Petition Letter
In many ways there were several successes this past year, despite the final grade numbers you see. With this being said, I am asking that you waive your decision for my withdraw.
In first year, I really struggled grasping the scientific background in Psych 101, and failing that course is a big reason that I am in this position today. First year was trying to figure out where I wanted to direct myself, and quickly discovered psych is not for me. I had wanted to drop it, but because of parental pressure I stuck with the course, and later failed. This greatly influenced my grade average, which in turn, placed me on academic probation. In the 2018/2019 school year there was no one course that I felt that I struggled with throughout the semester, I did well on all my assignments. I believe that my biggest struggle is doing well on my exams, as they typically account for 30 to 40 of my grade, and I struggled to pass many of them. It is in these high pressure, heavily weighted, time sensitive assessments that I really have difficulties. My disability severely impacts my concentration, cognitive functioning and self-confidence, and on exam days this is just exacerbated.
In October, 2018 I spoke with an academic advisor, as I was concerned about my performance, was feeling overwhelmed and wanted to create the best plan for myself. While speaking with her I decided I would reduce my course load, taking 9 credits each semester. This unfortunately did not happen until late October, as I initially thought my poor marks in first year were just due to the transition from high school and the failed credit. I believe that the delay in dropping the courses is a factor to why I did poorly in my second year first semester, as I was trying to balance 5 courses, resulting in the 3 courses I stayed in not receiving the attention that they did in second semester. Additionally, I left the meeting under the impression that I had until I completed 30 credits to ensure my GPA was over 1.6. To which I now realize I misunderstood. This meant, I was working on a timeline to boost my GPA that included my summer courses, assuming that if I did well in my 9 credits this summer, my probation would be waived.
Continuing into the rest of the year I tried my hardest, and in all of my courses before exams, I had achieved a 70 or higher, with the exception of History of the Holocaust. In this course I received good marks on all of my assignments, with the exception of one I received a zero for. Due to my functional impairments, I got the dates of two papers mixed up. I had emailed the professor two days prior to the due date, really thinking that I still had a week, asking for a bit of an extension as I was worried about completing it to the best of my abilities. When I had not received an answer from him I emailed my TA asking if she was able to grant me an extension, she said she was not and I had to speak with him. He never answered me, despite me emailing him 4 more times, and this continued even after my exam. This paper was worth 15 and would have bumped my mark up by at least 10, based on prior assessments in that course. I also reached out to with my accessibility advisor, Meg Hall, who had also emailed him, again with no answer. Additionally, Meg and I both emailed him early in the semester regarding my accommodations and getting the slides for the class as they were not posted online. Despite several requests, he did not give them to me until right before the exam, where he posted them for the entire class. It seemed the entire semester that he was unwilling to accommodate me. My diagnosed disability comes with additional challenges, the challenge should not be in having my accommodations met. I realize now that I should have brought all of my concerns to Meg's attention sooner, rather than later in the course when the due date extension situation arose. That said, this class was one exam that I did pass though, with a 52. A 52 isn't the best grade, but when I struggle passing exams, this was a win for me. Otherwise, I had received an 80 and 75 on the two papers I submitted, and I was sincerely interested in the course material. I genuinely believe that if I had the slides I would have done better on the exam, and had I been given the opportunity to hand in the midterm paper, even with late mark deductions, I would have achieved the 1.6 GPA I need to stay at Queen's.
In English 200 I received one of my lowest marks, a D-. Reflecting back on this I understand my mark was impacted by my low attendance, but this was heavily impacted by my significant mental health issues. Attendance was worth 10, and as much as I wanted to be there, with it being a morning class, along with my disability, getting up on time in the morning was, and still is, extremely difficult for me. In the end this impacted my readiness for my exam, which contributed to the poor mark. Before the exam, I had received 70 on two of my papers and an in class reading assignment, and 68 on my outline. Therefore, I know it was my attendance and exam that brought me down.
Overall, my mental health was the major extenuating circumstance that impacted my overall marks. I was recently given a new diagnosis, and trying to figure out what that meant and how to best help me overcome it came at a cost of my grades. I have since come up with a plan to better my mental health and grades, and set up a support system, hoping that I am able to stay at Queen's .
