There are times when you just need to keep trying…
The letter of appeal is getting closer to being a finished product. I still need to write the opening paragraph.
I think that it has been good for my son to witness the process. The finished product might make it look like magic, or that the writer is “gifted”, but my experience is that effective writing is just lots of hard work. There is no magic.
While I am growing increasingly confident that the finished product represents my best effort to persuade the Financial Aid Committee, I still have no guarantee of success. I am very aware of this fact. I feel like I am flying a plane in a storm and am being forced to trust the instruments. The instruments in this case are a few vague guidelines and my own storytelling instincts.
After writing all Monday afternoon, I called the Financial Aid office on Tuesday in an attempt to glean any further useful information.
Unfortunately, my call was answered by a “by the book, just the facts” kind of woman. No help there…
I wrote more last night. I am starting to like it. However, I ran into a difficulty…
My notes from an earlier conversation with a young from the Financial Aid office man left me thinking that he advised AGAINST mentioning anything about an athletic scholarship.
It’s somewhat difficult to tell our story without that little piece of information. The whole reason I have to write the letter is because the wrestling coach cannot offer my son an athletic scholarship until NEXT year!
If he did say that, I clearly didn’t understand the reasoning behind the advice…
I called the Financial Aid office again today. After winding my way through the automated operator, my call was picked up by…the same young man that I spoke to a few weeks ago!!!
I asked him the big question…
“Oh, no. You should include that. In fact, you should ask the coach if he will write a letter endorsing your son and include that in your packet.”
That’s a great idea!!!
I called the coach…
He is going to hand write a personal letter!!!
