The grading policy at this school focuses mainly on staying at or above 3.0. There are no specific guidelines as to what grades constitute failing, the only thing that the handbook says is that it is up to the faculty's discretion. Grades are also on a 80% = B-, 83% = B scale, which I didn't take into account at first. I've just never had problems with grades and I've never failed anything so I didn't pay much attention.
In my appeal I did not try to avoid blame for my GPA completely...I mainly blamed my personal problems. I did hint though that maybe I could have had more guidance. I felt like disclosing my problem may have hurt my relationship with the program more than staying quiet about it, and explained that it should not have been so. There is a certain stigma associated with this type of problem, you know? I feel like if I had a different type of disability I would be treated differently.
The scholarship is departmental and they give you a period of like 2 quarters to bring up your grade, so I would still be eligible for it. I guess the bottom line is that without being given the chance to attend for one more quarter I can't prove that my personal problems (which I feel like are under control now) were to blame. I completely agree that I needed some time off to get things under control, but time off has its own problems because I relied on staying a student to pay for my rent and bills. Had I gotten bad grades right off the bat, I would probably not be pushing this appeal, but I proved early on that I can handle the material.
Thanks for the advice.