In first year, I really struggled grasping the scientific background in Psych 101, and failing that course is a big reason that I am in this position today. First year was trying to figure out where I wanted to direct myself, and quickly discovered psych is not for me. I had wanted to drop it, but because of parental pressure I stuck with the course, and later failed. This greatly influenced my grade average, which in turn, placed me on academic probation. In the 2018/2019 school year there was no one course that I felt that I struggled with throughout the semester, I did well on all my assignments. I believe that my biggest struggle is doing well on my exams, as they typically account for 30 to 40 of my grade, and I struggled to pass many of them. It is in these high pressure, heavily weighted, time sensitive assessments that I really have difficulties. My disability severely impacts my concentration, cognitive functioning and self-confidence, and on exam days this is just exacerbated.
In October, 2018 I spoke with an academic advisor, as I was concerned about my performance, was feeling overwhelmed and wanted to create the best plan for myself. While speaking with her I decided I would reduce my course load, taking 9 credits each semester. This unfortunately did not happen until late October, as I initially thought my poor marks in first year were just due to the transition from high school and the failed credit. I believe that the delay in dropping the courses is a factor to why I did poorly in my second year first semester, as I was trying to balance 5 courses, resulting in the 3 courses I stayed in not receiving the attention that they did in second semester. Additionally, I left the meeting under the impression that I had until I completed 30 credits to ensure my GPA was over 1.6. To which I now realize I misunderstood. This meant, I was working on a timeline to boost my GPA that included my summer courses, assuming that if I did well in my 9 credits this summer, my probation would be waived.
Continuing into the rest of the year I tried my hardest, and in all of my courses before exams, I had achieved a 70 or higher, with the exception of History of the Holocaust. In this course I received good marks on all of my assignments, with the exception of one I received a zero for. Due to my functional impairments, I got the dates of two papers mixed up. I had emailed the professor two days prior to the due date, really thinking that I still had a week, asking for a bit of an extension as I was worried about completing it to the best of my abilities. When I had not received an answer from him I emailed my TA asking if she was able to grant me an extension, she said she was not and I had to speak with him. He never answered me, despite me emailing him 4 more times, and this continued even after my exam. This paper was worth 15 and would have bumped my mark up by at least 10, based on prior assessments in that course. I also reached out to with my accessibility advisor, Meg Hall, who had also emailed him, again with no answer. Additionally, Meg and I both emailed him early in the semester regarding my accommodations and getting the slides for the class as they were not posted online. Despite several requests, he did not give them to me until right before the exam, where he posted them for the entire class. It seemed the entire semester that he was unwilling to accommodate me. My diagnosed disability comes with additional challenges, the challenge should not be in having my accommodations met. I realize now that I should have brought all of my concerns to Meg's attention sooner, rather than later in the course when the due date extension situation arose. That said, this class was one exam that I did pass though, with a 52. A 52 isn't the best grade, but when I struggle passing exams, this was a win for me. Otherwise, I had received an 80 and 75 on the two papers I submitted, and I was sincerely interested in the course material. I genuinely believe that if I had the slides I would have done better on the exam, and had I been given the opportunity to hand in the midterm paper, even with late mark deductions, I would have achieved the 1.6 GPA I need to stay at Queen's.
In English 200 I received one of my lowest marks, a D-. Reflecting back on this I understand my mark was impacted by my low attendance, but this was heavily impacted by my significant mental health issues. Attendance was worth 10, and as much as I wanted to be there, with it being a morning class, along with my disability, getting up on time in the morning was, and still is, extremely difficult for me. In the end this impacted my readiness for my exam, which contributed to the poor mark. Before the exam, I had received 70 on two of my papers and an in class reading assignment, and 68 on my outline. Therefore, I know it was my attendance and exam that brought me down.
Overall, my mental health was the major extenuating circumstance that impacted my overall marks. I was recently given a new diagnosis, and trying to figure out what that meant and how to best help me overcome it came at a cost of my grades. I have since come up with a plan to better my mental health and grades, and set up a support system, hoping that I am able to stay at Queen's .