Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Request:

I am writing to appeal the Faculty¿¿s decision that I must withdraw from Queen¿¿s for a minimum of one year.

Explanation of Extenuating Circumstances:

The extenuating circumstances which led to my poor academic performance, especially last year, include my struggle with depression and ADHD. I had an episode of seasonal depression during my first year of university which resulted in the loss of my two math classes. I was performing well during the first term and then had significant difficulty maintaining my academic success in second term when the depression set in.

Unfortunately, during the 2015-2016 academic year, the depression set in early in the school year, affecting the entire year of work. I struggled to get out of bed most days, making it impossible to get to class. I was unable to focus on the work that I was required to do at home and had a hard time remembering the content of the classes and the work. I was tired, unmotivated and as I fell further and further behind, I became overwhelmed and unable to catch up. I contacted my mom near the beginning of November as I saw myself really beginning to struggle and we went to the doctor who diagnosed me with depression. I tried medication for depression but it did not help me. I also tried a higher dose at the doctor¿¿s suggestion, but once again, it did not seem to help, but to the contrary, made it worse, causing extreme fatigue. I became more discouraged and by the end of February, I was so far behind that I could not catch up. I realized that I was way behind and did not have the energy, focus or motivation to catch up and became further overwhelmed and discouraged. I had a panic attack at that time so I again called my mom to come and ending up returning to home with her.

It was at that time that I identified that I would be unable to continue as I was so depressed that I was sleeping for hours and hours and could not find the energy or motivation to participate in the basic activities of life, no matter attend classes and work to recover my courses. I was also experiencing social anxiety at the time as I wanted to make plans with friends who were asking where I was or what I was doing but I was worried that I would not be able to get out of bed to attend a social event that I had arranged.

My living arrangements also contributed to my depression. I was living in a basement apartment with a friend from residence. Unfortunately, the third person who agreed to live with us did not return in September, so there was quite a bit of tension surrounding finding a suitable roommate to take the third room. We were never successful, so there was increased financial stress as well, which contributed to the depression and my poor academic performance.