Support International Student Continue Their Education

Dear Everyone,

I am reaching out today to seek your support for one of my closest friends at Swarthmore College. This student is an international, low-income, first-generation student from a country in the Global South and represents a minority group on campus. They have recently completed their first year, showing exceptional academic and personal promise. However, they now face a severe challenge: Swarthmore College has rescinded their financial aid for all future academic years. Despite undergoing the process of providing extensive documentation and verifications for their financial aid application and presenting newly verified documents through EducationUSA, their appeal was rejected. Unfortunately, the outcome of this process was delivered shortly after the spring semester of 2024 concluded. This decision, made post-semester, leaves the student unable to continue their education at the school or any other institution, as the transfer application deadlines for the upcoming academic year have passed.

Therefore, this student has realized it would take much effort to continue at Swarthmore. As a result, they are deciding that it is best to seek other educational opportunities and need your help to navigate this process as they will apply again as either a transfer or first-year student. Given the competitive nature of international admissions and the student’s background, especially in this unique case, your help will be invaluable as Swarthmore determined their ability to pay is at most $200, and rarely will some colleges offer the same.

The student is asking for $5,000 as it will help them navigate these processes, and below is a plan of how the money will be used:

---Flights: $800 (usual early ticket price)

---Health Insurance: $1,800 (based on Swarthmore's health insurance plan)

Total: $5,000 * 2.9% (GoFundMe Interest Rate) = $5,145

“That’s unfortunate what happened to me and other international students on campus, but I come from a community where I can't stay still and not do anything to help my future. I believe that wherever I end up, I will excel in its community and gain experiences and skills that will help me achieve my long-term dream, which is to help my community with my art and vision, the same plan I was pursuing at Swarthmore and the reason why I initially received my scholarship. Also, I believe I will contribute to its campus the same way I did in my only year at Swarthmore, whether through student organizations or by being friendly with everyone. That’s a bump in the road, and I believe it will work out eventually. Please, if you can help, I appreciate it.”

Thank you for considering helping this student. Any assistance you can offer will be very helpful. We are hoping to get the funding by September 30th so the student can plan their way accordingly.

Venmo: colin-valley