Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: My name is Xinyu Gao. I am an undergraduate student in Queen's and my major is Psychology. My student ID is 20014124. I am writing this letter to appeal for my final scores in PSYC 301. Please take into consideration what I am going to talk about and allow me to pass this course.

I encountered a lot of difficult situations in 2020, which affected my academic performance severely.

First, my health was getting worse and unstable during the last semester. On October 13th, 2020, I was diagnosed with multiple endometrial polyps and was immediately admitted to the hospital since I had a high fever and dizziness. I underwent surgery on the next day and stayed in the hospital for recovery until October 22nd, 2020. After I was discharged from the hospital, I immediately dedicated myself to my study since I did so poorly in my midterm. I knew I had to study harder to catch up with my peers in order to pass the exam with a satisfying score. Meanwhile I also had a study plan for my future. In the 2020 fall term, I decided to graduate in Spring 2021, and then continue my education as a master's student which starts from Fall 2021. Because of this plan, I worked even harder, ignoring the doctor's advice on taking proper rest. By the end of the fall term, I felt something wrong with my body. When I went to do a regular body check in the hospital, some of the indicators were abnormal. I was again admitted to emergency and then transferred to a hospital ward again on November 26th, 2020 in order to monitor my health. Thereafter, I stayed in the hospital for another two weeks, and was discharged on December 6th, 2020. By the time I was discharged, the doctor told me to have enough sleep and a healthy diet. He also suggested me to not burn out myself for the next two weeks so that my body could take a good rest. However, that was the final exam time when I was supposed to exert myself on the final exams. I should have done it differently, because after the midterm, Dr. Fabrigar told me if there was any medical emergency, I should tell him. But I hesitated to do so because I put so much effort into my study and thought I could manage the final exams myself. Disregarding my discomfort, I struggled to take all the final exams. However, it turned out that I made a wrong judgement again this time. I failed one of the most important courses in the program. I am not so regretful and wished I could have asked the university or the professors for help instead. I attached my medical notes to this letter.

Second, I was not used to the new way of learning. Because of covid-19, all courses have been taught online, which was a huge challenge for me. As a student who has attended classes in person for the past twenty years, I am used to taking courses in a physical classroom. I got easily distracted while taking online courses. Any noises from my house or my peers' background would distract me. I found it super hard to concentrate. In April 2020, I flew back to China and had stayed in China since then. Because of Canada and China's time zone difference, I usually took courses in the evening, and some were at midnight. In the daytime, I also had other personal issues to deal with. Therefore, my biological clock was messed up. I did not get enough sleep while I pushed myself to finish all the things on my plate. I became irritated and upset so easily. When I failed to make progress in either study or my plan, I condemned myself as such a loser. These feelings added up and put my nerves on edge. I am an introvert who is so reluctant to share my feelings and struggles with others, not even with my parents. At some point, I felt like I was swelled up by all the negative thoughts and had no way to breath at all. Putting up all the mental burdens stressed me out, which was another critical factor that deteriorated my health. After I got admitted to the hospital the second time, the doctor had noticed my instability. He suggested to let out things that I had been holding up and referred me to talk to a psychologist. He also told my parents to pay attention to my mental conditions. With help from the doctor and my parents, I finally got some relief after being discharged from the hospital.

Third, I decided to continue my study by pursuing a master's degree. With the in-depth learning in psychology, I found out that it is not easy to be a professional with a bachelor's degree. After talking to my parents, I decided to get a master's degree. With a firm determination, I collected information for all the graduate schools, prepared for GRE, and applied for suitable programs while also focusing on my bachelor's study. This was very challenging since proper time management was essential. Every day, I spared half of a day to do the preparation and the GRE study and took courses and finished assignments in another half of the day. Even though I had a severe health problem and huge mental stress, I never thought of giving up since being admitted to a master's program will expand my horizon on psychology, and I will be better off in the future. My hard work seemed to be paid off. Before the final exam week, I already finished all the applications. The master's program means a lot to me. It is closely related to my academic future and career path. However, because of the poor judgement I made while I was at the hospital, I may lose it. This is because PSYC 301 is one of the core courses in my program, failing this course indicates that I will not be able to graduate as planned. I super regret the decision I made. This is the reason I asked the university for help. I am so desperate.

All in all, my health condition and mental stress indeed affect my decision-making ability. But I sincerely hope that the university could consider my request with all the things I mentioned above and kindly allow me to pass PSYC 301.