Go Fund a Junior Historian with Offer from Oxford
Donation protected
Official start: Monday 12th of June.
Primary goal (1st year tuition fees) reached: Thursday 22nd of June.
—> Secondary goal: 2nd year tuition fees. See below.
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UPDATE:
Supporters, mentors and friends of Luca proudly announce:
Thanks to 89 donations we have reached our primary goal of raising 40,000€ ( = 1st year tuition fees) in order to secure Luca’s place at Oxford! We sincerely thank all of our sponsors for their support!
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Earlier this year, my younger brother Luca received an offer to read History at Balliol College, Oxford University - after an extremely selective admission process.
This was very exciting news and yet came as no surprise to his teachers, family, and friends. Reading History at Oxford was the personal goal he set for himself at a very young age, out of his genuine passion about the subject.
Holding an offer for Oxford is a once in a lifetime opportunity and a truly fantastic achievement: Luca has been given an offer to study for one of the most competitive subjects, at one of the most prestigious colleges, at one of the world's best universities. Balliol generates ideas and educates people who seek to change the world for the better, a perfect match.
The offer is conditional, meaning that Luca needs to obtain 38 out of 45 points in the International Baccalaureate. Due to his predicted grade of 44 points, the wait for the final results is relaxed.
What stood in the way between him and accepting the offer is proper financing of the tuition fees.
After Brexit, UK universities’ tuition fees for EU students, like Luca, went through the roof. EU students are now paying the overseas rate of 40,000 € as opposed to 10,000 € UK home rate. There is no counterbalance through undergraduate scholarships or UK.
Therefore, we had to turn to the community through this fundraiser.
Our short-term goal, to buy time by securing his place at Oxford for the first year, has now succeeded, thanks to the generosity of our sponsors. Achieving this gives us more time to explore more stable financing for the tuition fees for the 2nd and 3rd year in the coming 12 months. Specifically, we will be looking for scholarships or funding from institutions or foundations. In the meantime, the page will remain open and we welcome any further donations, which will go towards next year’s tuition fees.
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Feel free to check out some bonus material to get more insight into Luca's relationship to history.
1) A video of him, aged 14, discussing his favourite history books:
2) A must-read statement by his history teacher, Anna Horton:
"This is not the first time, nor will it be the last, that I have been confronted with this very disappointing truth about education: money rather than merit is the only guarantee for passage into the world's finest education establishments.
Luca has been offered a place in one of the most prestigious universities in the world, a university that will challenge and nurture his gift for History, a university that has recognised his unique talent for the subject, where he will be part of cutting edge research and find himself surrounded by inspirational lecturers at the top of their game and some of the greatest minds of his generation. But Luca will be unable to take up the offer, not because he is not good enough, but because the cost of that education is beyond his means.
I was fortunate to attend Oxford myself on two occasions, first at St. Hugh’s, then at Harris Manchester. These are among the most memorable days of my life. The pride I felt matriculating at the Sheldonian Theatre, the heated debates held in hushed tones at the Bodleian Library, the lecturers that transformed dusty mediaeval manuscripts into portals accessing the minds of scribes born a thousand years ago. I loved every moment of it. So would Luca, he should attend such a place.
Luca is one of the few students I have taught that made me question what I thought I knew about History. He saw things I had overlooked, found new angles and perspectives on old arguments, devoured Historians and used their ideas to form entirely new hypotheses on every topic we studied. Some teachers might feel threatened by a student who openly challenges them in class, for me it is the reason I teach. Rarely, very rarely, have I had the opportunity to teach someone who ends up teaching me. Those cherished moments take me back to my Oxford days.
Plato, one of the greatest philosophers in Western History, argued for a meritocracy: a system where a person’s talents and abilities are valued over their wealth and social class. It saddens me that we have yet to make this ancient ideal a reality."
