Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dean:

I am writing this letter for appealing to drop Music P52 Rudiments (Fall, 2014). I would like to have the opportunity to explain my circumstances and plead my case for reinstatement for one more semester.

I admit, I had a very difficult time during last semester. Before exams, I had a really bad cold. On the last day, I had Math 120 final exam in the morning and Music P52 final exam in the evening. After I finished the math exam, I contacted with my cousin and knew a terrible event. During I was in the university, my father bought a company. Based on a variety of reasons, like changing executives, the unmarketable products, funds and so on, my father's company was almost bankrupt. Although the disaster was lethal, my parents managed to hide it from me, they didn't tell me anything about this. When I talked with my cousin, she thought I knew everything. After she realized her mistake, she tried to comfort me and asked me not to worry. I was shocked when I knew the truth. I tried contact my parents immediately but failed because they didn't pick up the phone. For the entire afternoon, I could not stop thinking about this crisis in my mind, I tried hard but failed to keep calm down to focus my music course. I was very fragile and sensitive with the severe cold and mental burden. This horrible situation lasted through the music final exam too. I could not keep calm and demonstrate my knowledge. I fell into a deep panic. I was afraid that if my dad's company was really bankrupt, I probably can not afford the tuition to continue to study abroad. I even didn't know what to do in the future. My mind was a mess. It was so hard for me to stop crying and focus on the questions. At the time I submitted the paper, I foreboded this course was probably failed. Finally, I contacted my parents on the second day and asked what indeed happened. They told me not to worry. Last week, my father finally had some partial ability to control the company's circumstance. My father told me that he learned a lot from this crisis, and he was confident to continue his career. They promised me I can continue studying in the Queen's University without any financial concern. I finally got rid of the anxiety and relaxed. At the same time, I realized the truth of my poor academic performance on music.

My grades on all four other courses are Bs and As. I am sure that my failure on music is not caused by lacking of learning ability. I suffered too suddenly and I had no time to adjust myself. The bad cold and mental pressure made me so nervous and fragile, which led to the final failure. In fact, I am a strong and optimistic person. I can adapt the foreign life fast and enjoy studying in the Queen's. In order to make up for the loss credits in the last semester, I am now enrolled in six courses this semester. When I encounter some problems about my courses, I would communicate with my professor or send an email to ask answers as soon as possible, which made me keep pace and get good grades now. I do reflect my behavior in the last event. I realize I was not cool enough when I faced the trouble. I am so glad I can identify my weakness, and have the opportunity to improve myself. There will be lots of troubles which I can't imagine waiting for me in the future. But the only thing I am sure is that I will adjust my attitude and be more optimistic to face everything. Keeping calm down is very important to deal with difficulties. One mistake cannot deny me. I want to major mathematic in the second year, and I also want to get graduate status after graduation. I know a subject's failure will bring great impact to me. It does not only reduce my GPA, but also affect me on postgraduate application. So I really hope you can give me a second chance. Thank you for considering this appeal.


Sincerely,
Jiana Lu