<p>So true. Remember, also, this was a student who was denied and appealed so has had his head down and full steam ahead for this college. Perhaps if Berkeley allows kids to take a class or two at a time the OP can move to California, find a job and go from there, but it probably won’t mean starting this fall. Really, the cost is going to determine the trajectory but the OP is going to have to give up something to get what he wants…and that “give up” might be the ability to enroll as a full time freshman complete with dorm living and a full slate of classes much like Dodgersmom points out from the article. Every year there are students like this. When they don’t hear what they want, they disappear. It’s a shame because often we don’t hear what they end up doing. I often wonder what the parents of these students are saying that isn’t reported.</p>
<p>RyanByrd7 – I hope you are still reading even though you stopped posting. I think it’s hard for a high school student to appreciate how much $22,000 really is until they get their first full time job. Let me tell you about my son. In our state minimum wage is $7.78. Last year he applied and got a full-time landscaping job. He was thrilled it paid $9.00/hour and because he was going to a college that started in late September, he was able to work for 3.5 months. Here are the results from his final paystub: He worked 599 hours at $9 plus 40 hours of overtime at $13.50. He grossed $5,922.00. His net or take home pay was $4925.00. In April, he received a tax refund from both state and federal totaling $663. Bottom line, he made $5,588.00 for an average of 43 hours/week for 15 weeks. </p>
<p>That is an example of why there is such alarm at a $22,000 difference between two fine schools. It doesn’t sound like a huge amount of money, but it is! A debt of $100,000 is really life altering. It will be a tremendous burden especially for someone who wants to attend graduate school. It’s hard to let a dream die, but you have such a great option. If you don’t let this dream die, you might be killing your dream of graduate school.</p>
<p>So sad about this student.<br>
He/she has an opportunity at NC which he/she refuses to take.<br>
UC admitted him/her because of full pay opportunity to Cal Schools.
only option: Community college because affordability at Berkeley won’t happen; refuses to go where he/she can afford with this ALL/NONE attitude. So CC it is.</p>
<p>UC admitted him/her because of full pay opportunity to Cal Schools.</p>
<p>Seems that way. His test scores are lowish (22 ACT and a 1120 M+CR (equivalent to a 24 ACT). The acceptance seems like an opp for Cal to get more money.</p>
<p>True. They didn’t really want OP since they at first rejected him. Then he appealed. I figure the acceptance is only because they figured he had the money and was willing to pay. Or they figured he couldn’t pay so it wouldn’t matter if they accepted him or not. Either way - a money grab, or an Admit/Deny - not a place I worth selecting.</p>
<p>OP must have something going for him and be very impressive in other areas to get into both Berkeley and UNC-CH with those scores (frankly, I’m more impressed with the UNC admission, as I agree that the Berkeley admission is likely full-pay related). It would be a shame for him to throw it away by going to UC-Berkeley. Even if he manages to finance the first year, it’s going to be tough to continue to qualify for the loans that will be required to actually graduate from there, and he’d probably end up having to drop out or transfer for financial reasons. And the debt load upon graduation - scary. Seems like a waste when there’s an acceptance to UNC-CH.</p>
<p>It sounds like the student is using 1960’s Berkeley history as evidence that it’s a “better place” for him. The problem is that many schools, including UNC, have become places where kids can speak out and all kinds of topics are freely discussed.</p>
<p>He thinks he needs to go into massive debt to get something that’s nearly everywhere.</p>
<p>Thank you parents and students. I guess I’ll just go to UNC Chapel Hill. Dream deferred! I love my family and my uncle, around my family was a great man in a not so great position, bad history or not. Maybe I believed there was something out there in CA for me, and maybe there is something because God works in mysterious ways.</p>
<p>Ryan, I think that’s your best decision. You’re right - it can be a dream deferred; if you want to go to California for grad school or for your professional life, that will certainly be something to look forward to.</p>
<p>According to @beth’s mom and @mom2collegekids, since my SAT scores are so low, I’m too stupid to attend either college so why should it matter right? According to this site, my scores shouldn’t have gotten me into 4 out of the 5 colleges I applied to. Though I might work harder, and might even be smarter than a person with 2100+ because I score a 1710 I am not smart enough to be admitted into premier universities. Unless you’re filthy rich or dirt poor (but manage to survive high school), the smartest thing for you to do is go to a CC since everyone’s trying to avoid debt at all cost I guess right?</p>
<p>Ryan, you are making a wise decision. I truly believe in 4 years time you will be saying to yourself “Thank God I didn’t land myself with all that debt”. It will give you many more opportunities to fulfill many other and ultimately more important dreams. Best of luck.</p>
<p>Both UNC-CH and Berkeley are great schools, but one will cost you 22K per year more. </p>
<p>This idea of going to Berkeley and working to cover the difference seems easy/doable from the outside, but when you are in the middle of the tempest of finals and heavy work shifts, this may drawn you.</p>
<p>You are more likely to have a paved road to grad school by concentrating in your studies at UNC and getting good grades there than by having to balance work and studies at Berkeley, which may affect your grades.</p>
<p>Ryan bro you made a wise choice. Im born and raised in Cali and let me be the first to tell you it’s overrated. Thats why Im looking into OOS schools.</p>