Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To whom this may concern,

This past academic year, I have struggled immensely for a number of reasons. Family Issues, clinical depression, and the emotional fallout of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic have all contributed to a failure of my second semester this schoolyear. As a result of my declining mental health this year, it is only now that I am able to write an sufficiently adequate letter for an appeal.

November of 2020 is when my academics began to go downhill. I started attending less classes, going outside less often and becoming more and more reclusive by the week. In past years, depressive symptoms had tended to flare up as the weather got colder, and the same pattern repeated itself here, with the addition of stress from the pandemic, and my having stopped taking my medications.. It got to a point where I began to need academic accommodation, which I got from QSAS after divulging my situation to them in the Fall.

By January, as second semester was kicking into gear, family tensions and a lack of professional support of my mental health led to my condition worsening. Any drive or motivation I had to complete essential tasks, not just academic ones, had more or less disappeared. My eating and sleep patterns were inconsistent, and even courses like law, which I had enjoyed thoroughly in high school, did not interest me in the least.

The failure of my full year and second semester courses is a result of my untreated mental health condition and surrounding circumstances. It was only in mid-April that things took a turn for the better. My mother, who up until that point was not aware of the severity of my situation due to my reclusiveness, saw my decline, and booked me an appointment with a physician to resume my medication, and with my therapist from high school. With their support, I have been able to get myself to a place where I feel able to formally make this appeal. She also consulted with an academic advisor from the Faculty of Social Sciences, who upon hearing of my situation suggested I make a formal appeal, and provided us with the steps to do so.

I do not currently know what my academic plans for the future are, as through my struggle this year I have also realized I do not particularly enjoy the academic program I had selected, and will need to make a change. The grades I have received this year are wholly inconsistent with my performance last year as well as high school. I am weighing options with my family right now, and hope that what I have explained is sufficient to allow you to grant me an appeal such that the classes that I have indicated can be considered as dropped on my transcript, even though my situation prevented me from being able to honour the deadline to drop them. I appreciate the opportunity to do better, and appreciate your consideration.