Help Keagan fund a Masters at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London.

Update time!

Fair warning: this is very long because I felt it fair to give a thorough breakdown of the progress of things because you have all been so generous and supportive, and as such have invested in me and my journey. And what a journey it's been.

I'm sure most of you are probably wondering what's going on, and some of you in Wellington who have spotted me walking around have asked "what the heck are you still doing here - aren't you meant to be in London?!" Well, you're in luck, because I happen to have some answers for you:

(Not interested in my biography? Skip to the second-to-last paragraph now.) The goal was to be able to pay the tuition fees, which are just under 20,000 GBP (a whopping 36,000 NZD with the current exchange rate!) by the 1st August deadline. I had 3 months from the day I found out I'd been accepted to the day the fees had to be paid; 3 months to climb a massive mountain. Impossible, right? Kind of: about 3 weeks out from the deadline I found out from the School that I could pay in 2 instalments (with the first one still due 1st August, and the 2nd one due 2nd January) which was a massive relief, and with the combined donations of the wonderful Givealittle donors as well as the generous supporters of my various other fundraising ventures, I was able to pay the first instalment of my tuition fees in time - yay! This was no easy feat, as despite Brexit having just happened, the exchange rate was still not exactly in my favour which meant it was a painful 18,000ish NZD for the first instalment alone. Raising that in 3 months was an amazing achievement that I'm incredibly proud of and hugely grateful to all of you for.

However, that didn't mean I was in the clear. I still needed to raise the funds to actually live and survive in London, one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in. To satisfy visa requirements, I needed to be able to prove to UK Visa and Immigration that I had enough money in my accounts to live in London for 9 months, and after paying the first instalment, plus leaving some aside to pay for the visa processing (which is not a guarantee you'll get it, you're just paying for labour, essentially - just over 1,000 NZD) and for flights if I DID get the visa, there was none left over for living funds - what UKVI call "maintenance funds". This meant that with very little time left and having already found as many kind-hearted, generous people as I could to come on board, my only option was: The Dreaded Bank Loan. I will not get into this, as it was a huge source of stress and anxiety that I don't wish to share at this time; suffice to say this was not a successful venture, and I found out that my loan was declined a little over a week ago. At this time, my visa application had just been paid for and sent off for processing in Manila (You read that correctly - our UK visas are processed in The Philippines), but the obvious - and correct - conclusion was that, regardless of whether I were granted the visa, as I'd be unable to support myself to live and eat in London, I'd be unable to go to London and attend the School.

And so with my head in my hands and heart in my shoes, contemplating how I'd ever be able to tell my family, friends and peers this devastating news (with the consolation that at least they'd all be getting their generous donations back) I emailed the School to notify them of my situation, and to humbly ask if they would consider me for a deferment to the next academic year. This was always a long shot as I'd already deduced via thorough research that they don't do deferrals as it's not mentioned in any materials sent to me or anywhere online. The very kind and patient Head of Admissions responded to my query by confirming my suspicion: deferrals are not usually offered and people in my position usually just have to decline their offer of place so that it can be offered to someone on the reserve list. He would take my query to the Course Team, but deferral was unlikely. Would I be able to let them know if I were formally declining my offer of place by Tuesday, please?

I replied with what can only be described as a plea, stating in no uncertain terms that the money I'd managed to raise in 3 months was more than I'd ever made in a year since becoming a professional actor, such was my resolve and drive to attend the School. I made no mention of declining my offer, as I was determined to hear from the Course Team first (hoping like heck I'd hear before Tuesday!). This is the roller-coaster, people!

TL;DR? Here you go:

If you've made it this far in my missive: well done! If you've just skipped to this part: well done! On Monday I heard back from the School, and the Course Team have agreed to allow me to defer to next year. Relief! And what an unexpected blessing. Rest assured: Every single cent you've all donated will still be used for exactly what I promised it would be: tuition fees. Everything you donated was used to pay the first instalment of the fees, and the School will be holding on to that and treating it as my "first instalment" for next year. So it's back to the fundraising for me, as I scour the earth for funds for the second instalment of fees (about 18,000ish NZD), as well as living funds so I can survive in London for a year (about 27,000ish NZD - yuck!). It's still a massive mountain to climb, but I thankfully have a bit more time in which to do it!

Thank you all again for your unwavering support and unbelievable generosity. If you have any questions about this (and as always, any ideas about great scholarships or grants to apply for) please email me at keagan.fransch@gmail.com