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is money really the only reason to get a good education? If so then yes some state school is okay, and I don’t know about this person, but many people want ivies or other top tier colleges for the pure intellectual reasons, those that don’t shouldn’t even be applying to ivies, :P</p>
<p>well if you got a C in the class the first time in alg 2/trig, then you are probably not fit to handle the classes at ivies</p>
<p>and they will still see the C - showing that you really only care about rank. admissions officers dont want rank-hungry kids who are GPA Whores…</p>
<p>I’m surprised by some of the comments in this thread. The OP is asking to weigh paying $1000 against what difference it will make, not the merits of an “Ivy” education against other schools. There are many resources for them to make the decision on their own whether they want to pursue one.</p>
<p>Personally, I would recommend that you do take that class if possible. If money is an issue, you can always try to find a short summer/semester job or other avenue from which to save money. Besides, the extra work will not only make sure your mom does not have to feel the brunt of the cost, but the added workload will be a good lesson in not slacking off in the future, if that was the reason for the C. The differences in class rank and GPA, regardless of the colleges and scholarships you apply to, are well worth it in my opinion.</p>
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<p>No offense but your views are so impractical. I used to think the way you do (two years ago. Im still in high school). The truth is is that in the real world, you, as a person, are going to be compared to the money you make. In other words, after your education, your money defines you. That’s society. Sure your proximal reason of going to ivies for the pure “intellectualism” is good but it’s not realistic. If you do make it to an ivy, you are going to encounter yourself with one situation, whether asked by you, your friends, family, girlfriend, whatever: Was your Ivy league education worth it? Your best bet is going to be to turn to your salary as a defining measure of “worth.” And trust me, if that measure of “worth” is not good, you will feel like crap for landing a $200,000 education just for “pure intellectual reasons.”</p>
<p>Ok, fine. But Ivy education may lead to higher salaries, not just some $57/hour job. There are lots of people who make more, and going to an Ivy may help increase your chances of being one of those people.</p>
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<p>Ok, this is “not just some…job”. This is the STARTING SALARY OF A PHARMACIST.</p>
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<p>Very good for them. They must have worked very hard.</p>
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<p>So if you take the contrapositive of this, you are saying that your chances of being one of those people DECREASE if you don’t go to an Ivy. IS this true? We all know that great opportunities lay everywhere, not just at Ivies. Sure you won’t be the one to get first dibbs on J.P Morgan or be the first one to get dibbs on Johnson Johnson. There are alot, and i mean ALOT, more companies out there that give CRAZY GOOD SALARIES. You don’t need to go to an Ivy to get those opportunities.</p>
<p>I am going to say this cliched phrase: It’s not about where you go. It’s about what you do at where you go.</p>
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<p>Your right but the OP said that the “C” would ruin his chances at an Ivy, at which point I brought up the unnecessary factor of attending an Ivy League Institution by pragmatically saying that one can do well at a State School and be just fine in life.</p>
<p>Hehe, just finished up my first semester of sophomore year with a C in a regular Algebra II class because I switched out of my advanced one too late to improve the grade. Something that my counselor will definitely explain when I apply to colleges, but it is a blemish.</p>
<p>I’m going to suggest you not do it. The C is still going to be on your transcript…you having a higher GPA than you should would raise eyebrows in my opinion. Plus, with the three B’s on your transcript it’s not worth spending the money. Take that money to get involved somewhere like a summer program or something.</p>
<p>Honestly, with a 3.66 UW GPA, you’re probably not going to get into an Ivy anyway. I doubt that ONE C+ brought you down so dramatically. Ivies are a crap shoot. </p>
<p>Which Ivy specifically do you want to go to? If you can’t tell me, then you’re going after a title rather than a place that you’re going to be happy at for ~4 years.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t do it. Doesn’t seem worth it.</p>
<p>^ True, and as far as jobs and intellectualism, many family members in my family had the choice between working for biased corrupt medicine producing companies with starting salaries of 400K Gilders, approximately 200k Euros and thats in nowadays money, back 200K Euros bought a lot more, but instead my grandfather chose to be a College Dean and do general research for the government, with his own research options rather than the unethical work of private medicine industry. This is screaming for a bigger debate, but my point is, what if you love a certain career and wish to excel rather than do something for simply the money? Why are many people teacher’s, if it’s only about the money? For me it’s not an issues to live a simpler, plain life, with 0-1 cars, and my children in Public school or scholarship in private such as Andover.</p>
<p>My top choice is Brown because of my passion for developmental studies, Vanderbilt comes next (Planning to ED into one of them).</p>
<p>Actually my GPA after junior year would be:
4.4 W 3.75 UW
Rank: Top 5%</p>
<p>If I retake just one semester to replace the “C” (although it can still be seen in transcript but will have 0 credits):
4.48 w 3.8 uw
Rank: Top 3%?</p>
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<li>I believe that this improvement will make me a stronger candidate
About my background: Middle-Class 60k a year</li>
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<p>I plan on working this summer.</p>
<p>and to thenerdyjw: I’m certainly capable of doing well in high level courses, this was the only “C+” in math, I’m currently a junior taking AP/Honors and I have A’s. One may call that “C+” an outlier, a fluke. But I’m weighing all my chances, this decision is important because one small action could alter alot!</p>
<p>I appreciate everyone’s advice, really helpful to me! :)</p>
<p>oh and I just found out that if I’m in the top 4% then I’m guaranteed admission to some University of California schools through a program called ELC (Eligibility in the local context). So this is an important factor in my decision as well.</p>
<p>I just need a few more thoughts guys and I’ll make my decision soon.</p>
<p>^Is there some scholarship associated with that “guaranteed admission”? If not, then what’s the point?</p>
<p>if you’re really set on taking the class which will only put you in the better running for an ivy, not guarantee anything, then perhaps try taking the class and concurrently working to pay your mother off. i’m assuming that you would be taking this class over the summer.
if not then consider what kind of time commitment it would be and how it would affect classes during the school year.
it’s hard to present this question to people because you need to decide for yourself if it’s worth making your mother pay for this and if the (unclear) results of it will be worth it for you.</p>
<p>@shusguha—</p>
<p>I see your point. I guess we are all conditioned to our own experiences.</p>
<p>The UCs will re-rank you, so you might not even be ELC even if you were in the top 4% of your graduating class (this actually happened to someone I know)</p>
<p>To be honest, I do not like the way OP presented himself in this thread. Anyway, it depends on how big a deal is $1000 to your family, and is your mom willing to spend this money, or are you making her spend it on you? Will you be willing/able to work to pay it back? You should not have a problem making your decision.</p>
<p>1k is a crazy amount for someone depending on 60K a year, so I honestly would search for alternatives, it’s stupid because you know the more complicated math, hence why pay so much for a sketch course?</p>
<p>I will pay her back, and she was like “sure thing” said she can afford it, btw $60k was an estimate, its closer to $80k, but I agree that $1000 is still alot.
@ annamal, I might sound really obsessive but I’m just genuinely worried, if this happened to you I know you would be too.</p>