Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean,
I am writing this appeal in hopes to apply for late drops and credit standing in a number of my first year courses due to personal and mental health problems which I suffered from throughout my first year of studies. I would like to apply for late drops in the following courses; GPHY101, CISC121, and MATH121. In addition, I would like to apply for credit standing in the following courses; CISC101, ECON110, and MATH111. I've always had a strong support system through my friends, and at the beginning of the year I would always attend classes with a couple very close friends from my hometown which kept me motivated. Unfortunately, toward the end of first semester I grew apart from most of them and my best friend went through a family tragedy and started attending less classes, and I found myself feeling unmotivated and distracted due to my increased anxiety. As time passed, I found myself overloaded with stress from outstanding assignments and upcoming tests and began to feel depressed as I wanted to succeed but felt that it wasn't possible. It wasn't until the very end of the school year that I realized the academic position that I had put myself in, and I ended up being unsuccessful in many of my courses due to my mental state.
Once the school year had come to an end and I was aware of my academic position, I contacted Queens for academic support. They suggested that due to my current circumstances, that I write this appeal letter and explain my case. At the time, I was afraid to reach out to my parents for support and motivation and continued to dwell in my depressed and anxious state. Finally, at the beginning of August I visited my family physician Dr.Dheda for guidance regarding my mental state and how I could still possibly succeed, and he helped me realize how to cope with the ways I was feeling, and made me feel much more confident in my ability to succeed. In addition, he enrolled me in a counselling program through the Canadian Mental Health Association to continue to monitor and assist in the progress of my mental health through weekly counselling sessions over the phone while I continue my studies.
Once I reached out to my family physician for guidance and became aware of how to cope with my mental state, I also sat down with my parents and explained my current academic situation and mental state and this has relieved a great amount of stress from my life. In the past couple weeks I've realized a lot about myself and am now very motivated to continue my studies of Computer Science at Queens University. My mental state has improved drastically as I feel I have as much support as I need from my family and my family physician to maintain my motivation and mental health state. I've realized my personal problems which stopped me from succeeding in my first year of studies at Queens University and have begun taking steps to work on my mental health to ensure that when I return, I am fully confident in my ability to stay highly motivated and succeed in my studies.
Although my mental state has drastically improved and I feel fully confident in my ability to succeed at Queens University this upcoming school year, I am fully aware of my academic performance during my first year. I personally believe that I have learned from my first year of studies and due to my new realizations and acceptance of my mental health conditions as well as my additional sources of mental and academic support, that when I return this upcoming school year, that I will not only succeed but excel in my studies at Queens University. I hope that whomever makes this decision can see that I genuinely want to continue my studies at Queens University, have learned from my mistakes, and have no doubt in my ability to succeed.
I hope that you consider my appeal favourably,
Jeffrey Skerratt