Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter:

Dear Associate Dean (Academic)
I am petitioning: a) to drop PSYCH 100 (Fall & Winter, 2022-2023) and b) apply for a credit standing on my three other full-year courses CHEM 112, MATH 121 and PHYS 104 due to an extenuating circumstance of very poor mental health during the second and third semesters.
Explanation
When I first arrived at Queens, I was socially anxious but extremely excited about finally leaving high school. I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was very young which was manageable with medication and extra time on exams.
I was initially very nervous about meeting new people and this nervousness was compounded in my first week when my Don did not arrive and facilitate me meeting the people on my floor which rather caused mental distress and created social isolation. I attempted to talk to multiple people in my halls but couldn’t bridge the gap from acquaintances to friends. Most of my nights in the first semester were spent sitting alone in my room, attempting to talk to random people in VIC hall, and going back to my room to sleep. While I should have invested more time in clubs, they either had tryouts that I didn’t get or they were already started working on projects for the semester. It felt as if everyone was already in the loop as to how things worked here.
The social anxiety gathered pace in the first semester although I completed my first course in Astronomy and achieved a grade of B-. It was in the second semester that the situation became really bad, I was feeling miserable deep down and I started using substances.
As winter break passed into the new year, I was disheartened but still hoping for some sort of change. This was the point in which the social isolation and substance abuse to dull the pain drove me to my lowest point, about a month into the second semester. If anyone had asked me how I was, I simply responded with “I’m fine” but I felt so numb most days, unable to get out of bed, handing assignments in late and missing lectures. It just felt like going through the motions, where each day just blurred into the next one. I finally admitted at this time to needing help, I sought out the support services, QSAS and my parents booked a therapist to help me get through these issues. They were all helpful in providing resources and even just someone to talk to. The problem was, I felt like it was just too much. To try talking to more people, attending clubs, improving my grades, and discovering myself just felt like I was chipping away at an impossibly large interconnected problem. Still, I slowly managed to improve after the introduction of support services and my therapist, but within another 2 months, it was exam season.
Exam season was one of the worst experiences I’ve had due to my own choices and every moment I thought of the fact that I put myself here, I felt like crying. I was determined at the time to “not mess this part up”, however, so I worked often into the morning studying and writing notes on the lectures I had missed. I tried to pause everything I was doing to just focus on exams but a lot of my issues still persisted. I realized at this point that I wouldn’t be able to catch up on all the lessons in time for my first exams. so I deferred the Psyc 100 exam along with the Phys 104 exam, which felt disheartening that I had to prolong my suffering due to my own procrastination and negligence.
Through countless nights of concentration, panic and tears, I managed to take and pass my first 2 exams and my Phys 104 exam with my extra time accommodations. Unfortunately, the mistakes I made in the second and third semesters caused me to fail the Psyc 100 exam and course.
Psyc 100 drop application
From my varying issues, I obviously struggled with my coursework but as to why Psyc 100 is the course in which I struggled the most, it was simply down to a lack of experience compared to my other courses. My high school courses were predominantly science based which allowed me to understand the Math 121, Chem 112, and Phys 104 concepts fairly easily but Psyc 100 was different. While I have done essay writing and annotation in high school English class, I was much less proficient, which was evident in my essay writing. My English teacher and I used to have lengthy discussions about my writing and how it may link to my ADHD. The criteria of my essays would still be met and sometimes interesting ideas conveyed, but I often struggled in conveying those ideas in a palatable manner. I use too many commas to extend sentences, I struggled with having a linear progression of ideas and often I would use incorrect terms or idioms that make my arguments lose focus.
The appropriate reaction would have been to stop and re-evaluate my work in the course. I should have either seen I hadn’t improved and dropped the course or pursue serious help in writing these essays. While under the influence I unfortunately thought “I can fix this” to continue the course and attempt to recover my mark in the final exam. This was an extremely foolish moment and I have learned to not just try and fix things yourself and don’t be hesitant to ask for support.
Credit standing application
My social, relationship and substance challenges in the second and third semesters have hugely adversely impacted my performance in every course.
In the second term, the continuous issues that I was struggling with often caused me to lose significant efficiency, submit assignments late, and not be able to make it to lectures. I would like to apply for a credit standing to hopefully get a completely fresh start on my Queen’s academics, with experience, emotional and academic support, and a period of self-care and actualization.
Resolving my issues and my Queen’s future
I am feeling much better now having sought emotional support through my various therapists (including an ADHD coach), joining clubs and trying to reconnect with old friends.
This year has left a lot of desires unfulfilled however none is more important to me than an assured academic improvement in my second year. My marks are very disappointing to me having achieved an average of 94% in high school and it is absolutely vital to both my self-esteem and my academic success that I improve from this point. I have learned throughout the year that extracurriculars and social life are an important break from academics and are needed to truly experience and thrive at Queen’s University.
I believe I want to have a successful academic and social life while maintaining my passions in extracurriculars. To achieve this, I will not just be throwing myself into the second year with this experience in mind. I plan on taking a gap year or an extremely reduced course load to take time to completely resolve my social anxiety issues and my academic writing struggles. I am currently working as a camp counsellor and plan on pursuing job opportunities after the summer to become a more self-reliant, resourceful, and self-loving person who can take the stress and is also certain in their abilities and won’t hesitate to ask for help when needed.