Badenoch faces more scrutiny over Stanford claim

Badenoch

Conservative Party leader, Kemi Badenoch, is facing an intense public scrutiny over claims about her academic past, after she repeatedly said that she received a partial scholarship to study medicine at Stanford University at age 16.

Her statement has raised questions about her credibility at a pivotal moment in her political career.

She told The Times in 2024, “At 16, my U.S SAT scores won me a partial pre-med scholarship to Stanford, but my family still couldn’t afford the place.”

Her spokesperson also defended the claim, saying, “Nearly 30 years ago, and aged 16, Kemi was offered a part-scholarship at Stanford that her parents could not afford to take up. Given her subsequent degrees in both engineering and law are a matter of public record, she questions the hysterical efforts to disprove this.”

Despite her insistence, doubts have been raised by admissions staff and academic experts.

Jon Reider, who handled international admissions and bursaries at the time, told The Guardian, “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. We would not have admitted a student based on test scores alone, nor would we have mailed an invitation to apply to any overseas students based on test scores.”

He added, “It would have been very unusual for a 16-year-old to receive an offer. 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.” Punch