Progress Meets a Brick Wall

I've submitted my UCAS and sent out sponsorship letters, but what now?

I'm piecing together some more Cost of Attendence worksheets and have already filed my Master Promisary Notes, both of which are required for UWE to consider my application seriously. Ups and downs are being had as the process continues with an even stricter timeline, but I'm trying to refrain from becoming an ostrich: I have an unfortunate habit of burying my head and shutting out the world when I feel pressure and since the deadlines are fast approaching I simply cannot continue on with that habit.

As far as monetary concerns go, I've received more than ten replies to the original one hundred and seventy-seven unsolicited sponsorship requests that I've sent out to companies nation-wide.

The virdict?: One collective, resounding "no" with varying shades of politeness per company.

Thankfully these failed attempts don't seem to be a product of a weak argument (what a strike against my hitherto nonexistant marketing record that would be!). Instead, I'm hitting the same brick wall that I've been hitting in the scholarship field:

I'm a 20 year old unenrolled student seeking an independent education overseas.

Yikes. No one seems to want to hear that. Apparently I need to be just out of high school, attending a State-side university, or at least hoping to attend one in order to sway people to want to help!

(Or, in some cases, I would need to be a nonprofit charity organization -- which I'm not).

I've spammed my Facebook Wall with information regarding this plight, and a few family members have joined in on sharing the info on their Walls (thank you!), but no one seems to have any interest in contributing ideas or pennies to the cause. I do appreciate all the luck being wished, though. I obviously need it!

I'm also hitting a dead-end on the local fundraising frontier. I haven't got an area to commit to being a fundraising site. In a small community, there aren't a lot of choice locations that will donate space to fundraising. Then all the usual blockades apply: once again, I'm not a current student and I'm not a charity organization (this severely limits the types of fundraising schemes I'm allowed to host); my local community is very small and well beneath the poverty line; and to be honest, I'm actually a bit afraid of trying to throw one, just in case I fail or fall short of meeting any goals and have to embarrass myself by admitting such!

Still, it does no good on focusing on the negatives or things that go wrong. Is this an extremely difficult task? Oh, my, yes. But I still believe that getting into UWE is worth whatever it takes -- I just wish I knew what it took so I could keep on trucking! There has to be some way yet for me to realize my dream.

I've returned to my list of possible fundraising ideas. It's full of scratched-off items, but there are still a few last-ditch efforts I've yet to try.Have I got a job yet? Not exactly. I do walk dogs every once in a (great) while when there is demand for it (and that pays fairly well, thank goodness). Luckily, I do have an interview for a desk job coming up soon. I'm hoping that goes very well. I desperately need the income!

At this point, though, I'm wishing for a miracle. To all my readers, thank you for your thoughts.