<p>Oh please, elllebud, it’s essentially free. Any trivial summer job would cover the entire contribution, without loans. How much better could it get?</p>
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<p>Personally, I usually only traveled home once or twice a semester not only to save on expenses, but also because some holidays…such as Thanksgiving tended to fall too close to finals week. Figured it was best to stay on campus, use that time productively, and then have a less stressful finals week and a more enjoyable winter break coming home 3 weeks later. I wasn’t the only student who did this on my or other campuses, either. </p>
<p>There’s also traveling to visit HS/old neighborhood friends at nearby college campuses which wasn’t as expensive/free or time-consuming with share-a-ride programs with classmates.</p>
<p>I think that there would be a few more expenses that the most optimistic here are ignoring or overlooking. Does the campus close down for spring break or thanksgiving? That could be resolved if the student could stay at a local classmate’s home if there were such a person.</p>
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<p>I’d be very surprised if Dartmouth did so as most universities/LACs I know of…especially the elite tended to leave their campuses open during Thanksgiving and Spring Break because the former tends to fall close to finals and there are plenty of students who stay on campus to catch up on school work, get ahead, athletic practice, or perform undergrad research projects with their Profs. </p>
<p>In fact, I’ve never heard of any campuses…especially those in the Top 30 unis/LACs that do what you suggested above…</p>
<p>Incidentally, my LAC served very nice Thanksgiving meals…complete with Turkey and eggnog for students staying on campus. Didn’t think anything of it as I knew that I’d be home for a month+ long winter break…including winter-term which could be completed off-campus anyways.</p>
<p>OP, what is your age? Just wondering if you can sign your own paperwork and move ahead on your own with this. Obviously it is better if your family agrees, but this is the chance of a lifetime. If you are not old enough (17 & need parent signatures on things), you might even call Dartmouth to explain and see if you can defer for a semester or something until you can sign stuff as an adult. </p>
<p>Is this a political issue? No one has really asked this, but I sort of wonder if they think the school will turn you into a northern liberal. 
I am NOT trying to turn this into a political thread, just suggesting that as a consideration as you consider how to convince them. If so… you might look through the student activity groups and point out some that might be more in line with their thinking (there is surely a College Republicans group at Dartmouth). Also see if you can find any famous conservative graduates of Dartmouth they might recognize/admire.</p>
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<p>This is amusing as the common perception of Dartmouth among HS classmates and most other folks I’ve met is that Dartmouth is vying for the most politically/socially conservative Ivy spot with Princeton. </p>
<p>Not too surprisingly, most of the HS classmates who ended up going off to Dartmouth tended to be members of our high school’s Republicans club, socially/politically conservative libertarians, or right-leaning centrists at least…and they enjoyed it for the most part despite complaints Dartmouth was “Too liberal”.</p>
<p>If Dartmouth is “too liberal” for the OP’s parents…they’d certainly be apoplectic if he/she even considered applying to my undergrad…Oberlin College which is almost the complete polar opposite of the popular stereotype/image of Dartmouth I’ve heard/know of from HS classmates, colleagues, and a few friends/relative who worked there.</p>
<p>In fact, I can imagine their reactions may not be far removed from the outraged tone of Cadet Corporal Bent from the '80’s Civil War TV series “North & South” when he felt outraged that a 4th class cadet under his command came from a state of Ohio which had a college that allowed “Black and White students to study together”…pretty radical for the 1840’s when the story began.</p>
<p>I really hope this works out for you. My daughter’s bf is there for grad school and has pretty awesome internship ( paid ) with Boston Consulting this summer. They tend to hire most of their interns and starting salary is very impressive
And Hanover is lovely too :D</p>
<p>MisterK: “essentially free”? That is what the OP says/thinks. We don’t know if the OP knows its free…or assumes everything is taken care of…or is turning a partial blind eye to certain realities.</p>
<p>You ever buy a major appliance on sale? Yes, it is 30% off…with free delivery. BUT then there is an installation fee…and a warranty (if chosen). The price isn’t the one on the machine…the cost is what is on the sales slip.</p>
<p>I hope the OP and his family seek one or two meetings with impartial parties. The parents may, in fact have a control issue. Or there may be far more to this than the OP realizes or wants to confront.</p>
