<p>Today, I went to a Rice University convention meeting thing near where I live, where the associate director of admissions of Rice spoke.</p>
<p>And afterwards, after we got home, my mom and I had a discussion about like Harvard and stuff. And she said if I decided to go to some place like Harvard, then she wouldnt pay the fees. well like she has like 60,000 saved for college stuff (well its 25,000$ cash, and some stock that is CURRENTLY worth around 40,000$) and she would pay that, but ~65,000$ will barely pay 1 1/2 years at Harvard. Then you have to add in airfare and crapl ike that.</p>
<p>And now I feel discouraged. All this time, I had all these plans laid out for my junior year to get me things that will help me significantly for getting into Harvard. But then like my mom was like, answer this q, think about it first, answer me tomorrow.</p>
<p>Do you actually want to go to Harvard to have the experience and learn or is it just so you can tell all your friends and everyone you know that you're going to HArvard?</p>
<p>And I realized something. I have some friends who just graduated who are going to Harvard and I've basically been like worshipping them and trying to do everything that they did, so I could get into Harvard.</p>
<p>And I think like me, A LOT of people who are at Harvard are there and want t o go there just for the name...</p>
<p>And I dont think thats good..</p>
<p>I duno</p>
<p>Im just having a mental breakdown...someone talk me through this and give me advice on what to do. I'm like depressed now, lol.</p>
<p>"And I think like me, A LOT of people who are at Harvard are there and want t o go there just for the name..."</p>
<p>if you honestly want to apply to a college for a name, you're got the wrong reason =/. i'm thinking you find reasons why you like harvard, or start searching for those colleges that you are truly passionate about, not just the names you are truly passionate about</p>
<p>Listen, calm down and gain some perspective. You need to realize that there is more to college than the name on the diploma. You shouldn't be worried about getting in at the beginning of junior year. You should be worried about your academics, the important stuff. That being said, if shooting for Harvard is what keeps you motivated, and it works, at least that is something. I had a friend who was set on Princeton ED. He basically dedicated his whole life to getting in, but he didn't. He got really depressed and got pretty mean about it. My point is, if you just do everyhthing in life to satisfy college adcoms, then you are cheating yourself out of a fun high school experience. I can't tell you why you should want to attend Harvard. Obviously, everyone has their own reasons. But after giving the school careful consideration, you should be able to come up with a whole slew of reasons why you really want to go. If " it is the top college in the country" is your only reason, it probably isn't a good fit for you. You need to stop being concerned about fitting yourself into a mold for college, and find a college that can fit you.</p>
<p>Aaaa halopeno, but like ppl expect so much of me at school. I mean, they all think I'm a genius or something and im not...and that puts a lot of pressure on me. Added to that, theres so many kids at my school going to like Ivys, Rice, etc. and that puts more pressure on me caus eI have the tendency to want to be exactly like someone who goes to harvard.</p>
<p>It makes sense, but in a very immature way. If you can't handle the stresses of High School, you surely won't be able to handle the pressures of Harvard. I think it very narrow minded to believe that the only quantifiable way of sucess is whether or not you scaled the Ivory Tower. Come on now, you sound like a smart person. You need to concentrate on a lot more right now then which school you might be applying to NEXT year.</p>
<p>yes, you want to push yourself. pushing is what thousands of other kids do, i reckon a good 95% of the people on this forum included. the major problem that you have is that you are obsessed with the harvard name, and you are trying to fit into the mold of someone else. </p>
<p>i really don't think the problem is you trying to apply to just harvard, it's you trying to apply to any ivy league</p>
<p>you want to live up to your expectations. that's fine, but if it costs your sanity and stresses you out to no end, then back down a little, who cares what anyone else thinks? </p>
<p>you have to find credible reasons to want to go to a certain college in order to truly feel good after being accepted. until now, i don't think you have any.</p>
<p>-edit- psh, halopeno you're a faster typer than i am =/</p>
<p>In any event, look at it this way: your chances of admission may be slim. </p>
<p>Harvard is for those who know what they want and work hard to get it, even if they have to take risks and make sacrifices....and even if they come from Texas.</p>
<p>Self-doubt and parents who are not supportive can make the challenge insurmountable.</p>
<p>A lot of the value added that a school like Harvard gives is in the diploma. Honestly. I'm headed to Yale and I know that right off the bat. Sure, I also expect the teachers to be better and the peer group to be brighter, but I know that at the end of the day, an education at a top university opens a lot of doors. Now, if it's an issue of cost, I can tell you that almost all the top colleges gives very generous financial aid. It might not get you off for free, but many of these schools try to make it affordable for everyone to attend.</p>
<p>The "name" isn't that bad of a reason to want to go to a college. Why do people recognize name brands? It's a mark of consumer approval and guaranteed quality. Schools like Harvard have aquired their "name" BECAUSE they offer something special. You'll be among the brightest kids and have some of the world's finest faculty members.</p>
<p>Of course, that's not sufficient reason to attend a college. Prestige isn't everything - but it's a big something. Don't feel pressured by high school classmates - four years from now, you won't have even kept in touch with most of them. Apply where you honesty WANT to go.</p>
<p>See, my mom makes 100,000/year. But thats not the story. My stepdad is divorced and has to pay about a 1000$/month in child support to his ex-wife. he also took a 100,000$ loan to start a business to move in with us (he was living in new york earlier and travling each week). And I have a 2 year old baby brother. ANd we have a 230,000$ mortage on our home.</p>
<p>The 100,000$/year salary isnt characteristic at all about our financial situation. </p>
<p>Is there any way I can tell financial aid people about my situation?..</p>
<p>USNews attempts to scientifically measure the "value added" by colleges using this measure:</p>
