Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To the Associate dean,

Hello, my name is Ren Yi (Colin) Zhao, student number 10194474. I am currently a second-year student in the Faculty of Arts and Science, working towards a bachelor of science honours. Ever since I came to Queen's, I have struggled with my daily activities and academics. Under the guidance of academic advisors, I am writing to appeal for waiving the 21-day /one term deadline for the 2015-2016 school year. In addition to the late appeal, I would also like to apply for an appeal for the 2016-2017 year. I am applying for a Credit Standing (Math 210, Stats 268, and math 231), and as well as an appeal to drop some courses (Chem 112, Econ 111, Phys 106, Math 280, Math 281, and Math 269). Since it is the end of the second semester of the 2017, I am appealing so that I may be able to continue my academics throughout the summer as well as the next fall semester.
The reason why I am appealing so late is because I had no knowledge of the appeal system until my academic advisor recommended it to me. After my first year, I received an email regarding my academics, and was notified that I had been placed under academic probation due to my low GPA. During that time, I believed that I could try and raise my GPA; however, after the first semester of my second year it became evident that I needed help. After consulting with academic advisors, they suggested that I should turn to the appeal system due to my ongoing struggle in academics, and daily life.
Prior to coming to Queen's, I have been dealing with depression for a long time. I have sought out counselling, therapy, as well as psychiatry help. However, since coming to Queen's, I became reluctant to continue any sort of treatment as I believed I could start university with a fresh start. After completing my first year, I realized I needed to continue treatment, as well as a support system that could help me get through not only my academics, but my daily life as well. Waking up, getting up and getting through the day has always been a challenge for me. I would often have bad days, where I would have extreme depressive episodes with self-harm, and recurring suicidal thoughts and tendencies. On days when I could do something productive, I found it very hard to focus on the task at hand. In addition to my depression, I have been diagnosed for ADHD as a child. This increased the difficulty of focusing as well as managing daily tasks. This has an extremely negative effect on me, which in turn inhibited my ability to study well as well as writing the appeal on time. However, I've decided to make a change in my life for the better.
At the beginning of this year, I went to seek professional help to assist me in achieving a healthy lifestyle. I started seeing a physician to refer me to a psychiatrist, as well as prescription medication to get me back on track. I've also started regularly seeing a counsellor at the Student Wellness Centre, to help me formulate a plan for a healthier, happier and productive life. Ever since I have been on anti-depressant medication, as well as going to counselling, I noticed a positive improvement in my life. I have also applied for student accessibility services so that I will not lag in academics with my peers. Since I started these changes, I have started to do better and regain control of my life. This is also something I plan on doing regularly to maintain a healthy balance of life, mentally, physically and academically.
On the academic side, I met with an academic advisor to discuss the future of my studies. I plan on going to summer school, and take an extra year to catch up on the courses I need to graduate. I plan on applying for a mathematics major or a computer science major with a specialization in mathematics. I have a deep interest in the field of mathematics and always have since I was child. Math remains a subject that I want to explore; I find it rewarding when I solve puzzling questions or discover a new concept. I spend a lot of time on my computer, and have developed a keen interest and new skill set. I've built multiple computers from scratch, and coded many programs through a variety of languages and platforms. When I am coding, it does not feel like a joy rather than a chore to study. It is something I play around to understand and learn. This skill comes to me quite naturally, and thus I want to continue studying mathematics and transition into computing. I am enrolled in summer school for the necessary courses to go into the computing major with a specialization in math; the first step to major in the program. I want to graduate in this field since this has always been an ambition of mine, which gives me the determination to achieve it.
I promise to meet Queen's academic expectations moving forward. Now that I am better managing my personal struggles, I will recover my GPA and towards graduating with honours. The reason why I want to graduate with honours is because I plan on applying to graduate school. Graduate school for me means the gateway to discover more about the world through the perspective of mathematics and computing. I also plan on applying for the Queen's exchange program, so that I can have a global perspective with many different views. With these goals, I am enthralled to continue my studies at Queen's next school year. Thank you for taking the time for reading this appeal, and I sincerely hope my appeal is granted.

Best regards,
Ren Yi (Colin) Zhao