Help me to graduate
Donation protected
So I'm not allowed to graduate until I've paid the final 2.5k of my fees to the university. I've explained to them that I don't have that much money, and how I'm currently on an extremely low income (supplemented by universal credit) and am living on the breadline. I asked if there was any way that the university can help me because if can't graduate and receive the degree that I've worked hard towards, then I won't be able to get a job where I can ever pay them. In response to this I was hit with a hard no and told to set up a monthly payment plan and that I can graduate when I've paid it off. This will take me two and a half years at £100 a month, or 21 years at £10 - neither of which I can afford at the minute. After trying to work something out, I've just been emailed again today (17th November) telling me that the deadline for payment is tomorrow (18th November) - leaving me stuck in a pretty hard place and with nothing I can really do about it...
I'm entirely self dependent and have no savings or support network, and before university I'd left home and school at 16 with no qualifications, and then spent five years homeless, and then after worked as a builder and helping to build the university library (which I now work at). I then managed to secure a place at university, and over the past year have completed a foundation year, an undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice and Criminology, and now a Master's in Security, Conflict and Justice. The last year has been extremely hard, and I've batttled through depression to both survive the year, and to complete my Master's (for which I receive my final marks this Thursday (19th November).
Throughout my time at uni I've featured in a number of videos for the university where I talk about my previous experiences, and how I'm from a disadvantaged background, in order that they can raise money for scholarship donations, and show how inclusive they are for widening participation students and those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
I've already paid the university 5k for the 8 weeks of teaching I actually received this year (which they won't return), and I wasn't trying to get them to waive my fees, I was just asking for some way to sort out my situation. But I've been shocked by the coldness of the university's reaction to this request, and now don't know what to do because I can't receive the qualification I've earned because I can't afford it I'm going to keep pushing to receive my degree, but as it stands I'm not going to be able to graduate now this year (with my graduation ceremony cancelled anyway) , my future's even more uncertain than it was, and I feel like I've wasted a year of my life for nothing.
So any help at all that you can give to try and sort this out will be amazing, and greatly appreciated. If you want any further information, or to see the emails I've received, then get in touch and I'd be more than happy to help
Thanks in advance,
Liam
I'm entirely self dependent and have no savings or support network, and before university I'd left home and school at 16 with no qualifications, and then spent five years homeless, and then after worked as a builder and helping to build the university library (which I now work at). I then managed to secure a place at university, and over the past year have completed a foundation year, an undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice and Criminology, and now a Master's in Security, Conflict and Justice. The last year has been extremely hard, and I've batttled through depression to both survive the year, and to complete my Master's (for which I receive my final marks this Thursday (19th November).
Throughout my time at uni I've featured in a number of videos for the university where I talk about my previous experiences, and how I'm from a disadvantaged background, in order that they can raise money for scholarship donations, and show how inclusive they are for widening participation students and those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
I've already paid the university 5k for the 8 weeks of teaching I actually received this year (which they won't return), and I wasn't trying to get them to waive my fees, I was just asking for some way to sort out my situation. But I've been shocked by the coldness of the university's reaction to this request, and now don't know what to do because I can't receive the qualification I've earned because I can't afford it I'm going to keep pushing to receive my degree, but as it stands I'm not going to be able to graduate now this year (with my graduation ceremony cancelled anyway) , my future's even more uncertain than it was, and I feel like I've wasted a year of my life for nothing.
So any help at all that you can give to try and sort this out will be amazing, and greatly appreciated. If you want any further information, or to see the emails I've received, then get in touch and I'd be more than happy to help
Thanks in advance,
Liam
Organizer
Liam Knights
Organizer
