptoms affect your ability to attend classes and complete assignments. When you started therapy what meds you have and are taking. What steps you have and are planning to take to do better at school ... maybe offer to sign a release of information so they can talk to your therapist (I know the instructions say the decision will be made on the documents but I do not think it hurts to offer). Tell them you will be unable to continue in school without the aid.

Good luck.

Byz said much of what I would have suggested. Be honest. If at all possible, point out periods in the past where you have done well in school (even if you have to use high school as an example) the board who decides these things (at least at my school) was very understanding of personal situations that make life harder. Now, if you had spent all your time partying and blowing off classes because of that, they may not be as inclined to vote in your favor. But if you are honest, I bet they will be willing to let you back on a probationary basis. Maybe you could agree to a lighter course load until you feel more comfortable back on academia and are being successful in your work.

Good luck and don't give up.

Yes, yes to all the above.

Get statements from all your doctors/therapists and add them as formal attachments.

In referring to your diagnosis/diagnoses, it may be valuable to use the formal DSM-IV-TR (or ICD-10) coding.

Hopefully your psychiatrist will have some sort of GAF (Global Assessment of Functioning) history for you: Year/Month A = 90, then later = 75, later = 45, reached a low of 40 year/month B, following initial treatment for x months/weeks GAF rose to 50, now GAF = 70 (you get the idea).

All this stuff is EXCEPTIONALLY private and in the US is covered by HIPAA Privacy rules. Make sure the collected documents have a cover sheet clearly indicating the contents represent "Privacy Act Information" or "Handle in Accordance with HIPAA Regulations."

Say TheB, you're not going to bill her for that are you? ; D

Could you explain the terminology here, I'm not familiar (I understand have to let them know about privacy entitlement ect.)

Sorry, Bias Logic. I spewed out the above when I was more tired and preoccupied than I am now, but wanted to throw you something to complement what had already been offered you lest I never find my way back to your thread.

Bottom Line: You want to send the message that your "not meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress" is a result of identifiable medical conditions and not a result of your irresponsibility.

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM; Wikipedia)

Multi-Axial Diagnostic Presentation of the current DSM-IV-TR

• Pay attention to the five Axes; Global Assessment of Functioning is Axis V.

Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) Scale (Wikipedia)

Explanation and Example DSM-IV Diagnosis

List of DSM-IV Codes (PsychNet-UK)

Edit: International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision (ICD-10) - used by the World Health Organization and many countries.

I have only been seeing my PDoc since a week before Xmas, so hopefully he has enough relevent information. I Think I am going to just bring the forms into him and ask him what he can do to help me.

I don't know how it is where you go to school but here at SIU we can provide a letter to records and registration and if there is a semester or 2 that are obviously not like the rest they will drop that semester all together. i.e. if you are a decent student and you have a semester of Ds or Fs and give a letter saying it was because of depression and you were diagnosed they will take off all those classes to return your GPA back to where it was before. I would go to your pdoc and ask for a referral or something stating that you were diagnosed with it and then write a letter of explanation. I agree that you should say something along the lines of "I was diagnosed with (whatever type of depression like anxiety disorder, disthymia etc) on such and such date by so and so." I don't know that I would go into too much detail but it might help if you put in there that you are currently being treated in whatever way that may make them see that you are trying to correct it and trying to do better.

Same here with our university. They almost always allow appeals and don't take away the financial aid (with a good reason, of course, rather than "I stayed up drinking and partying too many times"), unless it's a student that has always gotten bad grades. I have a very good friend of mine who fell into a deep depression and went from a fairly high GPA to a fairly low one within one semester, but was allowed to keep her financial aid and actually will soon be going onto law school this upcoming year.

Hang in there.

The issue was that I literally received an F in all but 1 of my classes at College for my first 2 (and only 2) semesters of college. So now that I'm trying to get back into school, they see my GPA is something abysmal like a .67 and red flag.

I just hope my pdoc has the necessary "official" medical terms and information of my diagnosis. I also have to make sure I word this correctly etc, and get it in to them in time.