Hi Aska! Hope your summer is going well, and you are not terribly overwhelmed by a bunch of students asking you stuff.
I am a student at the UTSG campus, Faculty of Arts and Science. To give you some context, I started university as a physics specialist, did terribly, had basically zero support systems, and put all my time towards school. The transition was rough, I got put on probation, thought I could stubborn my way through it, could not, realized halfway through second semester that I, in fact, hated my degree program, switched to different classes, and a completely different program.
My first semester of second year, I failed two classes, and got D’s in the other three, but second semester got two Bs, an A and a D in my new program (i know that last one is a rough point). I submitted a petition explaining my circumstances, as I did improve just a bit too late, attached I had two ta support letters, a profs, and proof that I have enrolled this summer in an academic support program and that in winter I attended counseling. I completely rebuilt my support program, and mentioned this in my petition. I also attached a new academic plan I made with my advisor, planning on taking an extra year regardless of outcomes.
I think I did a decent job of explaining my circumstances, why I believe I improved and am improving, that I think taking time off would be no helpful for me at this time, and have as much proof as I think I can gather to back up my story, but my main worry is that I do not have any extenuating and/or special circumstances, no recent deaths in the family, no sickness other then a cold ect.
Do I have any hope of getting my suspension lifted? Or am I pretty much screwed?
Thanks!
heyyo,
i just want to say right off the bat that you’ve done a lot of great stuff already and i think you should be proud.
unfortunately i am but an undergrad and i have zero secret knowledge about how suspension petition works. i do, however, have internet access, and i found this website which taught me the basics.
so seems like you’re either doing a petition for early return from suspension or a lift of suspension. both of those seem pretttty similar but with one caveat: if you’re petitioning for an early return from suspension, the website does say that it’s uncommon to do so before the one-year mark of your suspension. based on the clues you’ve given me though, i’m guessing it’s been about a year for you, so in that case you should be ok. but it is something to keep in mind.
anyways, i do see where you’re coming from, as that page does talk quite a bit about how you should explain any extenuating circumstances that led to your suspension, and you don’t have any “obvious” things that could fall under that category. however, while it may not be as glaring as struggling financially or a diagnosed mental health problem, you do mention that you were completely lacking a support system when you first came to uoft. the fact that you were in that situation and have now put in the work to build some supports for yourself is notable and i do hope you wrote a bit about that in your petition.
i also wanna point out that while, yes, extenuating circumstances do seem to be important, it also appears that it is just as (if not more) important that your application shows what you’ve done to make sure that you succeed after your return. and i really do think you’ve knocked it out of the ballpark on that one.
(ps: what is it with me and baseball sayings in this post? I HAVE been keeping up with the jays a lot lately…)
so overall, while i obviously can’t say anything for certain, i do not think that you’re screwed. i really do find the amount of work and thought you’ve put into the petition impressive and i hope the people reviewing it will think so too. if you ever have more questions about it though, i’d recommend that you get in touch with your college registrar’s office.
i’m crossing my fingers for you!
cheers,
aska