My education is at risk,please help
Donation protected
(update: I've been told GFM has a minimum of £5, so I'd you'd prefer to use PayPal it's [email redacted] )
(update 2: goal has now been set to £4,800 to reflect PayPal donations!)
(update 3: I have now been given a proper deadline - November 3rd, or end of October realistically as bank transfers take a few days. This has already been pushed back thanks to my tutors and head of my faculty, but that's the most they can do.)
(update 4: goal now updated to £3,300 to reflect PayPal donations!)
(update 5: goal now updated to £2,450 to reflect PayPal donations!)
(update 6: goal now updated to £2,000 to reflect PayPal donations! WE DID IT! I'll post a big update post soon!)
Hi everyone.
Long story short: Student Finance has, sorry for my language, screwed me over. I tried looking up a better word for this, but "swindled" or "cheated" really don't do the job.
Because of the false information they have fed me, my education is at a huge risk.
I owe my university £6000, an amount of money I've never seen in my life, which needs to be paid off ASAP or I will not be able to continue my studies which I've worked ridiculously hard for. I know this is going to sound depressing, but at this point I have considered things like "dead people don't need money", but realized that if I would take that route my debt would just move on to my loved ones, so I can't even take that way out.
That is how badly it has affected me. I'm a complete mess and I've come to GoFundMe as a last resort. Please help.
I am a Jewellery and Silversmithing student at Birmingham City University. Or, was technically, until all of this happened. The picture you see above was my first attempt at stone setting, the ring now sent to my mom as a Christmas present.
I'm honestly still in a shocked state, and I haven't been coping with the news well for the past few days, but because this is an extremely urgent matter, even though it's is really complicated and confusing, I will do my best to give you a summed up explanation of what happened.
(I can go into more details for anyone interested, I can post an update with the full story, but for now I don't want to keep you here for too long)
- I did a part of a course my parents wanted me to do before getting an opportunity to get into my dream course - Jewellery and Silversmithing;
- I got a second job and worked my butt off to be able to pay off my previous course to make sure that my Student Finance money is still available when I go into Jewellery, all while working on my portfolio and going to part-time classes to improve;
- It took me three times to get accepted into the Jewellery and Silversmithing course, each rejection getting my confidence down but also driving me to try again and again - I was ecstatic when I got in;
- Right before I began my first year in this two-year course, I had paid off my initial course debt and was finally moving on to do something I love so, so much. My mental state was a wreck because of all the work I took up (and because of being left with £10 after paying rent every month), but I was finally done, I was so happy;
- I called Student Finance several times to confirm I still have the funding to cover my two years of the course. All those times they have confirmed that I do;
- In the middle of year one, I call them up again because I notice my application is taking a very long time to process - they tell me that I simply signed an old declaration form and will send me a new one to sign - no mention of any other problems;
- Then, at the end of my first year, the short, amazing chapter of my life was gone: I was informed by Student Finance that they will only fund my second year. I managed to call them once myself, then, because I was in a state of shock and disarray, my boyfriend called them, then the finances team from university - I don't know how many people called them on my behalf, but all of them were told the same thing. They will not fund my first year of Jewellery;
- This is because, apparently, even though they had nothing to do with my previous studies AT ALL, it's still counted as a "year of study" (yes, even if I paid for it myself, yes, I know) and therefore I only have one year of funding left. And because of how they work, they will fund from the end - as in, they will fund my final, second year, not my first;
- This goes against everything they have told me so far, but guess what - they don't care about the misinformation, "don't know why I have been told this information", and will not do anything about it. They don't care. At all;
- Who in their right mind would go into a course they can't pay for?!
- Every time I would talk to any of the university's staff about this, they would raise an eyebrow at me, telling me "well that doesn't sound right". Yes, even the financial advisers from my university. None of the university's staff could wrap their heads around this.
- For months I was going into meetings with the university's finances team, writing letters to trusts and charities (none of which replied), submitting applications, waiting for the financial advisers to reply to me for two weeks at a time, only to lead up to Thursday, October 12th, when in a metting I've been told this:
- "There's nothing else we can do".
