Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I am appealing for my final grade in MATH 120 (Fall and Winter, 2015) exempted from my GPA.

During the course of second year, I was under a great deal of personal stress that negatively affected my academic performance. My mother was diagnosed with cancer causing me to commute home frequently to be of a presence during that difficult time. Being in a course as demanding as MATH 120, with weekly practice problems and needing to schedule additional time to grasp concepts, my lack of focus affected my performance, as my priorities were somewhere else. Other courses were different as I was able to get by with subpar marks by reading the course material and taking notes, which generally did not take a lot of time. Additionally since MATH 120 was a full year course, once I realized that I had fallen very behind with the course material, studying for this course became a daunting task. I did see a personal counsellor on the Queens campus in order to better handle my personal and academic stress. However thinking back, I realized how dishonest I was during my sessions as I made it appear I was dealing with my stress and mental health appropriately. I struggled to find a balance to deal with the stress of academics and my personal life which unfortunately resulted to a failing grade. The situation stated above were beyond my control that unfortunately affected my performance academically. As of late, I have continued to see a personal counsellor and have been honest about the events that I have underwent recently. Attached to my appeal is a supplementary piece from my current counsellor talking about the events that occurred last year. Additionally, I have been making less trips home in order to focus on my academics as my parents have discussed with me that I have a responsibility to continue and finish my studies to benefit my future. Over the summer, I spent a lot time with family, have seen the progress my mom has made as she is in remission and it has put my mind at ease allowing me to focus on my academics.