43 state school students admitted early to top US universities

The daughter of a hairstylist and a teenage carer are among 43 British state school students from low and middle income backgrounds who have won places to study at top US universities through the Sutton Trust US Programme, run in conjunction with the US-UK Fulbright Commission, it was announced today. They will join 135 Sutton Trust alumni already studying in the States.

Jack Tait, 18, of Highams Park School in Chingford, has been offered a place at Princeton, an Ivy League university in New Jersey. Jack will be one of the first in his family to go to university and is the first person in his school to apply to US universities.

Kerry O’Neil, who is 17 and from Glasgow, has been offered a place at another Ivy League institution, the University of Pennsylvania. The Notre Dame High School student is the first person in her school to apply to a US institution and will be the first in her family to go to university.

The 43 students, who come from across the country, have won places at 28 different institutions through early admissions, including four at Harvard, four at Princeton and two at Yale. This is a rise from last year when 38 students on the Sutton Trust programme won places through early admissions.

53% of the students admitted early are from households that earn less than £25,000 a year, and 86% will be the first in their family to go to university. Between them they have already been offered $10m of financial aid from the universities over the next four years, meaning many of them will graduate with little to no debt.

More students on the programme will be applying by the regular January deadlines, with results available later this spring. The biographies for all admitted students and scholarship finalists can be found online at: http://bit.ly/EarlyAdmissionBios2015-16.

Although applications to US universities have increased in recent years – there are now over 5,000 British undergraduates at American universities – students from less advantaged homes may not have access to the same level of support and resources for US admissions that their counterparts from fee-paying schools might have. The Sutton Trust US Programme, now in its fourth year, encourages academically talented, low and middle income British students to consider studying at American universities.

Last year, 150 students were selected for a summer school in the US at either Yale University or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), spending a week last summer living on campus and visiting a number of other US campuses. For over half of the students, this was their first trip to the US. They benefited from residential activities and received an intensive programme of support, delivered by the US-UK Fulbright Commission over a number of months before and after their US visit, which covered admission tests, college choices and the application process.

The programme is made possible through support from its founding corporate sponsor, Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Their investment is matched by Peter Baldwin and Lisbet Rausing who have generously supported the programme since its launch. The programme is also supported by Jerry del Missier, the London Stock Exchange Group Foundation, Big Change and EducationUSA.

Sir Peter Lampl, Chairman of the Sutton Trust and of the Education Endowment Foundation, said today:

“Our US Programme is a life-changing experience so I’m delighted that so many young people from low and middle income backgrounds have benefited from it this year. The 43 talented students will enjoy a broad and varied curriculum and, with generous financial aid packages on offer, will graduate from some of the world’s best universities debt-free.

“I hope more young people will look to their success and realise that a university education in America is well within their grasp.”

Penny Egan CBE, Executive Director of the US-UK Fulbright Commission, said:

“To have 43 state school students admitted early to some of the best universities in the world is testament to the calibre and talent of our programme participants. The well-deserved amount of financial aid offered to these students means that a prestigious American higher education is within the grasp of gifted low-income students from the UK. We are thrilled by their successes, and I am sure there will be more good news in the spring. This programme transforms lives and the partnership with the Sutton Trust is a great source of pride for the Fulbright Commission.”

Alex Wilmot-Sitwell, President for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said today:

“The enthusiasm and drive of the students participating in this initiative never fail to impress me; I commend Sutton Trust for their work in providing this educational opportunity to young people most in need. As part of our company’s efforts to drive youth employment, our partnership with Sutton Trust is affording these talented students with an opportunity that will change lives. I’m very proud to be part of that.”

Applications for this year’s programme close on 20 January and can be completed online (http://us.suttontrust.com).

The US Programme is based on the Sutton Trust’s successful flagship programme in the UK which now runs at 10 leading British universities and has benefited over ten thousand state school students. Applications for the UK programme are also open now until March 2016 at www.suttontrust.com

NOTES TO EDITORS:

1. The Sutton Trust is a foundation set up in 1997, dedicated to improving social mobility through education. It has published over 160 research studies and funded and evaluated programmes that have helped hundreds of thousands of young people of all ages, from early years through to access to the professions.

2. The US-UK Fulbright Commission is a not-for-profit organisation funded by both governments to promote educational exchange between the US and the UK. The Commission offers prestigious awards for postgraduate study and research in the US, as well as an Education USA Advisory Service and is the government recognised source of US study information in the UK.

3. The Sutton Trust has run UK summer schools since 1997. They offer young people from low and middle income backgrounds in year 12 – mostly 17 year-olds – a chance to get a taste of student life at a research-led university. The programme balances busy academic days with social activities and has been successful in encouraging bright state school students from low and middle income families to study at the most selective universities in Britain. The UK summer schools are supported by Barclays’ 5 Million Young Futures project. The programme is also supported by The Wolfson Foundation, the Garfield Weston Foundation and Ian Hazelton.

