Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean:

Re: Academic Appeal (10188992)


I¿¿m writing to appeal the decision that I must withdraw for a full academic year. In my time at
Queen's, I have been encountering some difficulties which have interfered with my ability to
perform in school. I have detailed them below as support for the appeal.

It began in my first year. I had experienced an overwhelming amount of separation anxiety from
being away from my family and friends. I had a difficult time settling in the new environment and
finding friends that I could connect with. It was difficult to make new friends for me because I did
not know many people coming into Queen¿¿s. I felt I was left without a social support group and it
made me feel very lonely and isolated. At the same time, my mother was dealing with the post
effects of chemotherapy and radiation after her breast cancer surgery. It did not make the situation
any easier. I would go back home often to support her as it was a had time for our family. All of
this naturally took away from what was supposed to be studying and learning as my main focus.
In retrospect, all of this really affected my schooling.

I received disappointing grades in my first year and that eventually led me into academic probation.
I took on a 60 course load in order to have greater focus on fewer courses, and, though I was
very determined to overcome that challenge, I put excessive pressure on myself knowing that this
was my last opportunity to prove myself. Putting myself under heavy pressure lead me into intense
stress that detracted from academic performance.

It was especially bad during exam periods and on examination days. For example, leading up to
my exams, I could not fall asleep which negatively impacted my attention span on exam days. My
mind was not as sharp as it usually is, causing me to underperform. Exams account for large
portions of our final grades. Since I perform so poorly on them because of stress, they end up
having a great effect on my overall grades. I perform well throughout the academic year when it
comes to assignments and labs, but when it comes to exams, I do not do as well. I have always
suffered from exam anxiety but this time it was much heavier because of the compounding stress.
It was pointed out in the academic appeal decision email that I performed well in Classical Humor
and Physics in the Nuclear Age, courses in which I was able to attain A grades. Unfortunately,
these good grades served to discredit my last appeal. These courses were very different from other
ones, however, circumstances for these courses were different from other courses. Classical Humor
did not have a final exam and was based on class participation and assignments. Physics in the
Nuclear Age was a much lower-pressure course that consisted of two big essays which I did well
in, and a final exam essay. Even a little support from the professor helped when he walked in
during the exam and told us not to stress over it. I able to get an A in these courses because I was
performing under more relaxed conditions, they were of a very different nature in comparison to
the other courses I was taking.

I have achieved a GPA higher than that of required expectation in each semester. I have a GPA of
2.35 from the fall semester and 2.5 from the winter semester. I had a bad start in my first year and
even though I was able to do relatively well in the second year, it was not enough to bring me to a
cumulative GPA of 1.6. I currently have a 1.54 GPA and only 0.06 points away from the
benchmark.

I have also sought the assistance of Haley Everson, academic advisor, in order to come up with a
future academic plan. In order for me to potentially continue my studies at Queens and avoid losing
a year, I have decided to go to the program I chose last year but I did intend to improve my
chemistry mark and major in Chemistry. Now I would like to focus my academic program in the
area of geology. I would take the first year courses that I¿¿m missing, which are only GEOL 104
AND GEOL 107 and the required courses going forward.

With regards to my doctor¿¿s letter, I would like to mention that he is my family doctor and did not
put in much detail because had me referred to a specialized behavioural therapist who would
further investigate into my situation. I have been prescribed Effexor to reduce my anxiety and have
scheduled a one-on-one appointment with a therapist for July 8th. Unfortunately, it was not possible
to have an earlier appointment.

Withdrawing for a year will further strongly affect my mental state and confidence. I would like
to be given another opportunity to prove myself without having to discontinue my education. I
really believe that I will be able to meet Queen¿¿s standards and continue improving. With
confidence and determination, I am asking that the requirement to withdraw be waived.
I'm currently out of the country until June 22nd. Once I am back I will send a picture of my
prescription and the previously provided doctor's note. Also, I can provide a clinical report from
my mother's oncologist, if further needed. Please let me know.

Yours truly,
Karin Ajderian
10188991