Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I am petitioning to drop several courses outlined in my application after the academic deadline. I failed several courses due to a physical and mental injury that I sustained in an accident that was out of my control. I am requesting that these failed courses will be able to be dropped late, with credit and Aegrotat standing.

December 13th, 2019, I was involved in a serious car accident. The accident left me with significant physical injuries that required extensive medical treatment and rehabilitation that is just recently coming to an end, with surgery to be expected in January of this year. In addition to my physical injuries, the accident also left me with severe mental trauma that has impacted my ability to focus and concentrate on my studies. Due to my injuries, I was unable to keep up with my coursework and ultimately failed several courses. In the second semester of my second year, I was severely depressed, had suicidal ideations constantly, experienced crippling anxiety, and was not in a place to complete my studies to the best of my ability. I completely negated everything to do with my hygiene, my health, and nutrition. I would stay in my residence room for weeks at a time, leaving my room only to eat once a day at dinner for my first meal. The culmination of these events resulted in me failing my second semester and are directly related to the accident and its long-lasting impact. A concussion specialist that I was seeing for a short time after the accident, explained to me that head trauma like this can and will lead to more susceptibility to mental health issues such as depression and anxiety. The specialist was correct, and I have been struggling with these issues ever since. The accident also created difficulty with elevating already underlying problems. I have had ADHD my whole life, but after the accident the disorder was amplified in a way that my friends and family have ever seen before. Therefore, the overwhelming impact that this accident has had on my life still shows itself today and was the extenuating circumstance that resulted in the failure of all the courses in my second semester of second year.

I understand that, under normal circumstances, these failures would remain on my transcript. However, I believe that the extenuating circumstances of my accident warrant a departure from this policy. I am committed to my education, and I am determined to make a full recovery from my injuries. After the events of my second year, I decided that enough was enough and that I needed some medical help. I started medication for the anxiety and depression in April and was diagnosed officially with ADHD and prescribed in the July of this past summer. I plan to continue taking this medication during my return to studies, whilst keeping regular visits and meetings with my doctor. I also plan to continue my weekly therapist lessons, while being honest and forthright about the possible feelings that I might feel again during my return to studies to prevent the recurrence of another very serious depressive state. In addition to my plan to continue seeing these professionals, I am awaiting surgery in January to implant two new front teeth, and I am eager to be finally out of the woods of physical reparations. I am confident that, with the support of the university and the professionals I am currently seeing, I will be able to bounce back and succeed in my future courses. I am respectfully requesting to drop the failed courses on my transcript. I would be grateful if you would consider my petition and allow me the opportunity to move forward with my education.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
Sebastian Wolfs