3) Highlights from his motivation letter:
- "I grew up at the dawn of the third millennium when Fukuyama proclaimed ‘the end of history.’ I believed in the mirage of a peaceful world, beyond the barbarism of past centuries. Time has shattered this illusion. The world is once more beset by war, plague, and catastrophe; the Pax Americana is collapsing around us. Fukuyama was wrong. History is intensely alive, and unfolding in front of us. Historians are keepers of humanity’s mythos, but also people that can understand the present and create a brighter future. This sense of moral responsibility, as well as my passionate curiosity, drives me to study history."
- "Nearing adolescence, I found a book on my father’s nightstand: Kershaw’s To Hell and Back. I felt a sense of discovery as I lost myself in this chronicle of Europe’s tumultuous 20th century. Curiosity blossomed into passion and I began to identify with certain historical periods. That first book now stands proudly on top of a pile of my own; its oft–turned pages are torn and tattered. My history teacher once commented that the worn pages serve as proof of a well–read book. I see them as noble scars on a piece of the historian’s art which has profoundly shaped my life."
4) Endorsement letter from his school:
Dear ISM Community
We are writing to ask for your kind and generous support.
As you may be aware, one of our graduates of 2023, Luca Karkutli, has secured a highly prestigious conditional offer from Balliol College, University of Oxford, to read for history. Luca truly deserves this wonderful opportunity as he is an exceptional student and a role model for what an ISM education can achieve.
This conditional offer for Luca really reflects our vision of international education with distinction and he is committed to giving back to and sharing with the ISM community all that he can from this exceptional educational experience, especially with future years of ISM Oxbridge applicants.
Unfortunately, post Brexit, Oxford University overseas tuition fees now amount to approximately 40,000 euros, and the family are unable to fund these fees (as well as living costs) and there are no scholarships available for Luca either from the College, University or his home country.
As a Board of Trustees, we have also explored the option of providing Luca with a school-based scholarship, however, we are bound by our Articles of Association, which do not provide us with the option of supporting an external student to ISM in such a manner.
Therefore, after the school and the family have exhausted all the above efforts, Luca has set up this crowd funding site.
We urge you to review this link, get to know Luca and his story, and then, if you are able, donate whatever you can to support Luca in being able to take up his place at Oxford University this coming academic year.
We know that Luca is going to make all of us at ISM very proud indeed and he will be a wonderful ambassador for ISM should his dream become a reality thanks to your generosity.
Yours sincerely
The Board of Trustees
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More on Luca's academic and personal background:
He also applied to, and was accepted by, St. Andrews, Durham, Warwick, Edinburgh, all with equally high tuition fees.
Outside of his consistently high grades in school, Luca achieved an excellent score of 83% in the Oxford History Aptitude Test, a full 22 points above average. In Year 12, Luca was also received commendations for two History Essay Competitions from the New College of the Humanities and the John Locke Institute.
Luca has shown a consistently positive and respectful attitude, eager to learn and challenge himself in all areas. He has organized charitable work with the Red Cross, has played a senior role in Model United Nations Club, and has pursued rowing for multiple years.
Additionally, Luca is also perfectly trilingual in English, German, and French. Furthermore, he has several private history and fiction projects he pursues in his spare time.
Throughout the past years Luca has demonstrated not only his leadership and teamwork abilities, but also his strong principles and the ethical foundations of his character. He truly is a model student.
Annex:
- As a German national, he not only has no access to UK rates and UK student loans anymore, he also has no access to the array of support schemes for Commonwealth nationals (Canada, India, etc.);
- There are no other undergraduate scholarships available either, especially for the annual tuition costs – international scholarships only become available again for postgraduate Master’s programmes.
- German support schemes only allow for support to postgraduate studies outside Germany, or short-term undergraduate courses outside the EU. EU schemes like Erasmus only fund exchange students inside the EU.
Organizer and beneficiary
Maxim Karkutli
Organizer
Paris, A8
Luca Karkutli
Beneficiary