Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To the deans,

Over the past school term I have been unable to complete my studies. During this term I was unsure of why this was the case, and did not appeal nor use my accommodation for my depressive disorder as I could tell the source of the issue was separate from what occurred last school year. I was progressively becoming more disorganized and less motivated as the semester went on, and my uncertainty of what was causing this meant I could not in good faith submit an appeal at that time.

Only after returning home after the term ended did I discuss with my mother the possibility of me having ADHD. After speaking with a referred psychiatrist, I was diagnosed as having ADHD, which I was of course unaware of during the academic term. In light of this diagnosis only taking place after the year ended and having had no way of identifying this issue earlier, I hope the deans can understand my situation and consider having my failing grades dropped. I am aware that this is a recurring issue as the same occurred last academic year, however these two instances arose due to different conditions over which I had no control of at the time.

I am hoping to find the right path and method of study at Queen's through discovering more about my condition. This past year I tried exploring new areas of study to possibly change programs (from PHIL to PSYC) however this proved fruitless and caused me to feel lost. After discovering my ADHD I soon realized that I do enjoy what I studied, I just had the wrong structure for my neurodivergent brain. I have requested the documentation from my physician to submit alongside this letter, however I have yet to receive it and will upload it as soon as I receive it. Thank you for your consideration and please let me know what decision you come to.

Kind regards,
Aidan Rivlin