Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To the Associate Dean,

My name is Sarah Drudge (20065890) and I am currently enrolled in the Gender Studies Major offered here at Queen¿¿s University. During the current fall semester I have been struggling immensely with the psych 271 course called Brain and Behaviour taught by Dr. Tyson Baker. During the beginning of the fall 2018 semester, I was determined to try something new in order to challenge myself intellectually, as well as expand my knowledge base. As the course progressed, I began to struggle more with the material presented causing my minor anxiety to progress into something much more overwhelming. During the summer, I was unable to get into the psychology major that I desperately wanted to achieve which in turn, resulted in the Gender Studies Major that I am studying now. To further explain, my goal for the current fall semester was to excel in my current courses, in order to raise my GPA to ultimately be accepted into the psychology program during my third year of my undergraduate studies. That being said, the Psych 271 course has completely hindered this goal, which has added considerably to the anxiety that I currently hold about achieving a successful future in psychology. Moreover, I have been trying my hardest to understand the material being taught, by repeatedly re-reading certain chapters as well as researching learning methods online. The reason I did not drop the class sooner is because I felt like I could succeed the harder I tried. Ironically, I have completely burned myself out; I have recently failed the second midterm with a 46.67 and I am at a complete loss with the course content being currently taught. I believe that if I continue this course, I will end up with a terrible mark that will certainly jeopardize my ability to get into the psychology major next year, which will be detrimental to my long-term success.

Concerning my mental health, I have always been very sensitive to stress and tend to work myself up over situations that are not in my favour. From failing the midterm, to not understanding major topics, I feel like my mental health has completely plummeted. I am having trouble falling asleep, as well as having panic attacks that seem to stem from my involvement with psych 271. As such, I have reached out to my parents for support, and we all agree that dropping this course will be extremely beneficial for my success, as well as my current mental health. I believe that if I continue in this course, my anxiety will only worsen alongside my grade. I appreciate you taking the time to read this letter, and I hope that you can fully understand my point of view regarding this matter.

Thank you,

Sarah Drudge