<p>My parents want me to go to NYU (I've been recently admitted). Despite having no financial aid or any scholarship my parents are adamant I attend NYU due to the proximity of NYU to home (I live in Long Island). I've also been admitted to Tulane University with a $20,000 scholarship per year. Yet my parents aren't too enthusiastic about me attending Tulane. They believe Tulane to be this party school that will eventually culminate in me dropping out. They cite the low graduation rate of Tulane and how the city of NOLA is one of the most crime filled cities. They also say how I might get by a hurricane. Another weird factor is that NYU is sort of a big deal in the Philippines (where my families from). Many of the prominent families in the Philippines dream of sending their kids to go to NYU. So in a way my parents like to have the bragging rights that I attend NYU. I don't mind attending NYU, I just believe that Tulane is the smarter choice. My ultimate goal is to attend law school. I had a thread recently with a similar discussion which swayed me to go to Tulane. It's just recently I find that my parents really want me to go to NYU.</p>
<p>How were you admitted to NYU already? Did you apply ED?</p>
<p>I saw you on another thread btw. I think you should explain to your parents that it’s your life and you would prefer Tulane. It would be one thing if you wanted to go to some dream school that would put your parents in extreme debt, but considering that you are choosing the less expensive option, I really feel like what you want should play a bigger part in this.</p>
<p>No I applied regular decision. It’s probably because I didn’t get accepted to CAS (where I applied) and I got sent to a different program called the Liberal Studies Program. It’s this really unique program in a way (some say it’s just a way for NYU to make money but for my own ego I’ll say it’s unique).</p>
<p>I kind of want evidence on what to say to my parents. I mean let’s be honest, Tulane is a party school. I just don’t want my parents to think that I’m going to drop out after a semester. I mean how can I explain Tulane’s low graduation rate and the crimes that occur in NOLA.</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure Tulane’s low graduation rate is actually from Katrina. Also, you wouldn’t even be in CAS your first two years at NYU which just pushes the decision even more toward Tulane.</p>
<p>Have you been to New Orleans? Are you SURE you’d want to live there? Are there some compelling arguments regarding academic appropriateness that make it a good fit for you?
… or, do you just want to get away from home? If you truly, deep-down believe it’s the right place for you then make a list of the reasons that is so. If you’re rational about it, your parents will (hopefully) come around.</p>
<p>That said…NYU would be a fantastic opportunity for most. Make sure you’re not discarding that in the name of “freedom”… you’d still be living “away” in the dorms, right?</p>
<p>Sit your parents down with the numbers. How are you going to come up with the money for NYU? How are you going to come up with the difference between the Cost of Attendance (COA) at Tulane, and the scholarship you have been offered there?</p>
<p>If your parents are sitting on a pile of cash and can pay for NYU without taking on any debt, then it may make sense for you to go to college there. However, if attending NYU means that they are going to end up with a bunch of debt, this makes no sense at all.</p>
<p>They can tell all the cousins back in the Philippines that you got into NYU, but you got a “huge” scholarship to Tulane, so you decided to go there as a “huge” favor to them because it means that your education will be “so very much” less expensive.</p>
<p>Google “NYU college debt” and you will find plenty of horror stories. For more general fun (?) reading on the topic see [Project</a> on Student Debt: Voices](<a href=“http://projectonstudentdebt.org/voices_list.php]Project”>http://projectonstudentdebt.org/voices_list.php)</p>
<p>Thanks guys! My parents are pretty well-off. It’s not that we’re super rich but we do make quite a bit of money. My aunt is also part of my family. She earns about $300,000 a year as a state psychiatrist in Michigan. She has no family or kids to support and she lives a pretty quiet life-style. I’m under the impression she could support me going through NYU and not be in such a huge debt. I just don’t want to disappoint my parents. If I go through Tulane I don’t want to mess it up and allow them to say “you should have gone to NYU”. </p>
<p>I’d like to leave home but it’s not like I have to get far away as possible. Being 2-3 hours away from home is A-okay with me.</p>
<p>bumpity bump!</p>
<p>Tulane is not known as a party school. I’ve always considered it a great school for the sciences. It has a strong reputation in the south.</p>
<p>I don’t know either school, but I know NYU’s reputation for college debt. My only advice is that YOU don’t take on debt for YOUR PARENTS’ dream.</p>
<p>If NYU involves loan indebtedness for you, that should be a deal-breaker. The parents’ desires here carry a lot more weight if they’ve covering all the cost.</p>
<p>IMO, other than cost, the biggest difference between between Tulane and NYU isn’t really the party scene (honestly - 25,000 students from all across the country pick a school primarily to live in Greenwich Village, and you don’t expect a party scene?). It’s that Tulane has a campus-based college life and NYU is more city-based.</p>