<p>ellebud, That is another major reason my parents are against me going 18 hours away. And, honestly, I get it. I know how expensive travel is.</p>
<p>cobrat, I was actually wondering if Dartmouth would stay open during holidays like Thanksgiving. That will definitely ease the travel expenses, as I would most likely want/ need to stay during it.</p>
<p>intparent, Sadly, I’m 17, and will be until August 3rd. And, truth be told, political persuasions might actually be a reason. I’m very liberal, and my parents are very conservative, so it is a source of conflict between us and I guess they’d like me to stay in a more conservative area. But I doubt they’d know any of the Dartmouth alumni, other than writers like Seuss and Frost, haha.</p>
<p>Cobrat, I loved North and South, we watched it when our AP exam was over last year in history, haha.</p>
<p>lje62, thank you!! I hope so too!</p>
<p>ellebud, I will easily admit that I know almost nothing about the financial aid and what extra costs are involved. I’m just quoting what was on the financial aid form. I’m a clueless 17 year old…haha.</p>
<p>Traveling home for every short holiday isn’t necessary. Many students go home only for winter break and for the summer. Some (especially internationals) don’t even do that. A reasonably personable college student can manage to scare up invitations from other students who live closer, from a faculty or staff member, an alum, or from someone they have met in the community through a church or volunteer organization. Back in the last century my friends and I never lacked for an invitation over a break, and our efforts to be model houseguests paid off with return invitations.</p>
<p>Ellebud, the experts over in the Fin Aid Forum have taken a look at the Dartmouth offer, and with a Stafford Loan and a summer job, things look to be completely covered.</p>
<p>The OP provided this confidential information about his family’s private finances on a public forum? Ok then…</p>
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<p>Unless Dartmouth has greatly changed within the last few years…you may fine that it may not be “liberal enough”* for you. Granted…a lot can change in 3-4 years so keep your chin up if you go. </p>
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<li>Most liberals or even left-leaning centrists avoided Dartmouth like the plague when I was in HS in the early-mid '90s. Then again, nearly every right-leaning centrist…much less a bona-fide right-wing conservative/libertarian made it a point to avoid Oberlin or Brown like the plague for similar reasons in the other direction.<br></li>
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<p>I loved that scene where Cadet Corporal Bent contemptuously mentioned my undergrad alma mater by name. Considering it came from him and those who harbored similar retrograde views…that was effectively a great tribute to Oberlin College. :D</p>
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<p>Hey…I was 17 when I started college and I had to have a better understanding of the financial aid realities because my parents didn’t attend college in the states. Never had an issue taking on that responsibility myself and graduated with a small enough loan debt that I was able to pay it off within 6 months of graduation.</p>
<p>OP, I actually looked up Steven Colbert’s biography on wiki, because I falsely remembered he’d gone from South Carolina to Dartmouth. It would have made a funny post here. But he went off to Northwestern, not Dartmouth. Oh well.</p>
<p>Dartmouth draws students from all over the globe. One of the hard things about my son attending there was the fact that he couldn’t come home for Thanksgiving (we’re on the west coast and the flight connections just didn’t work well). Honestly, I think the “no Thanksgiving” was harder on me than on him. </p>
<p>He got together with others to cook a turkey the first year and went home with a friend another year. </p>
<p>Keep in mind that International students can be very lonely – not only are they there over Thanksgiving, there often is no trip home for Christmas or spring break or the break between terms. It can be a real kindness to host an International student to your home for a holiday dinner if you are in the vicinity of a college. </p>
<p>Dartmouth purposely draws all sorts. There are famous conservatives, liberals that made my jaw drop (and I’m fairly liberal) and religious kids and military veterans and and and and. </p>
<p>I think the idea of an “intervention” amusing but please don’t. There are many, many things that go into choosing a college and parenting a teen. It’s complex and both parents and teens come here to vent as well as collect information. </p>
<p>I don’t know the OP – but what if this were a young parent who wanted to leave a baby behind with grandparents while attending an out of state college? Or what if a parent had a terminal illness? There can be details that can hugely change the flavor of who is being unreasonable. </p>
