<p>UofC was the one school that I totally obsessed over and was the only one I wanted to talk about, visit, and hopefully get into. I didn't care about the college application process until I was introduced to UofC. I also thought it was a pipe dream given my academic standing was only slightly above average and I felt my essays were slightly below. But I applied EA anyway and by some miracle I got in and I was so excited. I used to say I would pay full price and bite the bullet and take the loans later in life if it meant I could get a UChicago education. Well the financial aid package will cause me to pay a little under 20thousand a year which I'm so grateful for. I haven't applied to other schools because I was waiting to hear about UofC and now that i'm in I don't want to because it will only waste my time. My mom on the other hand wants me to apply to schools where I anticipated receiving a lot of money or even a full ride just to see what happens. But the thing is, I don't want to go anywhere but UofC and i'm not going to let a higher tuition stop me when I've already cleared the biggest hurdle. If anyone has any ideas on what I should do in this situation I'd really appreciate hearing them</p>
<p>First, do not allow your mother’s decisions to completely rule your affairs. Take her advice into great consideration, of course, but please. You’re going to college. </p>
<p>Second, it really comes down to the immediate consequences I suppose. If going to UChicago will place an enormous and crushing financial burden on your family, I would say you cannot go. If you are willing to take out enough loans that attending would not do so, I would say that you should attend UChicago for two reasons: </p>
<ol>
<li>you will receive a fantastic education well-worth the money at a great school</li>
<li>because UChicago is a prestigious university, it will open doors for you later in life </li>
</ol>
<p>If the schools that would give a full ride or significant scholarship do not provide the above, and going to UChi would not crush your family financially, and you really love the school (beware of extreme expectations though), then GO!. </p>
<p>Congrats. I got accepted too!</p>
<p>Take your mother’s advice and apply elsewhere just to see what happens. Don’t let emotions get in the way of making an intelligent, rational decision about your education.</p>
<p>Also, under $20k/year is pretty good, I think, as long as your parents make a decent ($50k+) salary. After loans, being prudent about personal expenses, moving to a cheaper residence (e.g., i-House), this could be cut to $10k/year.</p>
<p>I really love the University of Chicago, and so do my kids. We paid a lot to give them the chance to go there. </p>
<p>But please, please don’t overvalue it. There are dozens of institutions where with a little effort and discernment you can get just as well educated as you can at Chicago, inside the classroom and out of it. They may not have the exact same qualities and charms as Chicago, but then Chicago doesn’t have exactly what makes any of them special, either. Straight up, you might choose Chicago over any of them, and I wouldn’t argue with you, but if you have to take on $50,000, $60,000, $70,000 more debt to attend Chicago . . . it’s really going to be hard to conclude that the marginal advantages of Chicago are worth it. </p>
<p>Think hard about what that kind of debt level will do to your life in your 20s and 30s, to your ability to get an advanced degree, marry, buy a house, raise a family, save for your children’s college and your own retirement. I DO think you could rationally decide to take on some extra debt to go to Chicago rather than, say, Ohio State, or Duke for that matter. But the question is how much? And the answer is, less than you apparently think.</p>
<p>I’m glad you felt a connection with the University of Chicago, and that the admissions committee felt one back with you. But before you take on a huge debt burden, use what you have learned about your own interests, preferences and style through looking at Chicago to take a good look at other colleges, too. How would you turn them into something just as good, or better, for YOU, than Chicago?</p>
<p>The good-old argument of ROI: If you aiming for a job at the Wall Street ($144 Billion in bonus for this year collectively, BTW), then I think you can take over the loan payment after your graduation. If you want to be a school teacher, then it is not worth it. Think about your possible graduate school (unless your path is chemistry, biology majors, which pays you for going to grad school), and marriage. There may be some willing to marry a boy (or girl) with heavy debt for the sake of love. And there are some who are not willing. Life is full of choices. You are the only one know the answer. You are the only who will enjoy or suffer the consequence of the decision. So make it with great care.</p>
<p>JHS is completely right. You are being blinded by your love for Chicago, which I totally get. I thought it would be a great school for my D also, but after visiting she did not have the same reaction as you. That’s fine, different strokes and all that. But the bottom line is exactly that, the bottom line. If you are going to come out of the University of Chicago with more than $25,000 in debt total after 4-5 years, then don’t do it. There is no reason for it and right now you cannot see what that kind of debt will do to you starting out. It can be crushing, and there is no escaping it. Even declaring bankruptcy doesn’t absolve student loan debt.</p>
<p>There are so many great schools that would get you out after 4 years with little to no debt. Unfortunately it is very late in the game. You have to get moving.</p>