- That was it. They have left me on ice with a timed bomb on my hands. Nothing they have done so far has helped, and their constant reassurances of "everything will be fine" and "we will get this sorted, don't worry" have only hidden the cold, hard truth from me. They will not help. I am on my own.
- I am currently attending my second year's classes - technically I am not even supposed to be there, but thanks to the good heart of my tutors, they are allowing me to attend, still hoping that this will get sorted;
- They are trying their best to help, but this is out of their hands - when I was talking to a student success adviser explaining my situation, I swear I was about to cry when one of them said "this is a highly achieving student who tried three times to get accepted onto the course, improving each time, we don't want to lose her". I honestly don't deserve them and I feel horrible dragging them into this mess in the first place... ;
- Unfortunately, it's not up to them. My university accounts and emails are about to be blocked, and I will soon be unable to access any information or submit assignments, and it will be over. No, I didn't get a date when this will happen, all I got was an "around this time". Which could even be tomorrow;
- If I do not pay off my debt of £6000 ASAP, I will not be able to continue my studies, and everything I've worked so hard for for over 4 years will be gone.
I'm crying while writing this even now, I don't want to think about my career ending like this. I want to learn. I want to improve. But the world seems to be completely against me and it's becoming ridiculously hard not to give up.
My job only pays enough to cover rent, food and supplies for university (barely...). I can't get a second job due to attending classes. Taking a gap year isn't an option either because the debt will not go away and they will send a debt collection company after me. If this happens, I will owe more and more every single day. I'll be done for.
I don't know what else to do or who to turn to, because like I said, this is my last resort. Please help me.
I will be posting updates as much as I can about what's going on - I am still making calls and writing emails to the university every day. If anything changes at all, you will be the first ones to know.
Thank you for your time and support.
Ugne
P.S. For those interested, here is some more of my work from year one - there was a lot more, wish I'd taken more pictures before sending everything to my mom as gifts :')
(update 2: goal has now been set to £4,800 to reflect PayPal donations!)
(update 3: I have now been given a proper deadline - November 3rd, or end of October realistically as bank transfers take a few days. This has already been pushed back thanks to my tutors and head of my faculty, but that's the most they can do.)
(update 4: goal now updated to £3,300 to reflect PayPal donations!)
(update 5: goal now updated to £2,450 to reflect PayPal donations!)
(update 6: goal now updated to £2,000 to reflect PayPal donations! WE DID IT! I'll post a big update post soon!)
Hi everyone.
Long story short: Student Finance has, sorry for my language, screwed me over. I tried looking up a better word for this, but "swindled" or "cheated" really don't do the job.
Because of the false information they have fed me, my education is at a huge risk.
I owe my university £6000, an amount of money I've never seen in my life, which needs to be paid off ASAP or I will not be able to continue my studies which I've worked ridiculously hard for. I know this is going to sound depressing, but at this point I have considered things like "dead people don't need money", but realized that if I would take that route my debt would just move on to my loved ones, so I can't even take that way out.
That is how badly it has affected me. I'm a complete mess and I've come to GoFundMe as a last resort. Please help.
I am a Jewellery and Silversmithing student at Birmingham City University. Or, was technically, until all of this happened. The picture you see above was my first attempt at stone setting, the ring now sent to my mom as a Christmas present.
I'm honestly still in a shocked state, and I haven't been coping with the news well for the past few days, but because this is an extremely urgent matter, even though it's is really complicated and confusing, I will do my best to give you a summed up explanation of what happened.