<p>Our OP asked for advice and tips from those who have navigated the choice process. If he/she wants anyone to pitch a tent in his/her living room, that would have been specified (IMHO).</p>
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<p>These comments make no sense unless you haven’t read the thread.</p>
<p>OP has stated the terms of the offer, and it’s a great offer. It’s completely doable, without loans or even parental assistance. It’s in the summer job ballpark; it couldn’t be better.</p>
<p>OP - First of all, congratulations on your acceptances! </p>
<p>As a parent of a HS senior who is also making college decisions, I can understand the angst that your parents are having. That said, the financial aid offer that you have from Dartmouth is just too good to refuse. And I am from the camp that believes that paying a premium for a top school isn’t necessarily worth it. In your case, it sounds like the package that Dartmouth is giving you is definitely worth it!</p>
<p>If your parents’ objections are purely cultural, I guess what they need to understand is that there are good people everywhere. Conversely, every campus (even USC) will have both liberal and conservative students. No matter where you go, you will most likely gravitate toward people who are similar to you.</p>
<p>It sounds like you haven’t had the opportunity to visit Dartmouth yet. Would it make your parents feel better to know that it is in the middle of nowhere on the NH / VT border? Within a 50 mile radius (with the exception of the Dartmouth community itself), there are probably literally more cows than people. Other than some of your classmates / profs, you will not be interacting with “big city people”. The people in the Hanover / Lebanon community are very down to earth, friendly, and hard working.</p>
<p>Some people have suggested that your parents may be concerned about liberal political views. Dartmouth, like most colleges, is sure to have plenty of people with both liberal and conservative points of view. But like Cobrat pointed out, it is a generally conservative school. The state of NH is still predominantly Rebublican although a fair number of us are now undeclared for a political party. This is a huge generalization, but people from NH tend to be fiscally very conservative but socially open minded. I am only telling you this so that you can assure your parents that NH isn’t the hotbed of northern, liberal ideas that they seem to fear. In fact, having lived in several places in the northeast and abroad, NH is the most conservative place that I’ve encountered. They are correct, though, it can be quite cold!</p>
<p>Good luck with all of this. Please feel free to PM me if I can be of any help with answering questions or concerns that you or your parents may have about the area.</p>
<p>Sometimes you just have to take things slowly and gently with parents.They get an idea stuck in their heads and it is seriously hard to get anything else in there. But seriously it sounds like it is time for a real heart to heart with your parents on an as much of an adult level that you can manage.</p>
<p>They might have reasons for keeping you at their choice school that you don’t realize at all. if you take some time with an open and frank discussion then they will have a chance to tell you their fears/hopes and you can offer yours. Make sure you have some well researched facts to go with your reasoning before sitting down and crying that it is just what you want.</p>
<p>You have stated that you will pay the difference through working and student loans. A high school kid stating that they will do something does not always have great force, simply because they knew you when you would have done anything for a puppy years earlier. If you want that so bad then find a summer job or find something part time right now (as long as your school schedule can handle it). If you show them that you are determined in a very responsible way then it might have an affect on them.</p>
<p>All I can say is that the OP “gets” it more than the cheerleaders. There are unexpected expenses and challenges. I am delighted that some of you are so special that you can rid yourselves of all debt, dispose of parental objections (valid or not), and negate the OP’s possible desire to go home for vacations or emergencies.</p>
<p>OP: Congratulations! Truly. One of my husband’s partners is a Dartmouth grad. Your job is to figure out why your parents object (valid or not), money for extras and emergencies, opportunities for jobs/advancement upon graduation (and compare with all schools), where you feel that “fit”, and your wishes and needs. </p>
<p>After that…enjoy college!</p>
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<p>As one of those “cheerleaders”…I do get it…especially considering I did exactly what the OP is hoping to do at Dartmouth back when I was an undergrad at a private LAC. Only difference was that he/she actually has a slightly lower parental/student contribution than I did in absolute dollars back when I was in college. </p>
<p>If you factored in inflation…the OP’s parental/student contribution would be more markedly lower than mine back in the day.</p>