<p>^^agree, it is about values, family values.</p>
<p>but like colleges, some values are better than others. you have a right to live by your own values but it doesn’t mean they’re right. Not valuing higher education and high quality education for your child is a bad value. And for families that have the means but don’t value education (aka to cheap or more interested in new cars or something) I don’t have much respect for.</p>
<p>a 200k education cost over your entire adult life is not the big of an expense. And Harvard is WAY better than UVM.</p>
<p>She’s fine. If she got into Harvard, she’s obviously smart and will do well anywhere. It’s not like only harvard graduates are happy, successful people. And please! Provincial teachers? George bush went to yale and i think he’d make a “provincial” teacher. 200k IS a lot of money. Some people never make 200k in their entire lifetimes. Sure, some people can drop 200k on a bentley, but others can’t even afford groceries. Who are you to judge someone else’s financial decisions?</p>
<p>^^if she doesn’t qualify for finaid at H then her family income is over 160k. so I will judge that they don’t VALUE higher education. But I’ll bet you that they have new cars!</p>
<p>and if she’s so smart and will do fine anyway, then why go to school at all? I mean if uvM is good enough for her why not the local CC as well?</p>
<p>well, that’s their prerogative to not value higher education. why didn’t she talk about this with them earlier? if she really wants to go, she can take out loans. she didn’t decide to do that and instead decided to go somewhere for free. What’s the difference between an economics class at harvard and an economics class at uvm? if a harvard education was all that mattered in the world, then only harvard graduates would be successful. and why would she go to a cc even if it were free when she could go to a state school? That’s just stupid. It’s not even a valid question</p>
<p>^^agree it’s their prerogative, but that doesn’t make it a good decision. the op asked “did she make a mistake” and the answer is yes? the answers not, no. it’s yes, she should have chosen to go to Harvard over uvm. </p>
<p>and outcome thinking is so american middle class. going to college is not about the end result of success or how successful, with outcome or end-game thinking then why not just go pitch a tent over your grave site and wait:) life is about the experiences you’re having now. And let me tell you the nobel economist teaching at Harvard is a WAY better experience and WAY better class than the econ class at uvm.</p>
<p>How can you pass a judgement about someone you’ve NEVER met? You know 3 things about her: she got into harvard, she got a full ride to UVM, and she didn’t get good FA from harvard. you know nothing about her family situation. Is your family that simple? then you’re very lucky. you don’t think she can have experiences at UVM???
and i’m not middle class btw</p>
<p>Well, yes, it is, but one should consider the consequences of taking out 200k in loans before one takes out the loans. I mean, 200k is a lot of money, enough to significantly impact the quality of this girl’s life after graduation. Why shouldn’t she be considering the consequences of so much debt? This girl obviously didn’t think that the Harvard undergraduate experience was worth at least a decade (if not decades) of debt, which is completely her decision and totally understandable.</p>
<p>And natim1, you are right. We don’t know much about her family situation. How do we know that the parents were rich enough to comfortably afford to drop 200k? Maybe her parents, like mine, went to state schools on their own nickel and feel that their child should do the same (if on a smaller scale in my case). Maybe they have other financial issues.</p>
<p>Wow she rejected Harvard… for University of Vermont…</p>
<p>that’s like</p>
<p>Rejecting Jessica Alba … for Hilary Clinton</p>
<p>Rejecting Kobe Bryant … for a benchwarmer</p>
<p>Rejecting an A+ … for a D-</p>
<p>Rejecting a lamborghini… for a mitsubishi corolla</p>
<p>Rejecting harvard… for University of Vermont!!!</p>
<p>Maybe she was high on crack… But then on the other hand, she wanted to become a useless elementary school teacher so she might as well not go college at all (after all, how difficult is it to read alphabets out loud? lol) </p>
<p>Tell her that after she realizes that UVM’s education is as useless as the lessons of my 79 year old, dying physics professor and applies for university again, she can add an extra award on her common app as the “Most stupid person on Earth” - personally given by honeybunny and everyone else who has common sense. Cheers.</p>