4. Results from the 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15 cohorts of students include 135 students enrolled at 53 different universities across 18 states and an American university abroad, accessing approximately $33 million in financial aid.

5. Developing solutions for social and economic challenges is at the core of Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s responsibility platform. In more than 90 countries around the world, we partner with employees, clients and stakeholders to help make financial lives better. The company focuses on responsible business practices, environmental sustainability, advancing opportunity in local communities through education and employability programmes and investing in global leadership development. We realise the power of our people and value our differences, recognising that our diversity makes us a stronger firm and allows us to better service our stakeholders. By harnessing our intellectual resources, sharing knowledge and connecting capital with need, we are providing opportunities that effect positive change.

5. In 2014-15, the UK became the largest European sender of students to US universities: 10,742 British students were studying in America, 5,207 of whom were undergraduates.

6. Sutton Trust US Programme 2015 Participants Admitted Early (The biographies for all admitted students and scholarship finalists can be found online at: http://bit.ly/EarlyAdmissionBios2015-16)

Student Name	UK School	Hometown	US University
Valavan Ananthakumaraswamy	Queen Elizabeth’s School	Enfield	Stanford University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Morehead-Cain Scholarship Finalist)
Katrina Arman	Invicta Grammar School	West Malling	University of Pennsylvania
Walid Bajjani	Burlington Danes Academy	London	NYU Abu Dhabi
James Bedford	Torquay Boys’ Grammar School	Torquay	Harvard College
Alisha Blades	Lismore Comprehensive School	Craigavon	Hamilton College
Ibrahim Butt	Cardinal Newman College	Blackburn	Duke University (Robertson Scholarship Recipient)
Georgia Carr	Rutland County College	Oakham	Swarthmore College
Alejandro Carruthers-Hierro	Chancellor’s School	London	Lafayette College
Kirstie Clarke	The Bridge Academy	London	University of Chicago
Jodie Coburn	Brinsworth Comprehensive School	Rotherham	Yale University
Alex Cox	Bournemouth School	Bournemouth	Princeton University
Phoebe Cribb	Cardinal Newman College	Chorley	Bryn Mawr College
Jack Dunn	Stranraer Academy	Stranraer	Dartmouth College
Sarah Edwards	Greenhead College	Cleckheaton	Middlebury College
Alice Findlay	Northampton School for Girls	Northampton	Harvard College
Samuel Fox	Beath High School	Cowdenbeath	Dartmouth College
Benjamin Hopkins	Wolgarston High School	Stafford	Bowdoin College
Emma Humphries	Cronton Sixth Form College	Widnes	Smith College
Connor Keys	Portora Royal School	Kesh	Vanderbilt University
Alexander Laiman	Ysgol Dewi Sant	Harverfordwest	MIT
Nathan Lewis	Saint Olave’s Grammar School	London	Duke University
Alexander Mackie	Maidstone Grammar School	Headcorn	Trinity College
Luke Mansfield	The Nottingham Emmanuel School	Nottingham	Rhodes College
Awnit Singh Marta	Greenford High School	London	Harvard College
Maria McAveety	Our Lady’s High School, Cumbernauld	Glasgow	Skidmore College
Jack McGeehan	St Columb’s College	Derry	Claremont McKenna College
Joe McGrath	The McAuley Catholic High School	Doncaster	Princeton University
Kevin Mokhtar	Bishop Thomas Grant School	London	NYU Abu Dhabi
Danukshi Mudannayake	Woodford County High School	Ilford	Harvard College
Owen Ogden	The Nelson Thomlinson School	Wigton	Yale University
Kerry O’Neil	Notre Dame High School	Glasgow	University of Pennsylvania
Robyn Pattison	Dunfermline High School	Rosyth	Skidmore College
Roshaye Poleon	Ursuline High School, Wimbledon	London	Northwestern University
Carol Rossell	Felpham Community College	Bognor Regis	Tufts University
Katie Russell	St Thomas Aquinas Secondary School	Glasgow	Northwestern University
Ahlbie Squire	Bodmin College	Lostwithiel	Pomona College
Charles Stewart	Wilson’s School	Purley	Brown University
Jack Tait	Highams Park School	London	Princeton University
Bethany Tallis	Clydeview Academy	Gourock	University of Rochester
Sam Weaver	Colchester Royal Grammar School	Harwich	University of Richmond
Rishara Weerakoon	St Dominic’s Sixth Form College	London	Vanderbilt University
Rebecca Wiggins	Havering Sixth Form College	Hornchurch	Pomona College
Conor Wilson	St Patrick’s Grammar School	Downpatrick	Princeton University