Fan reveals how Olivia Rodrigo secretly paid towards her college tuition

A fan has opened up about how pop star Olivia Rodrigo secretly paid for her college tuition.

Jamie Causey, a public relations graduate from the University of Alabama, shared how the singer covered the $5,000 fee for her final semester after commenting on her video and then reaching out via her TikTok DMs.

It was in early 2025 when the 21-year-old initially received a surprise message from Rodrigo wishing her a happy birthday and then made the generous offer after seeing the college student was struggling to pay her tuition fees.

"Olivia first commented on my birthday video and wished me a happy birthday. That alone meant so much to me," Causey said in the video.

Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images

"Then I made a video explaining how I was a first-generation student struggling to pay my final semester's tuition. I wasn't asking people to pay for it. I wasn't asking for pity. I was just being honest," with in-state undergraduate tuition at the institution costing $5,959 per semester.

She added "Olivia reached out to me privately. She told me she loved my videos, and I was a source of positivity and light for her. And she wanted to help me graduate. And she did."

Sharing a screen of their conversation, Rodrigo's message read, "Hi girl! I know you don’t know me but I love your videos so much, you seem like the kindest coolest gal and you are such a source of positivity and light in my life!”

“I watched ur last vid about tuition and I’d love to help out if you were open at all to that? So cool that you are so close to graduating! Do you have a Venmo I could send to?” she added.

(L) Jamie Causey sharing her story about Olivia Rodrigo reaching out to her and offer to pay for her tuition, and she also shared the conversation (R).TikTok/jamiemcausey

To which a surprise Causey replied, "Oh my god, hi! I love your music so much, I am so sorry TikTok filtered your message and didn’t show it so me until now. I’m actually about to cry."

“I do have a Venmo. I haven’t shared it publicly because I realize it’s not others fault that I chose to go to college. Honestly your music has been a source of strength for me and I just keep thinking this is a dream."

“Please don’t feel like you have to but at this point I’m willing to accept any help,” Causey added.

Then in April that year, Causey received a message from Rodrigo's rep sharing that the 'Driver's License' singer had sent her $5,000 for her tuition fees.

Causey had a heartfelt message for Rodrigo in her video, where she said, "Olivia, I don’t know if you’ll ever understand how much that means to me."

“You made me feel like I belong on this platform. You didn’t owe me anything. You just chose to show kindness to a stranger. You’ve always been about giving back to others, and that’s something I’ll take with me forever."

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