STANFORD UNIVERSITY DISPUTES KEMI BADENOCH’S CLAIM OF MEDICAL SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIP OFFER

Stanford University has denied claims by UK Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch that she was offered a medical school scholarship at the age of 16. Badenoch had repeatedly asserted that she received offers of admission and a partial scholarship to pursue medicine at Stanford and other leading US universities based on her high exam scores.

However, Jon Reider, the Stanford admissions officer at the time of Badenoch’s supposed application, flatly denied her account. “Although 30 years have passed, I would definitely remember if we had admitted a Nigerian student with any financial aid. The answer is that we did not do so,” Reider said.

Reider emphasized that Stanford would not have admitted a student based on test scores alone, nor would they have mailed an invitation to apply to any overseas students based on test scores. “O-levels would not have been sufficient, and we would have been very nervous admitting a 16-year-old. She would have had to have an extraordinary record,” he added.

The university’s admissions process typically requires a full application, including a list of activities, teacher letters of recommendation, and multiple essays. Reider also noted that Stanford offers full scholarships to students who need financial aid, rather than partial scholarships that might leave students unable to afford the tuition fees.

“If an applicant needed, say, $30,000 a year to attend Stanford, we would offer them the full amount. There was no point in offering them less because they would not have been able to attend. If we admitted them, we wanted them to enrol,” Reider explained.

Irena Smith, another former Stanford admissions officer, corroborated Reider’s account, stating that students with high SAT scores might be encouraged to apply but would not receive an offer without completing a full application.

The Liberal Democrats have called on Badenoch to reveal the full story behind her apparent offer, with a party spokesperson saying, “Kemi Badenoch spent months asking questions of the chancellor regarding her CV. It’s now time for her to answer some of her own.”

A spokesperson for Badenoch responded, “Nearly 30 years ago, and aged 16, Kemi was offered a part-scholarship at Stanford that her parents couldn’t afford to take up. But, given her subsequent degrees in both engineering and law are a matter of public record, she questions the hysterical efforts to disprove this.”

Stanford University did not return requests for comment on the matter.