(I can go into more details for anyone interested, I can post an update with the full story, but for now I don't want to keep you here for too long)
- I did a part of a course my parents wanted me to do before getting an opportunity to get into my dream course - Jewellery and Silversmithing;
- I got a second job and worked my butt off to be able to pay off my previous course to make sure that my Student Finance money is still available when I go into Jewellery, all while working on my portfolio and going to part-time classes to improve;
- It took me three times to get accepted into the Jewellery and Silversmithing course, each rejection getting my confidence down but also driving me to try again and again - I was ecstatic when I got in;
- Right before I began my first year in this two-year course, I had paid off my initial course debt and was finally moving on to do something I love so, so much. My mental state was a wreck because of all the work I took up (and because of being left with £10 after paying rent every month), but I was finally done, I was so happy;
- I called Student Finance several times to confirm I still have the funding to cover my two years of the course. All those times they have confirmed that I do;
- In the middle of year one, I call them up again because I notice my application is taking a very long time to process - they tell me that I simply signed an old declaration form and will send me a new one to sign - no mention of any other problems;
- Then, at the end of my first year, the short, amazing chapter of my life was gone: I was informed by Student Finance that they will only fund my second year. I managed to call them once myself, then, because I was in a state of shock and disarray, my boyfriend called them, then the finances team from university - I don't know how many people called them on my behalf, but all of them were told the same thing. They will not fund my first year of Jewellery;
- This is because, apparently, even though they had nothing to do with my previous studies AT ALL, it's still counted as a "year of study" (yes, even if I paid for it myself, yes, I know) and therefore I only have one year of funding left. And because of how they work, they will fund from the end - as in, they will fund my final, second year, not my first;
- This goes against everything they have told me so far, but guess what - they don't care about the misinformation, "don't know why I have been told this information", and will not do anything about it. They don't care. At all;
- Who in their right mind would go into a course they can't pay for?!
- Every time I would talk to any of the university's staff about this, they would raise an eyebrow at me, telling me "well that doesn't sound right". Yes, even the financial advisers from my university. None of the university's staff could wrap their heads around this.
- For months I was going into meetings with the university's finances team, writing letters to trusts and charities (none of which replied), submitting applications, waiting for the financial advisers to reply to me for two weeks at a time, only to lead up to Thursday, October 12th, when in a metting I've been told this:
- "There's nothing else we can do".
- That was it. They have left me on ice with a timed bomb on my hands. Nothing they have done so far has helped, and their constant reassurances of "everything will be fine" and "we will get this sorted, don't worry" have only hidden the cold, hard truth from me. They will not help. I am on my own.
- I am currently attending my second year's classes - technically I am not even supposed to be there, but thanks to the good heart of my tutors, they are allowing me to attend, still hoping that this will get sorted;
- They are trying their best to help, but this is out of their hands - when I was talking to a student success adviser explaining my situation, I swear I was about to cry when one of them said "this is a highly achieving student who tried three times to get accepted onto the course, improving each time, we don't want to lose her". I honestly don't deserve them and I feel horrible dragging them into this mess in the first place... ;
- Unfortunately, it's not up to them. My university accounts and emails are about to be blocked, and I will soon be unable to access any information or submit assignments, and it will be over. No, I didn't get a date when this will happen, all I got was an "around this time". Which could even be tomorrow;
- If I do not pay off my debt of £6000 ASAP, I will not be able to continue my studies, and everything I've worked so hard for for over 4 years will be gone.
I'm crying while writing this even now, I don't want to think about my career ending like this. I want to learn. I want to improve. But the world seems to be completely against me and it's becoming ridiculously hard not to give up.
My job only pays enough to cover rent, food and supplies for university (barely...). I can't get a second job due to attending classes. Taking a gap year isn't an option either because the debt will not go away and they will send a debt collection company after me. If this happens, I will owe more and more every single day. I'll be done for.
I don't know what else to do or who to turn to, because like I said, this is my last resort. Please help me.
I will be posting updates as much as I can about what's going on - I am still making calls and writing emails to the university every day. If anything changes at all, you will be the first ones to know.
Thank you for your time and support.
Ugne
P.S. For those interested, here is some more of my work from year one - there was a lot more, wish I'd taken more pictures before sending everything to my mom as gifts :')
Organizer
Ugne N
Organizer