Please help grieving working-class student get Cambridge PhD

Hi, my name is Megan and I am hoping to raise funds to afford the required costs to take up my offer of studying my PhD at Cambridge University.

I am a working-class student, the first of my family members to go to university, and studied at a state school, with free school meals, and have lived my entire life in an impoverished North-East town. I worked extremely hard at school and was able to study my undergraduate degree at Cambridge University, and have always dreamed of going back for my PhD.

After returning home to study for my Master's at Newcastle, my mother was diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer. I have had an extremely difficult few years since, moving my studies to part-time and taking several pauses to manage the pain and stress of this period, and eventual grief after my mother passed away from her illness. Through the heartbreak I continued to work hard for her, and I have recently finished my Master's with Distinction, and am proud that I achieved Firsts for my assignments and a 78 for my dissertation.

After the devastating last few years I have experienced at home, I am hoping to turn over a new leaf and return to Cambridge once again for PhD. I always promised her that I would gain my Doctorate and make her proud, and nothing would fulfil this dream more than being able to return to the university and city we both loved, and keep working hard in my studies. I am hoping if I am fortunate to become a professor myself someday.

I am very grateful to have been successful in my application and receiving my offer to study for my PhD at Cambridge, which is due to begin this autumn, and will last three years. However, in order to accept my offer, I need to prove to the University that I will be able to fund the tuition and maintenance expenses of 30k a year. I had hoped to cover this with scholarships, but I have unfortunately been unsuccessful in all of my applications, leaving me in an awful position. It would be extremely upsetting to lose the opportunity to study at a university that has offered me a place, recognised my merit to study there, and that I have dreamed of returning to for years, simply on being working-class and unable to afford the high financial expenses. I can cover some of the expenses with Student Finance (10k a year), but this still leaves me short of the 20k a year I would require for Cambridge to confirm my acceptance of the offer.

I know that the situation worldwide is in dire straits financially at present, and making a request online right now asks an awful lot, especially for such high fees, which I am very sorry for. But, to quote my brother's encouraging advice in putting forward my GoFundMe, 'you miss all the chances you don't take'. I know it's a long shot, and how large my request is. But I would be beyond grateful for any help at all from anyone who is able. I cannot stress enough how heartening and wonderful any donation would be, no matter the size. It would be so heartwarming and encouraging to know there are good people out there who believe in me and are willing to help support me, to push me onward to keep working hard and achieving my dreams, and making my family proud. The last few years have been an awfully rough time, but to know there might be some light at the end of the tunnel, and to have so much generous help in lighting the way there, would be a dream come true.

Thank you to everyone reading this. I wish you all the very best, and am so incredibly grateful in advance for any help anyone can spare, if you can. Sending my warmest thanks, heartfelt appreciation, and wishing everyone the best of luck whatever you are going through, and for everything you are aspiring for.