I am writing to appeal my rejection to your Architecture Masters Program as a result of my low undergraduate GPA in my Environmental Studies Major in my undergraduate studies at UC Santa Cruz. I feel strongly that my weak performance was heavily influenced by factors beyond my control and do not accurately reflect my ability to perform in your program.

My sister was involved in a very serious accident shortly after I began my undergraduate studies; and this went on to take an enormous toll on our entire family. My mother was forced to join my father in the workforce in order to meet our financial obligations with my sister’s medical bills. As a result, I had no other choice than to largely fill my mother’s shoes in caring for her as well as my younger siblings. I had to take my sister to all of her appointments as well as taking care of her during the day. During this period, as a result of these new responsibilities, I also had to spend much of my time driving back and forth from Los Angeles to Santa Cruz. To make matters still worse, my parents had no money to spare for my expenses; so, on my days off, I was forced to take up babysitting jobs to pay for my trips to and from school. I did not want to admit that I could not handle all of this plus my schooling, so I just took it all on without reaching out to anyone for help or advice.

My appeal is based primarily on the fact that I did do well in my course work related to architecture and urban planning, classes such as Green Building, Introduction to Architecture, and California Planning and Assessment. The difficulties of this period helped me to learn how to optimally manage my time.  Furthermore, my internships with architecture firms have taught me a great deal through hands-on experiences what it takes to be an architect—mastering programs such as AutoCad and Google Sketch Up for 3D renderings, as well as Photoshop—and there is no doubt in my mind that I would be able to excel in your program and beyond if given the opportunity. I thank you for your reconsideration of my application.