Na’Shantéa Miller didn’t expect to get into Harvard University for a two-year master’s degree in public policy. But she did and now she needs to pay for it.
That’s no easy task when tuition and living costs for one year amount to $113,000 CAD. So she has turned to crowdfunding for help.
The 24-year-old Brampton, Ont. resident had scholarships to help her graduate from the University of Ottawa with a double major in economics and political science in May 2018.
Miller grew up in a family of nine that struggled to make ends meet. But her parents always put value on a good education.
“I applied to Harvard not because I expected to get in, but because I was living out one of my life mottos: ‘the only thing worse than rejection is not knowing,’” Miller writes on her GoFundMe page.
“I didn’t want to wonder ‘what if,’ but instead apply, be rejected, and tell myself that at least I tried. I may sound a bit negative, but who applies to Harvard thinking they will get accepted? Definitely not me.”
So she was shocked when the acceptance letter from the Ivy League school arrived. But elation soon turned to fear.
“It definitely scared me away,” Miller, 24, said of the steep price tag. She applied for financial aid but was turned down.
She has a little more than $37,000 of her own personal and parental savings to put towards the first year, making her short close to $76,000. She’s been applying for any scholarships that don’t require her to be a U.S. citizen, but is still awaiting results.
Meanwhile, time is ticking on gathering first-year costs. Because she’s an international student, Harvard requires that she demonstrate, by June 15, that she has first-year tuition in order for her to be granted a student visa.
Miller told CTV’s Your Morning on Monday that she was encouraged by those in a mentorship program she belongs to called Leadership by Design to “be vulnerable and ask for help.”
So she started a GoFundMe page to raise money.
Miller decided to extend her campaign to supporting others. Five per cent of any support she receives from the campaign will go to providing scholarships to other students and another 5 per cent will go to a rural community in Gulu, Uganda.
Miller says the fundraising, which began April 26, is going “amazingly well” and she’s been overwhelmed. Her campaign is trending on GoFundMe and she had raised $36,162 as of Monday morning.
“The support has been so touching. Friends, family, strangers, people from middle school have just been sharing and supporting.”
“I have never been the person to say, ‘Oh, I’m going to Harvard,’ or anything like that. But the fact I’m only going there through the support of others is just really humbling. I know that if I make it to Harvard, it’s just a reminder of how much I have to pay forward.”
Her page is full of encouraging messages:
“Money should never stand between smart women and receiving the education they deserve,” wrote one backer.
“Na'Shantea was an amazing student at uOttawa, and a true leader. We are very proud of her!” posted another.
“I hope you can successfully achieve your goals, and I'm glad to be able to help. Good luck going forward with your education!” said another.
Miller applied to other schools, including McGill, the University of Toronto, Oxford University, Cambridge University, the London School of Economics, and the University of Chicago. But she says Harvard is her dream.
Miller says Harvard offers a unique specialization in business and government that dovetails with her interest in corporate citizenship.
“With this degree, I want to draft public policies that incentivize more meaningful corporate citizenship initiatives as sustainable solutions to social problems because I believe in the positive power of business,” she wrote on her GoFundMe page.
Professors at Harvard are leaders in the field, she says.
“It’s just a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
