<p>Hello all, I'm a hIgh school senior. Today I withdrew my acceptance offer from Cornell because they wouldn't give me any financial aid. While I completely understand the reasons behind my parents not being able to pay $240,000 so I can be able to attend graduate school, I just can't get over the fact that I turned down Cornell and am most likely going to end up at suny buffalo. I feel like all my hard work and studying is for naught now that I can't attend cornell or even the other private schools I applied too. Cornell seemed just such a great and beautiful school</p>
<p>The purpose of all your hard work and studying is to LEARN. Period. The rest was just a bunch of dog biscuits being dangled in front of your nose. You know that you were able to get in. You’ll get a fantastic education at Buffalo, if that’s where you end up, and if you are a top student, and you continue to LEARN, you may get even more opportunities than you would as a “middling” student at Cornell.</p>
<p>Why didn’t you apply to one of the state schools within cornell? You mention buffalo so I assume you’re instate, so why not attend one of Cornell’s contract colleges at significant savings.</p>
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As mini said the object of going to school is to learn. That being said, you need to talk to your parents about why they decided at this point not to fund Cornell. Or did you never discuss it with them during the application period? You must have known you would be full pay.</p>
<p>I applied to the college of engineering, there is nothing in the contract schools that interested me. </p>
<p>My family and I knew that we would never be able to afford an endergraduate private school without financial aid. As I said, I completely understand my Parents reasons that they would be better off paying that kind of money for grad school.
Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t work and study hard just so I may get into Cornell, but I admit that was definitely on my mind, as I’m sure it is for almost all students applying to top colleges.</p>
<p>My son turned down Cornell in 2006 for Penn State Honors because of money. He was a top student at PSU and was able to begin research as a freshman. He graduated in 2010 with a BS Physics and a BSEE Engineering. He was one of many awesome students at PSU who took advantage of much that the school offered. He graduated in 2010 and had his choice of 4 or 5 fully funded top graduate programs in physics. He was a first year grad student in a class with students from the Ivy’s and MIT/CalTech. </p>
<p>Look for and find opportunities that your college offers and then pour your energy into them. Develop good relationships with your professors and they will help guide you in your journey towards excellence. </p>
<p>Here is a SUNY Buffalo student who was just honored at the White House by President Obama.</p>
<p>[University</a> at Buffalo student to be honored as “Champion of Change” by White House on Friday : Knickerbocker Ledger](<a href=“http://www.knickledger.com/2011/12/university-at-buffalo-student-to-be-honored-as-champion-of-change-by-white-house-on-friday/]University”>http://www.knickledger.com/2011/12/university-at-buffalo-student-to-be-honored-as-champion-of-change-by-white-house-on-friday/)</p>
<p>Go to Buffalo and kick A$$.</p>
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So your own advice does or does not apply to yourself?</p>
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<p>Well sure, but be clear then about what you are feeling: disappointment. Sounds to me like you would have worked hard regardless. Or even if not, it is good you worked hard. You know why? Because you acquired <em>way more</em> education this way. It will make you very well prepared for college, and for engineering, that is super important (no one finds engineering a cake walk but if you did not make the most of your highschool, I think you would probably find engineering to be unpleasant and possibly you’d not be able to get the GPA you need for internships, jobs etc and/or you’d have to give up more in college to get the same GPA you can now get).</p>
<p>Not to mention, you should start hanging out on the engineering section of CC. You’ll see that for engineering, the difference in cost is even harder to justify.</p>
<p>I’m confused. You say Cornell gave you no financial aid? Cornell meets the full financial need of ALL accepted students. If you got NO financial aid from them this would mean that your family income is such that your family contribution contribution? The SUNY schools are good. I know you are disappointed now, but you also knew that money was a deal breaker. In the end seize all of the opportunities you can wherever you go to college.</p>
<p>I might add that according to a link from another recent thread in this forum, that we are NOT in the top 50 most expensive colleges :D</p>
<p>No one died here. No arms and legs blown off. No incurable disease. No lifetime of slavery and abuse. No assault on the body or brain. No starvation or death by thirst or diarrhea. </p>
<p>I know I sound a bit mean but it’s important to get some perspective. You’ve put your heart and soul into the college acceptance path for several years and now you’ve had a disappointment – but you DID get accepted to Cornell, which tells you that they think you have the academic chops to succeed at one of the finest colleges in the land. Hold that in your heart. </p>
<p>Many, many people survive a hard bump and go on to fame, fortune and happiness. Go earn a degree where you can afford to go. Be the best GxxDxmm Engineering student that campus has ever seen. Blow the socks off that place. Elevate yourself and those around you to magnificence. And use some of your powers for good. Give back to the world and make it a better place, so no one suffers – not kids, not grannies, no one. </p>
<p>At that point, Cornell will seem like a nice meal that you happened to have missed. Oh well . . . and onward to the next mountaintop.</p>
<p>At the other private schools you’ve applied to, might there be any merit aid? </p>
