Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: The reason I am requesting a grade of CR on these two courses is that extenuating circumstances prevented me from achieving the grades I am capable of, and I do not want my future to be impacted by grades that were a result of these circumstances. During my first year of University, I was dealing with very bad anxiety and depression that I since have fixed through SSRI medication and talking with a therapist. At the time I was completely unprepared to deal with the course load due to these issues, which was made worse by COVID-19, living far from campus, and family issues I was going through at the time. Dealing with anxiety and depression made it very hard to go to class and focus on learning and work, as I was struggling to even do basic daily tasks. Coupled with this, I was worried about attending due to the pandemic, and risking getting my family members sick who I would visit every month, as some of them are older in age. The result of this was that I missed classes, and struggled to complete assignments to the degree that I am capable. These problems persisted throughout the year, and impacted my midterms, exams, and other assignments. I have struggled with these issues throughout University, though I believe it is under my control now and the improvement in my grades, especially this last semester, display that without these problems I am capable of doing much better. I am requesting this change as I do not want my academic record to be affected so negatively by grades I received during a time where I was severely affected by mental health problems, COVID-19, and family issues, as that is not a reflection of my true abilities and without these circumstances I have performed much better. I did not make my professors aware of this at the time. I really hope to continue at queens post undergrad, and I have a lot of future aspirations that I do not want to be lost because of low grades I got at a time where extenuating circumstances significantly impacted my ability to do well. Thank you for your consideration.