<p>"Graduation rate performance (5 percent; only in national universities and liberal arts colleges). This indicator of "added value" shows the effect of the college's programs and policies on the graduation rate of students after controlling for spending and student aptitude. We measure the difference between a school's six-year graduation rate for the class that entered in 1999 and the rate we predicted for the class. If the actual graduation rate is higher than the predicted rate, the college is enhancing achievement."</p>
<p>Harvard does the best job among the top elites by the measure at +4, but there are many state schools that top the list, with Michigan State leading the nation at +16.</p>
<p>I am applying colleges just because of names, am I wrong? no. because I thoroughly thought out the outcome, I actually culculated the benefit a name-brand can bring to me in my major and the companies I want to go after college, and at the end, I figued apply by the name of the college is one of the best way</p>
<p>In comparing costs, you have to recognize that the top elites give substantial financial aid, so that the "true" cost of attending a Harvard for those who must be concerned about such things can be lower than costs at the local state university.</p>
<p>Harvard is #2 on this list - behind only Caltech, with the average aid recipient paying only 63% of the total cost - only a little over $16,000. </p>
<p>Since those stats were collected, Harvard has announced further enhancements to its aid program, waiving tuition for those from families earning $60,000 or less, substantially reducing it for families earning up to $80,000. There are many families with incomes over $100,000 who receive financial aid, depending on their circumstances.</p>
<p>Predator, your urges and anxiety are nothing to be alarmed about. It's natural for people to latch onto obsessions when they are in a period of uncertainty, change, and evolution. The obsessions are like anchors that you hope will give you some stability.</p>
<p>If you're obsessed with Harvard, you're probably hoping it will give your image and identity some unquestioned solidity and status. Just remember that if you go to a place like Rice (which is much cheaper), you might not be at the tip top of the academic mountain like Harvard is, but you'd still be pretty close to the top, and be "looking down" at 98% of the students in the country. It's like the people who win a silver medal in the Olympics...ok, so they didn't win gold, but they still beat just about everybody else on the planet.</p>
<p>Here are numbers 1-8 on the USNews Best Values list:</p>
<p>The first number is the percentage getting financial aid; the second number is the average cost for those receiving aid; and the third number is the average discount from "list price" for those receiving aid.</p>
<ol>
<li> California Institute of Technology 53% $13,694 67%</li>
<li> Harvard University (MA) 49% $16,346 63%</li>
<li> Princeton University (NJ) 51% $16,917 61%</li>
<li> Yale University (CT) 42% $16,268 63%</li>
<li> Massachusetts Inst. of Technology 60% $18,587 58%</li>
<li> Stanford University (CA) 43% $18,767 58%</li>
<li> Dartmouth College (NH) 50% $18,804 58%</li>
<li> Rice University (TX) 34% $15,561 52%</li>
</ol>
<p>If you are eligible for financial aid, Harvard (and the other Ivies) will probably give you some of the best aid out there. Also, I believe much more comes out of a top education than a lower ranked place. The network (your friends and their friends, the placement into jobs/ grad schools, the awesome college experience with really smart people, and the credibility you get your entire life are all reasons to go.</p>
<p>Yeah, but those sound a bit superficial if you really think about it. It has been proven that the "old boy" relationships developed from Ivy type schools really don't go as far in todays world as they used to. I know everyone is going to start disagreeing with me, however, you can absolutely not attend an Ivy League school and still have a sucessful, happy, friend filled life. If those are the only reasons why you would want to go to Harvard to begin with, you probably don't have enough there to really be satisfied.</p>
<p>I think that another item that was prob. left out is that while I'm sure that thousands of Harvard applicants share your story, I think that very few admits do. From what I've seen from my HS scatter these past 2 years is that those kids who had that "internal locus of control" and who were motivated by what they wanted, what they were passionate about, etc... were the ones who in fact were offered admission at these top schools. Those who worked tirelessy through high school just for these admissions seldom had a happy ending. I think that all of the people who posted so far kinda echo the same message... you should take a hard look at yourself and try to figure out what YOU want and how much YOU are willing to put into it. </p>
<p>If I were you I wouldn't focus on particular schools right now... focus on getting a nice schedule with a nice array of courses so you can begin to figure out what you may want to study... find that ONE organization at your school that you just L-O-V-E and dedicate heart and soul to it... I think you'll find that if you just approach this whole thing with less anxiety that the pieces will just fall into place perfectly for you.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Yeah, but those sound a bit superficial if you really think about it. It has been proven that the "old boy" relationships developed from Ivy type schools really don't go as far in todays world as they used to.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>The advantage exists but in different ways. It exists when the Georgetown-educated partner at the law firm I worked at told me "whoa, you should be my boss" when he heard the name of my alma mater (he was being playful of course, but not sarcastic). It exists when people don't pass over your resume in the same way they would looking over one from blah regional college X. I could give you more examples. The opening doors these days emerge more from the awe of others than one's fellow alumni.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I know everyone is going to start disagreeing with me, however, you can absolutely not attend an Ivy League school and still have a sucessful, happy, friend filled life.
<p>Haha...I would rephrase that if I were you.
How bout:</p>
<p>I know everyone is going to start disagreeing with me, however, you "don't have to attend" an Ivy League school "to live" a successful and happy life. </p>
<p>Anyway, no one here (at least clearheaded people) will disagree with you. I know many happy and successful people who never attended an Ivy League school (or want to for that matter.)</p>