Kate Bancroft, 18, from Bridgwater, who is studying the International Baccalaureate at Bridgwater & Taunton College, has won a place and a financial aid package to study at a top US university after participating in the Sutton Trust US Programme, run in partnership with the US-UK Fulbright Commission.
Kate will take up her place at Amherst College, Massachusetts this autumn.
Last year, Kate was one of 150 students selected for the programme. It included a week-long trip to the United States to visit a variety of universities and meet admissions officers from colleges across the US. They competed with over 1,000 applicants to win a place on the programme and spent a week staying in the dorms at Yale University, Princeton University or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
The students benefited from residential activities and received an intensive programme of support, delivered by the US-UK Fulbright Commission over several months before and after their US visit. This covered admission tests, college choices and the application process.
Kate is one of only 47 students who have been accepted under the early application deadline to US universities. She said,
“In my first year at BTC I remember nervously asking my English teacher to write me a reference for the US Sutton Trust programme. I was nervous because I didn’t want to waste anyone’s time – I knew how competitive the programme was and so wasn’t expecting to be admitted. Luckily I was, and ever since then the college has been integral in supporting my application to study at a US institution for higher education through the support of the US Sutton Trust programme.”
Kate is a former pupil of Haygrove School, where she achieved 13 GCSEs at A and A* grades. She is on course to achieve top grades in her International Baccalaureate Diploma this summer and is looking forward to taking advantage of the breadth of the curriculum, internships and study abroad opportunities at Amherst.
The aim of the Sutton Trust US Programme is to encourage British state school students from low and moderate income homes to consider studying at American universities. The 2018-2019 programme cohort comes from across the UK. 74% of the students admitted early will be the first in their family to go to university. Of the accepted students, 53% are from households that earn less than £25,000 a year.
For further information please contact Kirsty Callaghan at Fulbright on 020 7498 4020, press@fulbright.org.uk
Bridgwater & Taunton College is the only institution in Somerset to offer the opportunity to study the International Baccalaureate for free. Find out more about studying this prestigious programme at our Taunton campus here or by contacting our Information & Guidance team on 01278 441234 or info@btc.ac.uk.
