Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I am appealing to have an aegrotat standing in two courses from my fall semester. I would like to have an aegrotat standing on my transcript for PHYS 115 and BIOL 102 from my fall semester term. I have withdrawn from the university this term because of mental health and realizing that I was not ready to be in university. After taking some time during the winter break to think, I decided that withdrawing would be best for me so I could focus on my mental health and also focus on developing a future plan for my career and really figure out what I want to study. Going into fall term I had a lot of mental health issues and was not convinced I would attend university at all. I felt very pressured by my parents to attend because I did not know what other options I had. Throughout the fall term while I was attending I was severely depressed and anxious. I have been diagnosed with anxiety since I was young and recently over the summer of 2022 was diagnosed with manic depression and obsessive compulsive disorder. The fall term was some of the most miserable months of my life despite being on medication for my illnesses and also being in therapy. On two different occasions I ended up having to spend some time in the hospital because I was having a mental health crisis and I was a danger to myself. I was travelling home every weekend back to my family crying about how much I didn't want to go back. I had a very hard time attending lectures because of these mental health issues and struggled to get all my course work done. Going into exams was an even lower point for me and I felt terrible because of how anxious I was and how poorly I was performing in my studies. My final grades on my transcript in those courses do not reflect my capabilities as a student. I excelled in high school and generally did not have a problem going to classes. My mental health issues were at an all time low and took over so I was unable to perform at my best this year. Now that I have withdrawn from Queen??s University I have been seeking more professional help and preparing myself to try going back to university to start fresh with new studies. On my transcript my cumulative grade point average is 66%. Both of the courses I achieved a grade under a C. For most universities the minimum average needs to be 70%. I am requesting to have an aegrotat standing on my transcript for the fall term courses. When I am ready to apply for university again I do not want other universities to take into consideration my fall term at Queen??s because of how bad my mental health was and how much it affected my studies. Once again I strongly feel that those grades do not reflect my capabilities as a student and I do not want that to limit the opportunities I could have and affect my future goals.