Please Help Me Go To Uni

I survived a heavy bereavement, depression, crohn's disease and now I want to become a law graduate!

I write this appeal as a prospective student at the London School of Business and Management.

I have been offered a place to study LLB (Hons) Law (2 Year Accelerated) at London School of Business and Management, beginning in September 2017. I have been given an unconditional offer based on my educational merits. My academic record has been very strong throughout my educational career, having gained 11 GCSEs grades A-C along with 3 A Levels grades AAB.

In 2009, I suffered a bereavement due to the sudden loss of my grandmother to pancreatic cancer. My grandmother had been my sole carer since the age of two as I had lost both of my parents to a civil war in my birth country, Rwanda.

Having lost my only family member, friend, support system and mother figure to cancer, I had then become secluded from society and suffered from severe depression. Although I had fought hard to continue my studies, I could not continue as my depression had become worse, to the point where I had been prescribed antidepressants to manage my symptoms.

I had reattempted to study at university in 2012 and 2014. However, a change in my health meant I had been diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease and having part of my intestine removed. Due to my severe symptoms, I was unable to keep up with my studies.

I have since learned to cope with the sudden loss of my grandmother, I have kicked depression and I am managing my symptoms of Crohn’s Disease. I attend many workshops and counselling sessions to manage my mental health, and I monitor and control a good state of physical health by regularly attending medical appointment and taking regular prescribed medication. I sometimes even give presentations on how I battled with and overcame depression.

As we all know, the process of gaining a degree comes at a large cost, unfortunately, and I have no financial support to be able to fund my degree. Although I have been working for the past year as a part-time sales adviser with Next, I have not managed to save much due to having to pay for day to day living expenses.

Student Finance England (the only Government backed company offering tuition and maintenance fee support to undergraduates and postgraduates in England), have given me written and verbal confirmation of not being able to access funds from them for the first year of my course, as I have exhausted finance due to starting undergraduate courses previously but not completing them, despite my compelling circumstances and evidence provided.

I have no friends that are able to support financially as they all have personal commitments and I have no known family members that I can ask for assistance.

I more determined now more than ever to finally complete my degree in Law and graduate with nothing less than a 1st class honours degree. Not only will this be a self-fulfilling goal for me, but I also intend to do it as I had promised my grandmother that I will become successful and ensure that I pursues a lifelong career in a fulfilling field.

I have sat down with a volunteer financial adviser at a charitable organisation and calculated the full cost required for me to successfully complete the first year of my degree. Please see a breakdown of how the contributions will be allocated:

- Tuition Fee (1 year) - £6,150

- Accommodation (student halls @ £247 per week x 51 weeks) - £12,597

- Food (basic necessities for healthy, home cooked meals @ £50 monthly x 12 months) - £600

- Transport (Student oyster card 18+ annual travel card zones 1-4) - £1,320

- Study material (writing materials, textbooks, student planner, personal laptop) - £500

Total = £21,167 which is being requested from generous donors on this platform.

I would like to thank you all for your time, kind hearts and generous donations.

Please feel free to contact me if you would like me to keep you updated on how your contributions have helped, along with constant progress updates of my studies.

I can also be contacted by anyone wishing to discuss issues regarding mental health and depression as I am always willing to lend a non-judgemental ear.