Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Appeal Letter: To whom it may concern,

I am writing to you today to appeal the Associate Dean’s decision to deny my request to Waive the petition Deadline for for the 2023 winter term as well as dropping my courses after the academic deadline. As well as my requirement to withdraw for the upcoming academic year. The reason that I am appealing this decision is because I don’t think the Associate Dean fully understood the situation I have been dealing with over the past year, as well as me not explaining it in the best way to its full extent. In my email from the Associate Dean, they said that they do not think that I have demonstrated that my extenuating circumstances are being managed in a way that will allow me to be successful in my future classes. While I understand partly where that is coming from, I don’t think they fully understand the steps that I am taking. I stated in my last appeal letter that I had been going to therapy since 2017, I have not been going for my depression that whole time. I definitely could have made this more clear in my first letter, which is why I would like to rectify this now. When I first started to go to therapy it was to deal with issues of my parents divorces, as well as issues with my abusive father. It wasn’t until about the end of 2022 that I had started to deal with the symptoms of depression, and started to get help for that in my therapy. I think it is also important to mention this time around that part of the reason I started to develop depression in my first year was because like everyone else I was learning to deal with life away from my parents, but also at this time I had started to get bullied by another student in my dorms. After moving out of the dorms and living with my real friends in second year I had started to get over this, but at this point my symptoms with depression were too severe, and I had not realized it until it was too late in that semester. I also think that in my first petition letter the Associate Dean did not take into consideration the fact that I had started medication to deal with my depression, as well as setting up a daily routine that has been very helpful at keeping me motivated. I started taking the antidepressants in January this year, but the results of this medication did not all happen at once. As I said in my last letter, it started to take a serious effect with helping me deal with my depression about a month in when I started to notice that I was able to leave my room a lot more, as well as start to make myself proper food. It wasn’t until the end of the semester that I noticed the change in my motivation for school, but by this time it was too late. Also while being home for the summer, I have gotten into a daily routine of going to bed and waking up earlier, as well as going to the gym, which I have noticed has really helped with my mental health and my motivation which I feel I will be able to keep up during the upcoming school year to help my keep that motivation and good mental health intact. Because of the circumstances that I have dealt with over the past year and a half, I have not been able to fully focus on my schoolwork since I was not in the right headspace. I am confident that by continuing all of these steps that I have put into place to help me deal with the depression that I had started to experience about 2 years ago, I will be able to go back to the good student I once was, and be able to have a great year this upcoming school year. I plan on taking 5 years of studies minimum so that I don’t overwhelm myself when I go back to school and can give all of my courses the necessary attention that they deserve. I really hope that you take my appeal into consideration so that I have the chance to prove myself to the school next year because I do love my classes and would love a second chance to show what I am really capable of. I have also attached a more in depth letter from my therapist explaining my situation and the steps that we have been taking.

Thank you for your consideration,
Alexandra Korakis