The University of Manchester has addressed 'the upsetting reports' after a tweet was widely shared following the reported death of a student applicant.
The tweet, shared by Phoca Vitulina yesterday (Wednesday) morning, claimed that an applicant for the university had taken his own life. It claimed that the university had taken a £1,000 deposit from the prospective Master's student, rejected the application 'because they could not make living costs' and then allegedly 'did not give the money back'.
The applicant then 'died by suicide because of his absolute hopelessness of his situation', Phoca claimed. In the tweet, she called the university's alleged actions 'absolutely scandalous' and questioned 'where the £1,000 went'.
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The tweet has been shared more than 8,000 times and has almost 50,000 likes. In full, the tweet said: "So Manchester University took an applicants £1k, rejected their application because they can’t make living costs, and didn’t give the money back. This applicant, a friend, then dies by suicide because of his absolute hopelessness of his situation. It’s absolutely scandalous."
Last night, the Russell Group university, which is based on Oxford Road, shared a statement on the reports. A spokesperson said records showed the application 'is still open' and was 'not rejected by the University'.
They added in a statement that they could not find any record suggesting any request for a refund. In full, the statement said: "We are very aware of the upsetting reports online about a student applicant and are looking into what has been said as a matter of urgency.
"Out of respect we are not commenting further as yet but, if confirmed, we extend our utmost sympathy. We can confirm that a place was successfully secured for a Master's at the University.
"According to our records this application is still open and wasn't withdrawn by the applicant and has not been rejected by the University. From our initial enquiries, we can find no record or email correspondence suggesting any request for a refund or further request for help."
The Manchester Evening News has chosen not to report any further details on the student applicant at this stage.
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