<p>I’m sorry for your disappointment here about Cornell. I think what happens sometimes is parents let students apply to colleges beyond what they can afford, hoping there might be some merit scholarship there. Did they figure you’d just put out an app and hope to see what came in with it? I bet they, too, are sad they can’t fund you now without any assistance from Cornell. </p>
<p>Their plan to hang on to be able to fund you all the way through grad school has a lot of common sense, especially given the career you desire.</p>
<p>There is no comparison in aesthetics between Cornell campus and SUNY Buffalo campus; I won’t even try. SUNY BUffalo is a dull, boxy building place. </p>
<p>The surrounding Buffalo/Niagara region, however, is beautiful in places. Students here regularly go to visit Niagara Falls (US and Canadian sides; get a passport), take weekends in Toronto (2 hours by bus), go to cultural destinations in downtown Buffalo (Shea Theater, Albright-Knox Museum, Birchfield-Penney, two Frank Lloyd Wright homes) and see professional sports (Buffalo Bills/footbal and Sabres/hockey). If you like food, and not just Wings, Buffalo is chock full of excellent restaurants of every ethnicity, especially around Amherst/Williamsville where the North Campus is located and downtown in hip Allentown </p>
<p>From what I hear from SUNY-Buf professors I know, top undergraduate students are welcomed by professors so let your interests and academic talents show, seeking profs out for office hours. If you become known in your departments, you could be treasured and encouraged here. I see in Post #6 that Sax describes a similar dynamic for his son at PSU.</p>
<p>Thanks, I’m feeling better about the prospect of going to SUNY buffalo. I know there, I would definitely be at a higher place in the class than I would be at Cornell. </p>
<p>@sylvan I was exaggerating a bit in that post. Actually by going to SUNY buffalo, I would definitely be able to go to medical school, which has been my secondary interest after engineering.</p>
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<p>Cornell, like many other colleges, meets what it calculates as the full financial need of its students. Except for students from very low-income families, the financial aid packages typically include loans as well as grants (scholarships) and work-study.</p>
<p>There are many reasons why the family financial contribution that a university considers realistic might not actually be realistic from the family’s point of view. Also, many people have good reason for not wanting to incur as much debt as a university expects. </p>
<p>It sounds as though the OP did not get financial aid at all, presumably because his parents’ income exceeds the threshold at which Cornell would consider him eligible for aid. Unfortunately, in the real world, this does not necessarily mean that the family has enough readily available money to pay the full cost of attendance at a school as expensive as Cornell.</p>
<p>Sorry if this is off topic, but I’ve heard there are schools that have matriculation agreements (if that’s the right term) with Cornell – you go to these schools for 2 years then you can automatically transfer to Cornell and graduate with a Cornell degree (if that’s something that’s worthwhile for OP). But I think SUNY Buffalo is a wonderful school and it offers terrific education value.</p>
<p>Ah, rats, that’s disappointing, isn’t it? It’s okay to feel disappointed, and believe us all when we say that someday it will seem less painful. Probably not tomorrow, though 
You will always be able to say you were admitted. </p>
<p>The most important part of any college education is the student, not the school. You will be a fabulous success if you choose to be, wherever you go.</p>
<p>It is okay to be disappointed, the good thing is that you understand your parents reluctance to pay a huge amount for an undergraduate degree. Working hard in high school will pay off and already has for you. Because of your grades you were able to get into Cornell and have a very good backup school in place. Your future is bright!
I see so many kids today that are freaking out waiting on the last round of test scores, wishing they would have taken high school a little more serious…</p>
<p>I understand your disappointment, Believe me. But at least you have braggging rights for turning down a school like that!</p>
<p>You don’t know me from Adam, but I’m an engineer. Throw yourself into your study at your new school, try to enjoy it, get some fun out of the labs or the computer programs or even working problems if you like that. Try to do some research or get an internship and see what engineers actually do in real life. Or maybe you’ll change majors entirely. Do the best you can with your grades and you’ll ultimately be fine, whether you get a ticket to an elite grad school or a job. </p>
<p>Word of advice - stay off the threads where the same people endlessly debate the prestige and value of colleges over and over and over again, without anyone ever changing their minds. It may be entertaining for us old codgers, but it’s a boring waste of time for a kid starting college.</p>
<p>And on a lighter note-
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<p>This is the first time I’ve seen someone solicit advice from an indiviual poster. :)</p>
<p>I did receive the Rensselaer medal, which would make Rensselaer affordable with the $15,000 per year scholarship, but I think I would prefer SUNY buffalo with the Honors college and more diverse student body over Rensselaer, which is also in Troy NY, which I didn’t like. I also heard from 1 student that Carnegie mellon matched the financial aid offer from Rensselaer, so if CMU matches the rensselaer medal and i get accepted, then CMU may be an option too, but i doubt it.</p>
<p>I don’t understand what’s going on here. Did you apply to Cornell ED? If not, why would you “withdraw your acceptance”? I’ve never heard of that phrase being used before. You don’t have to “withdraw” anything right now. You wait until all your acceptances are in, and make a decision by May 1. What am I missing?</p>