Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: On March 6, 2025, my beloved grandfather passed away after an illness. He played a significant role in raising me, and his death had a profound impact on me. In the months that followed, I experienced ongoing grief, anxiety, and sleep difficulties. I also noticed a decline in my concentration, motivation, and overall ability to study effectively. As these symptoms continued to affect both my academic work and daily life, I began receiving professional psychological counselling and treatment in June 2025. Following an assessment, I was diagnosed with moderate anxiety and depression.

After several months of treatment, my condition gradually improved. By around September 2025, my emotional state had become more stable, and my academic functioning had started to recover. However, on December 5, 2025, I discussed my late grandfather during a video call with my mother. This conversation unexpectedly triggered unresolved grief. I experienced a significant emotional breakdown and a return of many symptoms. These included persistent sadness, anxiety, insomnia, mental exhaustion, and difficulty concentrating. These symptoms seriously affected my ability to review course material and prepare for examinations.

In the 2025 Fall semester, ECON322 required a high level of computational ability and logical reasoning, with sustained attention and significant cognitive demand. As my concentration and cognitive functioning were impaired during this period, this course was more significantly affected compared to other courses with lower cognitive load and different assessment structures. Although I made consistent efforts to continue my studies, my reduced cognitive efficiency directly impacted my performance in ECON 322.

In the 2026 Winter term, I had not fully recovered from the psychological impact of my grandfather’s death and continued to experience low mood, sleep disturbance, reduced motivation, and impaired concentration. My overall academic functioning remained below my normal level.

In early April 2026, my great-grandfather’s health deteriorated significantly. On 13 April 2026, I was informed that he had briefly lost consciousness. This caused acute emotional distress and severe anxiety, and I experienced insomnia that night before my ASTR101 examination. As a result, I was unable to perform at my normal academic level during the ASTR101 exam.

My sleep difficulties and emotional distress continued in the following days. When I sat the GEOL104 examination on 19 April 2026, I had not yet recovered. Ongoing sleep deprivation and psychological stress significantly affected my concentration, memory, and information processing, which again impacted my performance.

Although I passed ECON310 during the same day, this was due to my stronger prior academic foundation in the subject. It does not reflect my overall cognitive or academic functioning at the time, which remained significantly impaired. During this period, even in memory-based courses such as ASTR101 and GEOL104, my sustained anxiety and depressive symptoms continued to interfere with attention and recall, resulting in reduced learning effectiveness and examination performance.

On April 23, 2026, I returned to China to spend time with and help care for my seriously ill great-grandfather. During this period, I assumed family responsibilities while continuing to cope with significant emotional stress. On May 9, 2026, my great-grandfather passed away. Experiencing multiple family losses within a relatively short period of time further increased my psychological burden and extended my recovery process.

Throughout this period, I remained engaged in professional psychological counselling and treatment. According to my counsellor’s assessment, my symptoms of anxiety, depression, sleep disturbance, and reduced concentration were clearly associated with the consecutive family bereavements and related emotional trauma. With ongoing treatment and support, my condition has improved significantly. My sleep quality, emotional stability, and ability to concentrate have gradually recovered. Based on my current progress, my overall condition is expected to stabilize by July 2026, and I anticipate a gradual return to normal academic functioning.

I would like to emphasize that these circumstances were sudden, exceptional, and entirely beyond my control. They do not reflect my commitment to my studies, my academic ability, or my willingness to succeed. Before these events occurred, I consistently approached my studies seriously and worked hard to meet academic expectations. The decline in my academic performance was primarily the result of the significant impact that these family losses had on my mental health and academic functioning.

At present, the major external factors contributing to my psychological distress have come to an end, and my condition continues to improve steadily. I will continue receiving treatment and will adopt stronger study and time-management strategies to support my future academic success. I am confident that I will be able to return to my normal academic level and maintain strong academic performance moving forward.
I would also like to explain why I was unable to apply for a course withdrawal at the time, and why only some courses were significantly affected.

After my grandfather passed away, I continued to experience anxiety and depressive symptoms. During this period, I relied mainly on my own judgement to continue my studies. I continued to believe that my condition would gradually improve through treatment. As a result, I did not recognize in a timely manner that these symptoms were having an ongoing impact on my academic functioning. I also did not realize that I needed to apply for a course withdrawal or other academic adjustments. At the same time, these psychological symptoms affected my decision-making and executive functioning to some extent. This made it difficult for me to complete more complex academic administrative procedures, including applying for course withdrawal.

In addition, when I needed to revisit, organize, or provide written descriptions of experiences related to my bereavement, I experienced significant anxiety-related stress reactions. These mainly included chest tightness, rapid breathing or feelings of shortness of breath, heart palpitations, emotional dysregulation, such as prolonged crying or emotional breakdowns, and further deterioration in sleep quality. During these periods, my concentration and ability to organize my thoughts declined significantly. I found it difficult to continuously organize information and to complete more complex academic administrative applications and course withdrawal procedures.

It was only recently, after ongoing treatment and support, that my emotional state and cognitive functioning gradually became more stable. This allowed me to assess the academic impact of that period more objectively. I then realized that I should have sought support from the University and applied for a course withdrawal earlier. Therefore, I am now submitting this withdrawal application and respectfully ask the University to take my circumstances into consideration.