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importance of winning college admissions game> importance of life
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<p>Okay, now I see: you are an ironist.</p>
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I don't know of any bank that will give the OP $80k in loans at 8.5% with payment deferred, so think this is all probably a non-issue, no different than if rejected by CMU.
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<p>Mini speaketh the ultimate wisdom.</p>
<p>OP, I go to Amherst College and I love my school very very much. That said, I am in the lucky (hah) extremely poor minority who barely pays a dime for college. I am absolutely shocked when I see friends of mine paying so much money to attend Amherst when they could have received terrific educations for free at a public university. You didn't make a bad choice; take advantage of all the wonderful opportunities and experiences you'll get at university, and there is no reason you should regret your choice. Asking people if you made a bad decision now can't be healthy; what's done is done. Have an amazing time in college.</p>
<p>Especially when likely there wasn't (isn't) a decision to be made. (I know the OP thinks he made a decision - "the worse decision of his life" - but I find that highly unlikely.)</p>
<p>you've already decided to go to UMCP..make the most of it.In the honors college you will not be around average people.On of the smartest people I know turned down Georgetown,WUSTL,John Hopkins and Upenn for Maryland.She's gonna be a scholar and doesn't doubt her decision for one minute.I heard honors and scholars are generally regarded first by the employers who go UMCP although I dont know how true that is. It may be easier for you to get a job out of undergrad from UMCP because you're obviously really smart already. What you do there matters a lot more. However sometimes the fit my be wrong.go in with an open mind and see what happens. If its not working out use the benefits of honors to your advantage to transfer</p>
<p>When do I think about how prestigious my college is?
Almost never.</p>
<p>When do I thank my freaking lucky stars that I was able to afford it?
Multiple times a day. (Every time I buy something, every time I go to my summer job, the one that is amazing but doesn't pay well, every time I convert an hour that would have gone to a work/study job into an hour of quality time with friends).</p>
<p>You have NO IDEA what the economic freedom means for you-- less time working for dough or worrying about making ends meet equals more time for you to do the things that you want to and spend money on what you want to. You can go out to dinner more; buy more videogames; volunteer in a lab or with school children. The world really is your oyster, and unless you decide that 100-hour workweeks at Goldman Sachs is your thing, nobody will say, "Uh, sorry, can't pass through here, you're only a state school grad, muhahaha."</p>
<p>And even then, you'd be surprised. On the Chicago boards we were just talking about graduates from which colleges turned out to be at the top of their top law schools. The answers were not as obvious as you'd think. </p>
<p>I have particular love for UMCP for a few reasons. First, one of my friends transferred there from a more highly ranked private because UMCP was a better fit and had a better program for what he wanted, second because I know a lot of cool profs there, third because I know a lot of cool alumni. UMCP does a great job of wining and dining some of the best kids around-- I've talked to a few students and parents on these boards about the showcase Maryland put on for them and how it was hard to turn down such an excellent school for a more expensive private.</p>
<p>You will find Maryland to be whatever you want it to be. But like other posters have said, just try to come in with an open mind, for your own sanity and well-being.</p>
<p>I also think you might like this thread a lot:
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/484782-my-heroes-where-they-went-school.html%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/484782-my-heroes-where-they-went-school.html</a></p>
<p>OP - you made the best decision of your life. I say this as a person who, for financial reasons, tranferred from Stanford to UCLA many years ago. I didn't feel comfortable with my Dad taking on all that load debt. In my case the price differential was $120,000. UCLA was almost free back then, except for room and board. $120,000 back then is over almost 1 Million now (more if he'd bought a house in socal with that savings).</p>
<p>Now, my Dad is entering retirement, and he does not have $1M. In other words, he would have been almost out of money now if I had stayed at Stanford.</p>
<p>You may not be aware of the University of Maryland's stellar reputation among professors around the country. Have a look at the NRC graduate program rankings. University of Maryland is Top 20, on average, across the 41 Ph.D. disciplines.</p>
<p>You have made an adult decision. Adult decisions are those that take the long view on things. You have made a good start in living fiscally responsibly. Don't worry about your friends, or others than could afford the private colleges. We each need to make the best decision for us.</p>
<p>when your friends are paying back loans for years while you've settled into your first house and are starting a family, they will envy YOU!</p>
<p>Thank you so much everyone! I logged on today to see five pages of responses, something I did not expect at all!</p>
<p>Just a few things to clarify:</p>
<p>1) I'm probably going to be a chemistry and computer science double major.
2) I, without a doubt, am going to be pursuing grad school.
3) My parents were willing to tap into their home equity and have me pay them back later with the small interest rate from such a loan (so I could obtain the money).
4) Going to CMU in the fall would not be an option, I would have to transfer after a year (spring semester is not an option either - CMU frowns upon transferring after just one semester).
