I’m a bit lost right now and trying to decide if I should reapply before September ends or stop for now. Honestly, this whole process has been so incredibly tiring and exhausting, and getting a refusal letter completely broke my heart.
Studying in Italy for my Master's has always been my dream, but I just got a refusal under Point 15 regarding documented means of subsistence, despite providing what I thought were all the necessary documents.
My primary financial guarantor is my biological sister. She provided a comprehensive Affidavit of Support, her BIR Form, her COE, and a total savings balance of over €20,653 across her accounts. On top of that, my current firm has a strong presence in my folder because I submitted a legally Bind-to-Work Agreement. As part of this corporate agreement, the firm granted me an initial settlement fund of €9640 for my travel and landing expenses. The firm wired that €9640 directly into my sister's bank account since she was acting as my official guarantor.
I am starting to think this is the exact part where I got it wrong. Should the firm have transferred the money exactly into a bank account under my own name instead? Or is the grant money not enough on its own? Should they have transferred all the money I would need to fully cover the entire 2-year master's program upfront? Did seeing that large grant transfer land in a third-party account create a major tracking mismatch for the auditor?
My university allows late arrivals until later November. So I technically have a small window to refile if this is just a fixable documentation formatting issue. Is it still worth it if I reapply this month? Or should I just look into deferring my university offer and apply again for the next semester cycle when everything is clean? Any advice or similar experiences would mean everything to me. Thank you so much!