Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To the Associate Dean (Studies),


I am appealing to waive the requirement to withdraw from my studies for one year, replace my lower grades with credit ratings so that my GPA isn¿¿t greatly affected, and remove MATH121 from my transcript.

I have had to deal with a number of difficult circumstances over the past two years that have greatly affected my well-being, mental state, and academic performance. In my first year, I went through a difficult time that surrounded my sister¿¿s death anniversary, grandfather¿¿s death, and some severe family problems. Those issues were already tough to handle, but coupled with the stress of my first final exams and being alone and away from home, my way of handling myself led to some extremely poor decisions. On top of my terrible performance, I had broken many relations with my floor mates in residence, which brought on social isolation that turned very ugly towards the end of the year, especially in losing some very close friends who I was planning on living with the following year. There were a few episodes surrounding that incident that were out of my control, and that greatly disrupted my academics ¿¿ during the exam period especially, my concentration levels were extremely low, and my ability to focus on necessary assignments and tasks was all but diminished. Since I was facing extreme troubles both at home and at university, I had no support system to lean on during this time. Therefore, it came as no surprise that my performance over the year landed me on the academic probation list. This was a scary blow for me that also upset my family, but I figured that time would heal and that second year would be a chance to fix things.

I found new housemates over the summer, and the first month back at school went reasonably well. However, troubles once again arose with the same group of students I had issues with the year before. What started out as something minor I thought I could ignore quickly escalated to the point where I stopped leaving the house and socializing, stopped eating, and had great difficulty sleeping. This period was particularly detrimental to my studies since both my physical and mental states were very poor for a span of weeks. After a particularly bad night, I was convinced by a family member to seek out help from the campus¿¿ counseling services.

After the first few difficult sessions, I began addressing both the current issues and the ones from the past year. Although I was still being troubled by some peers ¿¿ enough to warrant a harassment complaint through my counselor ¿¿ I had finally shared some of my troubles with someone who was able to help me; as it turns out, there were far more complex issues at play that I definitely would not have been able to tackle had I stuck to trying to fix things myself. I was also referred to an academic advisor, and my work with her also led me to realize that part of my poor academic performance was due to the fact that I was taking more difficult courses that I had no interest in (i.e Organic Chemistry) rather than courses that I would have a higher aptitude for because I am interested in them (i.e Psychology). After discussing my career options with her, she suggested a course load for next year that I would likely have more success with.

By the time I finally got some help, most of the academic year had already passed, so my grades still aren¿¿t where they should be, but my final marks for the 2014 Winter semester are still an improvement to what they used to be, even from the 2013 Fall Semester. Towards the end of this past year, I¿¿ve made progress in talking about my troubles, building a support system, developing tactics to deal with the stressors in my life, and immersing myself in things that are beneficial for my well-being such as involvement in my club, War Child at Queen¿¿s; I am confident that, if I were given this chance, I can pull myself back together and achieve the standards our school is so well known for. I hope it can also be recognized that when I was first accepted to Queen¿¿s University, I was an honors student at one of the top ranked high schools in Canada with an extensive list of extra-curriculars and volunteer experience. If there is one thing I can claim with absolute conviction, it is that my shortcomings as a student over the past two years are not due to lack of intelligence or capability, but rather lack of stability and support. I have finally received the help I needed and am now getting my life back on track. This being said, both myself and my counselor agree that actively continuing with my education would be better for my academic future and well-being rather than withdrawing for a year, which would only hinder moving forward and make pursuing my career goals that much more difficult.

I understand that this letter is well past the date it should have been received, however I was unaware that academic appeals were even possible until I had finally discussed my options with my counselor and academic advisor. I truly believe that I have what it takes to achieve my full potential now. After everything I have gone through, Queen¿¿s is still the place I call home and is the place I still feel the need to be a part of. I deeply regret not opening myself to my options earlier, but now that I have addressed past issues and know that this opportunity exists, I would really appreciate that chance to be given the consideration.


Thank you very much,
Vrinda Ambwani