Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: In the middle of June, my uncle died and I witnessed his dead cold blue body in front of my eyes on the ground in my own house. It was a sudden death due to an artery exploding. No one expected it, he was healthy young and was having dinner with us the day before. My CHEM 281 final was on June 27, so 8 days prior to the exam, I emailed the professor asking for a deferral. He replied saying that the exam is over a week again which should hopefully be enough to cover the material, and that providing a date for a new exam would be difficult. Receiving this email, I was shocked. One of the closest people to my heart has passed away, I was not in the right mental state to study or take an exam, yet receiving this email, I felt like I had no other option. I sat for hours studying each day, but it was not a nice experience. To mourn and study at the same time is not possible, it hindered my concentration drastically. Not to mention, that my mother, grandparents, and the whole household was (and still is) in a complete state of depression. Being under the same roof did not help either, and due to corona, I could not go anywhere else to aid with my studies. Despite being totally unprepared, I took the exam and got a C- in the course. I emailed the professor asking for a grade boost if possible, and he replied saying that I should have deferred the exam at the time. Him and I entered into a debate how I did indeed ask for a deferral but was rejected. After a heated conversation with the chairman, we agreed that it was a misunderstanding. The chairman did offer that I retake the exam, but I can not. After finishing the course (In the first week of July), I sat down with my family in order to discuss future plans. I enrolled in 2 electives, applied to a clinic for some volunteering, and started rounding up my studies for the DAT exam in hopes that I try and graduate this year. Not to mention, that my sister's wedding is will still be held in August at home because of Corona. All in all, due to my uncle's passing away, and due to this misunderstanding, the mark I received was much much lower than I expected. This is my second time taking the course. I wish to enter dental school, and I needed a higher grade. But the circumstances were unfortunately not helpful.