Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean (Studies),

I am appealing for credit standing in CHEM 281.

The reason I wish to apply for this appeal is because second year brought on psychological challenges for me that I was not equipped to handle. I began the semester with excitement for my life sciences program and what was ahead. However half way through the semester, in the midst of midterms, I began to feel a tremendous weight on my shoulders from the pressures of my future and the program I had chosen. What started as what I believed to be my normal anxious self completely spiraled into a state of anxiety that I had never faced before. In the past, I had found my anxiety to be a motivator to try harder and perform better under stressful exam situations, but last semester the anxiety became crippling. I noticed a decline in my academic performance that I have never seen before. I became so overwhelmed with my academic responsibilities that everything became much more difficult to overcome. The work load in the life sciences core courses was overwhelming. I did not have the tools to deal with the new-found levels of stress and I knew this when I decided to drop PHGY 214 right before the dropping deadline. I thought that lightening my school load would improve my mental health. CHEM 281 was particularly triggering because the course is very content heavy and requires a very high level of understanding. The week of the second midterm, I prepared harder than for any other exam in the past because of how intensive it was. I wrote another midterm the Wednesday of that week and had the CHEM 281 midterm on that Friday, two days later. About two hours before the exam, I had a mental breakdown and was crying uncontrollably about how nervous I was. I did everything I could to calm myself down including talking to my friends and taking a long walk outside. Once I made it to the exam, I was eager to begin because I thought the anxiety would lessen once I was focused on the questions. Fifteen minutes into writing the exam, I started to feel like my airway was closing and that I had to breathe much harder to get the air I needed. My hands were shaking, and I felt like I was going to either throw up or faint. I had never experienced a panic attack before, but I had a feeling that was what was happening. All I could think about was getting out of that room and getting fresh air and I quickly scribbled down answers to short answer questions without even giving the questions any thought and circled multiple choice answers randomly. After telling my parents about the experience, they were very concerned and came to visit me that weekend. They realized quickly that I was not okay to be alone, so they took me home with them and I spent week 10 at home. I met with a psychotherapist for three sessions while I was home, who helped me understand what my severe anxiety was stemming from and I also met with my family doctor to get a note about my panic attack during the midterm in any hope of being able to reattempt it. I sent the note to Professor Carran, but he made it clear there was nothing I could do about the exam that had already passed. I tried to implement what I learned into my life, but exams were approaching quickly, which is the highest stress period of the semester. The CHEM 281 exam was a reminder of the panic attack I had during the midterm and I did everything in my power to put aside the anxiety to get through it. However, it still proved to be a weakness and the stress led to illness that stopped me from writing my STAT 263 exam the week after. The STAT 263 exam was postponed until after the Christmas break, which gave me time to recover and contributed to my improved performance on that exam.

Anxiety is an ongoing struggle that will remain a part of my life. There are several adjustments I have made to try and ensure success in my future studies. Firstly, I have decided to change my program to a psychology major. I am applying for the program here at Queen's and do not want my CHEM 281 mark to negatively affect my chances of being accepted here. I have taken steps to lighten my course load this semester and have made it more manageable by only taking three psychology courses. I needed to make sure I did not overwhelm myself with required courses for my new program. I am also able to reach my psychotherapist at any time. For example, when I felt I was going to have another breakdown at the start of the second semester, I was able to call him and receive assistance on the phone. I have adopted a new, more active lifestyle that involves yoga and meditation, which has proved to be very helpful in coping with my anxiety. I wish to appeal my grade in CHEM 281, that I feel does not accurately represent my efforts, because of how greatly my performance was affected by the circumstances. I have put forth many new techniques for dealing with my anxiety and I hope that my future success will not be affected by this one grade.