A University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) graduate who won a prestigious scholarship to Oxford University last year was one of just 32 scholars selected from a pool of 2,300 applicants. After lying about being abused and growing up in poverty, she lost her scholarship.
According to the Dailymail, 24-year-old Mackenzie Fierceton described herself as a low-income, queer, first-generation student at the Pennsylvania school. However, when she applied for the Rhodes scholarship to attend the University of Oxford, she shared a false story of overcoming an abusive mother, welfare, and spending time in foster care.