<p>^
Well, think of it this way. The corolla costs like $20,000. The Lamborghini is $300,000. All you want to use the car for is to drive to school and go on the occasional milk run. Do you REALLY want to spend that much more money on a Lamborghini?</p>
<p>The grades example is irrelevant because there is no difference in cost.</p>
<p>Here’s what I’m wondering… Why do you even need a college education to teach elementary school? Can’t you do that with like- a high school education or a two year degree? No offense, it just seems weird why you would need to learn about calculus and other complicated things just to teach kids how to do basic arithmetic and stoichiometry.</p>
<p>susan: obviously pacheright was referring to how she can earn 200k through multiple shady dealings. she could sell organs or drugs, become an assassin, rent her uterus to people, whore herself out, rob a bank, etc. ANYTHING for Harvard.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. Her parents aren’t bad people and probably would have paid if they could afford it but they couldn’t. As far as the need based scholarships, you need to disclose your family income to apply. Vermonters are sometimes odd in that they refuse to share this kind of personal information. Her parents refused to fill out the forms. They are good people but have some rural values that a lot of people wouldn’t understand (re privacy, etc.). </p>
<p>As far as the example of the woman who wanted to be an elemetary school teacher when she enrolled in Harvard and ended up in medical school, I feel bad for her. Too many people make decisions based on prestige or status instead of doing what they would enjoy most. She may be happy but I would guess that it was a status move. Just because someoe is capable of becoming a doctor or lawyer doesn’t mean they should. There are intelligent people who choose other, simpler paths. </p>
<p>you’re right she doesn’t need a good education she needs good parents.</p>
<p>this is actually very sad. harvard would pay for her education because they are low income but they will not fill out the forms! and what, uvm will give her a full ride wthout paper work…a few posters on this thread are smoking crack.</p>
<p>second, Lamborghini’s also require $2000 oil changes, $4000 timing belts every 15000 miles, and $6500 transmissions. you also cant drive the Lamborghini everywhere and expect nobody to vandalize it. (I believe this is important because a Harvard education with massive debts… is like taking a loan for a murciealago)</p>
<p>third, plenty of people dont like their experience Harvard (not saying Harvard is a bad place but when she graduates with 200k in debts and probably a lower paying job, do you honestly think she’ll think a harvard education was worth it)</p>
<p>fourth, if she’s happy at UVM, then theres no point in Harvard.</p>
<p>my physics teacher went to Stanford… he hated it there… he didnt think it was worth it… i realize that many people would definitely think stanford/Harvard/Yale are worth it… but some dont (way more common in rural areas).</p>
<p>if you know for a fact that you want to be an elementary teacher and youll be happy at a local school… and you go to Harvard… get 200k in debts… youre a dumbass and a prestige whore.</p>
<p>elementary schools wont offer you 100k+ because of a harvard degree. Its just bragging rights… smart move on her part…</p>
<p>if she doesnt have a problem with it, who gives a ****</p>
<p>If you are smart enough to get into Harvard, you are smart enough to find your way at UVM - just because she went to UVM doesn’t mean she won’t become a lawyer or doctor <em>rolls eyes</em>. In fact, it’s probably MORE likely she’ll become a lawyer or doctor - 200K in debt doesn’t bode well for law or med school.</p>
<p>I mean, maybe all state schools aren’t created equal, but there are tons of people at MY school who want to be lawyers and doctors and politicians and activists and writers and all kinds of nonsense. And tons of people who chose the school over Ivies, including Harvard (one of those people is a hs friend of mine, in fact). Being as smart as she clearly is, and practical, too, I don’t doubt she’ll find kids who also couldn’t afford the big name but are just as bright as her. Maybe she’ll find kids who didn’t get IN to Harvard who are just bright as her (hey, not everyone gives a crap about high school). And I’m sure she’ll find profs/faculty who are inspiring, too. </p>
<p>It’s not about where you go - it’s about what you make of it.</p>