Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: though I am sure that everyone, students and professors, was struggling with the shift caused by the pandemic, unfortunately for the fall 2021 semester, I was struggling more than most. Getting out of bed in the morning was an everyday struggle and thus going to class had eventually become a second thought. readings and assignments became less and less important as the semester went on and my mind became foggier. This was a time in my life where I was struggling more than ever but because of outside pressure from my family to finish my degree on time, I had forced myself to try and take a full course load. because this is not a foreign struggle to me, I thought that I would be able to push through just one semester of a full course load, not realizing how severe my situation had gotten. Either my pride or my anxiety, perhaps both, would not let me take less than 5 courses that semester even though I was in no position, mentally and emotionally, to take on that kind of course load. With the help of my therapists (occupational therapist, psychotherapist, and psychiatrist) I have been able to come to understand that my course load does not equal my intelligence or my self-worth and that taking a few extra years to complete my undergrad would not be the end of the world. I hope to be able to retake these courses at a later time, alongside a maximum of 2 other courses, in order for me to complete them to the best of my ability. I plan to either do part-time schooling or a maximum of 3 courses a semester in order for the course load to be more manageable for me and in order to prevent a situation like this from happening again in the future. With this plan and the continuous support from my therapists, as well as my friends and family, I can say with confidence that if this appeal were to be accepted, a situation like this would not happen again.