Petition Letter
May 19, 2022
TO: Queen's University - Office of Admissions
FROM: Larosh Kronemberg (student 20290071)
RE: Appeal of admission decision for Life Sciences
My name is Larosh Kronemberg, I am a current Queen's University student entering Year 2. I
completed my first year during the Fall 2021-Winter 2022 session. I was enrolled in the General
Sciences program and achieved a cumulative GPA of 1.97.
Right from the beginning, when I was first accepted into Queen's from my AP Program in the
York Region Catholic District School Board, my goal was to get into the Life Sciences Program.
I have always had a strong passion for medicine and the courses offered in Life Sciences
heavily complement my interests. However, due to my GPA being off by 0.03, I was unable to
apply to the pending list for this program. I am respectfully requesting your understanding and
consideration in the calculation of this GPA and my full acceptance into this coveted Life
Science Program.
For as long as I can remember, from early childhood, I have always been serious about
academics. Even through hardships, I have persevered and pushed through to achieve my
goals in my academic career. Over the past year, my family has experienced a huge and
emotional transition that affected my academic studies more than I initially realized.
Earlier this year, my parents announced their divorce. This was most certainly a sudden
heartache to me and my siblings. Divorce is never an easy subject, and it not only affects the
parents but takes a major toll on the children as well. I have two younger siblings, one of which
is not at an understanding age to fathom what a divorce is or consists of. I had to spend a lot of
time consoling my younger sister and explaining how we would be resilient and remain a family
despite such a tough obstacle hindering our vision of the bright path ahead of us. Not only did I
help my sister with this issue, but I also helped console my parents. At the end of the day,
although they make it seem like they're as strong as can be, they're human beings. I could not
live with myself as a son if I did not comfort them at such a difficult point in their lives. I was
constantly reassuring them by telling them at the end of the day they have us, their children, by
their side to love and care for them just as they have cared for us our whole lives.
Although I have never considered my family members a burden, this issue, combined with the
ongoing pandemic, has taken a significant toll on both my physical and mental health and well-
being. I found that I cried myself to sleep on many nights and struggled to get out of bed in the
morning. I found that I, an already incredibly thin person, was only getting thinner as each and
every day passed. Due to this, I worried about eating disorders such as anorexia. I am
currently struggling with an iron deficiency and have consulted my family physician for help with
these health issues.
However, I told myself that I wouldn't let this get in the way of my ambition to enter the field of
medicine. I told myself to try my best, to push myself as much as possible to do as well as I
can. Even making the pending list would have provided me a sense of relief because even
though there's still only a chance of making it into Life Sciences, my efforts would not have been for naught. I spent countless sleepless nights during exam season studying, including the nights
right before exams.
My ambition is something I have cultivated since I was in Grade 2. It has always provided me
with a purpose in life. My parents are both new Canadians, and indeed I was, myself, born
abroad. I consider myself a very proud, first generation Canadian now, and it has always been
my unwavering goal to become a doctor - the first in my family. I plan on saving many lives
with the skills that I will acquire in medical school. I believe that by becoming a medical
practitioner, I will be able to help people in third world countries with the skills I have been
taught through organizations such as Médecins Sans Frontiers. I have a keen interest in
working to improve poverty in other countries. I want to be able to go out and give free
healthcare to those without the privilege of basic necessities like food, water, and healthcare
due to domestic issues in their countries. As a new Canadian myself, I am blessed with these
privileges, and I want to bless others with the same. Later, down the line after my years of
service, I would love to open my own hospital in a third-world country such as my home country,
Sri Lanka.
This passion and ambition is something that I cannot bear to let go of. To the very best of my
ability, I just cannot let this dream slip away because of a slip in academic performance over
this one year. I was faced with hugely adult challenges, and I did my very best to keep
everything in balance to support my family. Sadly, by a factor of 0.03 GPA, I missed the mark. I
cannot make excuses - I didn't achieve the number required. But your consideration of my
circumstances would be greatly appreciated and I promise you I will honour this consideration
and show you that I can do this.
In high school, I attended the AP program. Being in this rigorous academic programme, there
were many strenuous situations and, seeing the amount of extra work it required, I heard some
of my peers advise me to leave the program and pursue a regular OSSD program. Although
this kind of negative advice was very discouraging, I used it as fuel to motivate me in my
subsequent years and, in Grade 11 and 12, I scored very high marks in my AP courses. I
worked very hard, day and night, to get the marks I needed and to prove to myself that I could
achieve my dreams and attend a prestigious school such as Queen's University. In my heart of
hearts, I know I'm able to walk down this path my parents paved for me when we immigrated to
Canada and inevitably reach the destination I've always hoped for. Despite all the struggles my
family and I have faced as newcomers to Canada, it will all be worth it in the end. I simply
appeal for consideration in providing me with the ability to declare Life Sciences as my second-
year major at Queen's.
Although I blame myself for not being able to meet the requirements, I humbly ask for the
opportunity to be accepted into the Life Sciences Program at Queen's University. With your
consideration in raising my GPA by 0.03 points to a 2.00, I will be able to meet the pending list
for Life Sciences as a major. I so desperately wish to be part of this program. Further, should
this acceptance into the Life Sciences Program not be possible, I have discovered that my GPA
is not high enough for automatic acceptance for many majors. However, staying with my strong
desire to become a doctor, Biology itself would be an appropriate alternative major. However,
the issue is I cannot get an automatic acceptance into a major in Biology because I received a
mark of B- instead of B in BIOL103, and a mark of B is what is required. Once again, although I
realize it is a big ask, I would truly appreciate a change in my BIOL103 mark to B which would
allow me to declare a major in Biology, my second choice.
