Help me go to Oxford!
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WHO AM I?
Isabella Kelly a Graduate from the University of East Anglia, desperately seeking a chance to do her postgraduate degree at Oxford!
WHY IT MATTERS:
Is post graduate education just for those with money? I should bloody hope not!
Can a mixed-race, working class woman educate herself to the fullest extent? I should bloody hope so!
MY STORY:
I was hoping to be smooth, smart and comical on this, but apparently legal writing is my forte so enjoy:
I have completed my undergraduate after four years; the result being a first, an interesting story and a mountain of debt (£51,000 to be precise). An eating disorder effectively controlled my brain for at least two years and gave me a very different focus in life; I was determined to withhold meals, only eat if I had walked a certain distance and dull down the stress and pain from repeatedly vomiting with alcohol. I was a chipper…
When I finally admitted to myself I was not well, I took time out from University and got the help I needed. Thanks to the wonderful people at Eating Matters, my friends, family and very patient lecturers I recovered and came back fighting. In fact, I graduated at the top of my year and obtained four awards (trust me I didn’t expect it either)!
- The Sir Roy and Lady Goode Prize for Best Overall Performance in the Degree of Bachelor of Laws
- The Tristan Clark Prize for the most improved LLB graduating student
- The Law School Prize for Best Performance in Final Assessment in the Degree of Bachelor of Laws
- A UEA Excellence Award
I have proven myself academically able but not financially so, this is an unfortunate truth and why I need the help of YOU, YES YOU THERE!
How will you spend your money?
- Oxford Fees: 19,791
- Living Costs: £12-17,000
- In terms of funding myself, I am saving in my current job and will be able to put £5,000 aside by the time I start.
- I now have a £10,000 scholarship from Oxford (after a sassy letter to them).
- Government funding extends only to £10,000.
- I can also get a career development loan of £5000.
And here is the letter I sent to Oxford:
Dear ------,
I am sad to say that I have to turn down my place to study at Oxford University. I am incredibly proud to have been accepted into the university, and it was a dream of mine to go. Unfortunately, it is only a dream and will not be a reality for me or for anyone like myself who comes from a less economically well-off background.
It seems a sad excuse to say that money is an impediment to my further education and I cannot attend one of the top schools in the world. This seems particularly ludicrous when I achieved the highest grade in my year at undergraduate level, despite coming from a working-class background and having a disability.
Social mobility is key to the development of not only academics but the law. By preventing this mobility, the law will always be taught from a perspective of those who can afford justice. Law is more often than not dictated by the cases of those with money; therefore, it works well for them. Thus, it will be even harder in the future to improve the law as the perspectives of those who cannot afford it will be left unheard, and this is who the legal system is failing now.
So, I ask for the sake of students, the law and society, in the future, please try and diversify your programme for those who cannot afford the incredibly large sums that this course requires.
Kind regards,
Isabella Kelly
Isabella Kelly a Graduate from the University of East Anglia, desperately seeking a chance to do her postgraduate degree at Oxford!
WHY IT MATTERS:
Is post graduate education just for those with money? I should bloody hope not!
Can a mixed-race, working class woman educate herself to the fullest extent? I should bloody hope so!
MY STORY:
I was hoping to be smooth, smart and comical on this, but apparently legal writing is my forte so enjoy:
I have completed my undergraduate after four years; the result being a first, an interesting story and a mountain of debt (£51,000 to be precise). An eating disorder effectively controlled my brain for at least two years and gave me a very different focus in life; I was determined to withhold meals, only eat if I had walked a certain distance and dull down the stress and pain from repeatedly vomiting with alcohol. I was a chipper…
When I finally admitted to myself I was not well, I took time out from University and got the help I needed. Thanks to the wonderful people at Eating Matters, my friends, family and very patient lecturers I recovered and came back fighting. In fact, I graduated at the top of my year and obtained four awards (trust me I didn’t expect it either)!
- The Sir Roy and Lady Goode Prize for Best Overall Performance in the Degree of Bachelor of Laws
- The Tristan Clark Prize for the most improved LLB graduating student
- The Law School Prize for Best Performance in Final Assessment in the Degree of Bachelor of Laws
- A UEA Excellence Award
I have proven myself academically able but not financially so, this is an unfortunate truth and why I need the help of YOU, YES YOU THERE!
How will you spend your money?
- Oxford Fees: 19,791
- Living Costs: £12-17,000
- In terms of funding myself, I am saving in my current job and will be able to put £5,000 aside by the time I start.
- I now have a £10,000 scholarship from Oxford (after a sassy letter to them).
- Government funding extends only to £10,000.
- I can also get a career development loan of £5000.
And here is the letter I sent to Oxford:
Dear ------,
I am sad to say that I have to turn down my place to study at Oxford University. I am incredibly proud to have been accepted into the university, and it was a dream of mine to go. Unfortunately, it is only a dream and will not be a reality for me or for anyone like myself who comes from a less economically well-off background.
It seems a sad excuse to say that money is an impediment to my further education and I cannot attend one of the top schools in the world. This seems particularly ludicrous when I achieved the highest grade in my year at undergraduate level, despite coming from a working-class background and having a disability.
Social mobility is key to the development of not only academics but the law. By preventing this mobility, the law will always be taught from a perspective of those who can afford justice. Law is more often than not dictated by the cases of those with money; therefore, it works well for them. Thus, it will be even harder in the future to improve the law as the perspectives of those who cannot afford it will be left unheard, and this is who the legal system is failing now.
So, I ask for the sake of students, the law and society, in the future, please try and diversify your programme for those who cannot afford the incredibly large sums that this course requires.
Kind regards,
Isabella Kelly
Organizer
Isabella Darcy Zara Thomas-Kelly
Organizer
England