Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean (Studies),

I am appealing to drop MATH 126 (Fall/Winter) after the academic deadline.

I love this school more than anything, but this has been a difficult year for me. I have been dealing with anxiety, and have had several anxiety/panic attacks this year. My family situation has also been a bit scattered ¿¿ my parents are currently in the process of getting separated, and my mother moved, so I currently don¿¿t have a house in the city that I consider home (Halifax).

The accumulation of all these events has made it very hard for me to focus on school, and especially in MATH 126. I thought that I could get through it, and handle this class, but in reality I should have dropped it earlier in the term. I got a tutor in second term, but this mostly added to my stress, and made me feel worse about myself as a student.

I had been finding it hard to cope with everything in my life, so I saw a councilor through HCDS at the end of the fall term. This term she suggested that I see a doctor to see if I needed any medication to deal with my anxiety. I went to the doctor, and she prescribed me anti-anxiety medication to be taken if I feel an anxiety attack coming on. This has really helped, but I am at the point where I am so far behind in MATH 126 that the damage has already been done.

The combination of my family situation, and my general anxiety and anxiety attacks have made it very hard to balance academics with everything else in my life; it¿¿s really hard to cope when you feel like you don¿¿t have a grasp on anything in your life, and that is how I feel now, and have felt for most of this year.

Being able to drop MATH 126 would give me peace of mind, and would allow me to concentrate on my other courses. My plan for academic success in the future is to take a lower course load, and really consider what I can deal with before fully committing to certain courses.

I know that nothing is more important than my mental health, and I hope you will consider this, and allow me to withdraw from MATH 126.
(Further documentation from the HCDS to come.)


All the Best,

Holly Foxall