College Student Dies by Suicide After Being Told He Couldn’t Graduate

A British university student died by suicide after his school mistakenly told him that he wouldn’t be able to graduate because of his grades.

“You wake up and you think it’s a bad dream, but it’s not,” an emotional Tracy Scott, the mother of the late Ethan Brown, told STV News in an interview. 

Ethan, 23, a student who majored in geography at the University of Glasgow in Scotland, was scheduled to complete his degree in the summer of 2024, the school confirmed to PEOPLE in a statement on Tuesday, Sept. 30.  

However, in September 2024, the school “wrongly informed him that he did not have the necessary credits to graduate,” the statement continued. 

The family’s attorney, Aamer Anwar, told a Tuesday press conference that Ethan died by suicide on Dec. 13, 2024, adding that Scott found her son deceased in his bedroom. Per BBC, Dec 13. was the day he would have been due to receive his degree.

Anwar said that Ethan’s family contacted Glasgow University on Jan. 13 of this year seeking answers, which prompted an internal investigation by the school. 

“Upon investigation, the University identified the error and commissioned an internal report by a recently retired senior professor into the circumstances; this was shared with Ethan’s family on its completion,” the school’s statement, which was shared with PEOPLE, read.  

“The Deputy Vice Chancellor and the compiler of the report met with representatives of the family in early February 2025 to talk through the findings and offer a sincere apology as well as our deepest sympathies,” the statement continued. 

The university explained that a “tragic” mistake occurred in calculating Ethan’s degree outcome.  

“It indicated that this error should have been picked up during the exam board process,” the school said. “A further shortcoming involved communications with Ethan, including the fact that he was not referred to Student Support Services when he disclosed wellbeing concerns.”

In his remarks, attorney Anwar said Ethan should have graduated with honors. He also said that Ethan’s family would like to raise serious concerns about the alleged lack of professional and mental health support offered by the university for struggling students. He said that the student previously reported difficulties with his mental health, but the University of Glasgow allegedly offered no support. 

“The University of Glasgow, the family believe, failed Ethan, and believe he took his own life as a result,” Anwar noted.

As reported by the BBC, Ethan’s mom said, “It breaks my heart to now be aware of the mental anguish this university must have caused my son.”

“The truth is, Ethan had successfully attained an honors degree, despite the university repeatedly informing him he had been unsuccessful,” she added.

In a statement to PEOPLE, the University of Glasgow said it had checked all its records and was “confident” that the mistake with Ethan’s grade was an isolated incident, adding that no other students were impacted. It added that the university is undergoing a “thorough review” of its academic and well-being practices. The school also said that it is reviewing its training programs for staff members involved in exam boards. 

“We are profoundly sorry that this terrible event occurred and understand the deep distress it has caused Ethan’s family,” the University of Glasgow concluded.

Through their attorney, the family remembered Ethan as having “a smile that would light up the room” and as a person that people “would want to spend time with.”

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Scott told STV News that her son was right and the university was wrong. “That’s what’s given me the fire in my belly, so to speak,” she said. She also said Glasgow University “failed [Ethan] not only academically, but also to support him,” per BBC.

PEOPLE contacted Anwar’s firm for comment on Tuesday but did not immediately receive a response.

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health challenges, emotional distress, substance use problems, or just needs to talk, call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org 24/7.