Thank you so much for your time and consideration,
Larosh Kronemberg
TO: Queen's University - Office of Admissions
FROM: Larosh Kronemberg (student 20290071)
RE: Appeal of admission decision for Life Sciences
My name is Larosh Kronemberg, I am a current Queen's University student entering Year 2. I
completed my first year during the Fall 2021-Winter 2022 session. I was enrolled in the General
Sciences program and achieved a cumulative GPA of 1.97.
Right from the beginning, when I was first accepted into Queen's from my AP Program in the
York Region Catholic District School Board, my goal was to get into the Life Sciences Program.
I have always had a strong passion for medicine and the courses offered in Life Sciences
heavily complement my interests. However, due to my GPA being off by 0.03, I was unable to
apply to the pending list for this program. I am respectfully requesting your understanding and
consideration in the calculation of this GPA and my full acceptance into this coveted Life
Science Program.
For as long as I can remember, from early childhood, I have always been serious about
academics. Even through hardships, I have persevered and pushed through to achieve my
goals in my academic career. Over the past year, my family has experienced a huge and
emotional transition that affected my academic studies more than I initially realized.
Earlier this year, my parents announced their divorce. This was most certainly a sudden
heartache to me and my siblings. Divorce is never an easy subject, and it not only affects the
parents but takes a major toll on the children as well. I have two younger siblings, one of which
is not at an understanding age to fathom what a divorce is or consists of. I had to spend a lot of
time consoling my younger sister and explaining how we would be resilient and remain a family
despite such a tough obstacle hindering our vision of the bright path ahead of us. Not only did I
help my sister with this issue, but I also helped console my parents. At the end of the day,
although they make it seem like they're as strong as can be, they're human beings. I could not
live with myself as a son if I did not comfort them at such a difficult point in their lives. I was
constantly reassuring them by telling them at the end of the day they have us, their children, by
their side to love and care for them just as they have cared for us our whole lives.
Although I have never considered my family members a burden, this issue, combined with the
ongoing pandemic, has taken a significant toll on both my physical and mental health and well-
being. I found that I cried myself to sleep on many nights and struggled to get out of bed in the
morning. I found that I, an already incredibly thin person, was only getting thinner as each and
every day passed. Due to this, I worried about eating disorders such as anorexia. I am
currently struggling with an iron deficiency and have consulted my family physician for help with
these health issues.
However, I told myself that I wouldn't let this get in the way of my ambition to enter the field of
medicine. I told myself to try my best, to push myself as much as possible to do as well as I
can. Even making the pending list would have provided me a sense of relief because even
though there's still only a chance of making it into Life Sciences, my efforts would not have been for naught. I spent countless sleepless nights during exam season studying, including the nights
right before exams.
My ambition is something I have cultivated since I was in Grade 2. It has always provided me
with a purpose in life. My parents are both new Canadians, and indeed I was, myself, born
abroad. I consider myself a very proud, first generation Canadian now, and it has always been
my unwavering goal to become a doctor - the first in my family. I plan on saving many lives
with the skills that I will acquire in medical school. I believe that by becoming a medical
practitioner, I will be able to help people in third world countries with the skills I have been
taught through organizations such as Médecins Sans Frontiers. I have a keen interest in
working to improve poverty in other countries. I want to be able to go out and give free
healthcare to those without the privilege of basic necessities like food, water, and healthcare
due to domestic issues in their countries. As a new Canadian myself, I am blessed with these
privileges, and I want to bless others with the same. Later, down the line after my years of
service, I would love to open my own hospital in a third-world country such as my home country,
Sri Lanka.
This passion and ambition is something that I cannot bear to let go of. To the very best of my
ability, I just cannot let this dream slip away because of a slip in academic performance over
this one year. I was faced with hugely adult challenges, and I did my very best to keep
everything in balance to support my family. Sadly, by a factor of 0.03 GPA, I missed the mark. I
cannot make excuses - I didn't achieve the number required. But your consideration of my
circumstances would be greatly appreciated and I promise you I will honour this consideration
and show you that I can do this.
In high school, I attended the AP program. Being in this rigorous academic programme, there
were many strenuous situations and, seeing the amount of extra work it required, I heard some
of my peers advise me to leave the program and pursue a regular OSSD program. Although
this kind of negative advice was very discouraging, I used it as fuel to motivate me in my
subsequent years and, in Grade 11 and 12, I scored very high marks in my AP courses. I
worked very hard, day and night, to get the marks I needed and to prove to myself that I could
achieve my dreams and attend a prestigious school such as Queen's University. In my heart of
hearts, I know I'm able to walk down this path my parents paved for me when we immigrated to
Canada and inevitably reach the destination I've always hoped for. Despite all the struggles my
family and I have faced as newcomers to Canada, it will all be worth it in the end. I simply
appeal for consideration in providing me with the ability to declare Life Sciences as my second-
year major at Queen's.
Although I blame myself for not being able to meet the requirements, I humbly ask for the
opportunity to be accepted into the Life Sciences Program at Queen's University. With your
consideration in raising my GPA by 0.03 points to a 2.00, I will be able to meet the pending list
for Life Sciences as a major. I so desperately wish to be part of this program. Further, should
this acceptance into the Life Sciences Program not be possible, I have discovered that my GPA
is not high enough for automatic acceptance for many majors. However, staying with my strong
desire to become a doctor, Biology itself would be an appropriate alternative major. However,
the issue is I cannot get an automatic acceptance into a major in Biology because I received a
mark of B- instead of B in BIOL103, and a mark of B is what is required. Once again, although I
realize it is a big ask, I would truly appreciate a change in my BIOL103 mark to B which would
allow me to declare a major in Biology, my second choice.
Thank you so much for your time and consideration,
Larosh Kronemberg