5) Even though I was only accepted to the Mellon College of Science, I could still pursue a double major in CS and receive all of the benefits of the School of CS's program.
6) I'm a male haha.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for your wonderful advice, especially carolyn. I really just need to learn to accept my decision and have some confidence in it. I probably will end up liking Maryland and even if I don't, I guess I can always transfer (although probably not to carnegie mellon). While it's hard to control my jealousy, hopefully it will die down once school finally starts (as recfn stated).</p>
<p>Once again, thank you everyone! I feel a lot more confident about my decision now! Thanks so much!</p>
<p>DunninLA / my jaw *literally opened up when you said you transferred from Stanford to UCLA....</p>
<p>are you kidding me? all this time we thought you were in SCS, mellon college of science? you made the right choice.</p>
<p>Sorry lol, I didn't even state my major in the original post. The misconception started somewhere around the first page/second page.</p>
<p>EDIT: Albeit, since I would double major in CS, I would still receive many of the benefits of their program, such as their excellent curriculum.</p>
<p>You made the right choice; probably going to see a lot cuter girls in your chem classes at UMD than CMU, too. ;)</p>
<p>DunninLA's post nailed it. I didn't want to completely harp on it. But the choice you made was the adult one. You have to think about your parents.</p>
<p>RacinReaver, speaking as a female who majored in engineering at a tech school, a wink does not excuse the remark. That is a nasty thing to say.</p>
<p>I still think you should've gone to Mellon.</p>
<p>I think you made a huge mistake for not going all out to have the best college experience possible.</p>
<p>sorry if I make you feel bad, but that's what I think.</p>
<p>I agree that choosing MD was likely the smartest decision you have made in your young life. You will have the oppotunity to make many more. Graduating with that much debt is life changing - especially since you intend on going to graduate school. Owing a substantial amount money to a bank can be miserable. Owing a substantial amount of money to your parents can be even worse. You already know how destructive feelings of jealousy are. You would likely feel jealous of people at CMU without debt, with lots of spending money - there are always people around with more - unless you're Kevin Plank - I wonder how he feels about his days at UMD.</p>
<p>Let's get real.</p>
<p>Everyone who puts themselves out there to be picked and prodded and interviewed during the college admissions process automatically exposes themselves to all types of criticism- at most times, expressed in the manner of a rejection or an acceptance from a college.</p>
<p>However, a long rigorous year partaking in the college admissions process has taught me one thing: sometimes the most hurtful criticism from the process roots from YOU and the way in which you see yourself, your take on what you deserve or what you don't in terms of a prestigous, amazing, and fresh college environment.</p>
<p>There are very few people (though it seems a lot on this website) that get accepted to every school that they apply to and end up going to their dream school. Most people have regrets and EVERYONE, I mean, everyone has concerns.</p>
<p>All in all, feelings of jealousy are completely normal and human. YOU DO NOT need professional help (this suggestion in within itself is ridiculous), but the only thing you need to do now is KEEP YOURSELF BUSY and get pumped about next year! Remember that this last year was the hardest year in terms of getting into college--- and a lot of people were let down, even those who wanted to go to the school that you're concerned over now.</p>
<p>Look at the school's website, see ways in which you can get involved. Sometimes it's enlightening to understand that being "challenged" doesn't specifically relate to being academically challenged. You said you love learning for the sake of learning-but the next step is to come to terms with the fact that learning does not only happen in the classroom and that you have the potential to apply what you learn to help others. </p>
<p>So, open and expand your horizon just a little, and instead of dwelling in the past, focus on the future and what you can do to challenge yourself and make a difference at the same time.</p>
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I think you made a huge mistake for not going all out to have the best college experience possible.
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<p>JManco49: </p>
<p>Yes, we know your opinion, you keep repeating it over and over again, as if saying it over and over will somehow compensate for your lack of experience with "the college experience."<br>
The best college experience will be something different for each individual, and it does not absolutely have to be at a "top" school. It needs to be at a school that is the right fit for the individual, and the financial factor and its consequences is an integral part of that fit. The University of Maryland is a great school and a great value, especially for in-staters, so it very well could be the best school for this person's college experience. And, this is not an unrecoverable situation - if it doesn't work out, transferring is always an option.</p>
<p>The OP needed constructive advice and counsel, which is what many on this board gave him.</p>
<p>Actaully, the op asked if she made a mistake.</p>
<p>I was answering her question; I think that she did make a mistake.</p>
<p>Also, in a previous post I said that she should go to UMD and transfer if shedoesn't like it.</p>
<p>I don't think the OP made a mistake because, in fact, the OP didn't make a decision - CMU made it for him.</p>
<p>The students in the Honors program at UMD will be ever bit as strong, if not stronger, than those at CMU. And while Pittsburgh is a nice city, the internship/work opportunities in and around DC are vast.</p>