Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear whom it may concern,

I am applying for an academic appeal to remove Chemistry 281 from my transcript. While this course is not required for my degree in Psychology, I enrolled in this course as I felt it would enhance my science background prior to considering sitting the MCAT exam.
I have always had generalized anxiety and ADHD, and more recently, since my concussion in second year, I have struggled with depression. For a number of years, I have taken medication for ADHD and have been seeing a psychologist to address anxiety and an eating disorder. In this past year I have also had consultations with a psychiatrist and was prescribed a course of medication for depression. This year my anxiety has increased significantly due to my personal struggle with depression. Mental health has always been something I need to work on. However, this semester I have had to invest more time and energy, compared to previous semesters, into focusing on improving my mental health.
This semester I have been struggling with depression, insomnia, and high anxiety; this has significantly hindered my ability to dedicate the required amount of time to all of my courses. I have continued to work with my psychologist and felt that while my mental health was not what it should to be, I was coping and able to continue with this semester.
I know how to study and apply myself in order to achieve a good grade. I have met with a Chemistry 281 tutor twice a week since the beginning of the semester, and have been diligent in asking questions after class and doing practice problems each week. Studying in the weeks leading up to the Chemistry 281 midterm I felt prepared. However, the day of the Chemistry midterm my anxiety spiked. In working with my psychologist, I have learned a number of techniques that help me to mentally and physically relax. However, on that day these techniques did not work, and I experienced an anxiety (or panic) attack a couple hours before the midterm. During the midterm I could not focus on trying to stay calm and I had another anxiety/panic attack and blanked on the information I had studied, which has never happened to me before. I could not remember if I had taken my ADHD medication and took another dosage. It was not until I started to experience the physical side effects of the medication that I realized that I had taken an additional dose by mistake. Due to the anxiety (panic) attack and the medication, I could not calm down and effectively write my midterm. It took me a couple of hours to calm down after the test as well. I have been in contact with my psychologist in an effort to work through this experience and come up with more techniques to prevent another event like this one.
In light of this experience and the current state of my mental health, I am appealing to remove Chemistry 281 from my transcript. Chemistry 281 is not a required course for me to graduate and it is my only course with an exam. I am working with my psychologist to focus on improving my mental health and develop strategies to decrease my anxiety level on a daily basis as well as become better prepared to manage anxiety attacks such as the one that happened during this exam. I want to put myself in a situation in which I am most likely to succeed. I feel that if I remove myself from this course, I will be able to focus on my other courses and not lose this semester. I am confident that over the next weeks I will be able to work with my psychologist so I can come back next semester and perform academically as I know I can.

Thank you kindly for your time and consideration,

Ailish Connors

Note: My supporting documentation will be faxed to Spring Forsberg-Lewis as soon as possible.