Help an FGLI from Turkey pay for visa and travel expenses to get him to Pitzer College this fall !

Who is he?
My name is Cem (he/they.) I am a first-generation low-income high school senior from Istanbul, Turkey. I committed to Pitzer College and hopefully will be a part of the class of 2025, but I am currently having problems affording the visa and the plane ticket to come to Claremont. This is why I initiated this campaign.

Why is he asking for money if he's already received full-ride financial aid?
Even though I had the chance to receive such a big scholarship, there are still a lot of other fees not related to Pitzer that I have to pay for me to be able to study at the Claremont Colleges this fall.

Like what?

F-1 Visa Fee (160 USD): The visa fee you have to pay to receive an F1 student visa to be able to enter the United States.

Visa Appointment Fee (150 USD): The separate fee you have to pay to book an appointment in the U.S. Embassy in Turkey to receive a visa.

Expedited Request Fee (100 USD): Because Turkey is in a lockdown with curfew right now, the Embassies are closed and the earliest appointment they give to F-1 Visa applicants is around June 2022, which means I am going to miss my entire freshman year if I do not send an expedited request for my F-1 application to be considered urgent.

SEVIS Fee (350 USD): A mandatory fee you have to pay for the U.S. Government to be able to track you as a foreign student.

The Cheapest Airplane Ticket to LAX from Istanbul (800 USD): This flight includes connecting flights and lasts more than 30 hours, but is the cheapest one available so this is what I am going to go for.

Is he really unable to afford these fees?
Throughout the college application process, I have benefited from all kinds of fee waivers and discounts which have helped me get to the point where I am today as a first-generation low-income student, but at this point, there are expenses beyond the control of me, my family, and/or Pitzer College. The listed fees are the urgent ones that make a total of 1560 USD (13.500 Turkish Liras, 6 months of minimum wage in Turkey) that has to be paid within a month for me to be able to come to Pitzer this fall. Having four brothers and only a single parent (my mother) that has been out of business as a hair-dresser for more than a year because of the restrictions and never-ending lockdowns in Turkey, we have been financially challenged in an unprecedented way. We will not be able to afford these fees, so I am dependent on the donations that will come from this campaign.

Please reach out to me, if you are unable to donate through this website, so we can find another way (Venmo, CashApp, etc.) If you are incapable of donating, sharing this campaign would also help as much.

Feel free to contact me anytime for anything through Instagram: @cemoxturk

Sending love and light from Istanbul.

Provida futuri <3