<p>Exactly what is your point in quoting him? I don’t see either quotes contradicting each other… nice try though. His post doesn’t say anything about the intentions of the post (though in his mind he might have secretly believed so), and he was VERY careful in that as you can see. His main point was this I believe: “it’s like when you tell someone about your struggle so you can vent, and they respond with “Oh my gosh! I know exactly what you mean! I remember when I…” like geez… shut up!” which makes complete sense. Anyway I agree, stop the bashing, keep the focus on the girl! (even though I am now a hypocrite…)</p>
<p>Wow. This definitely shows you that the sky is the limit. It’s awesome that even without the resources many of us have, she was able to come this far. 
wish her all the best for the future!</p>
<p>Good for her! I work with a couple of people who attended FIU and did very well for themselves-- salaries and jobs that most people would envy. It may not be a prestigious school but sometimes that’s not what matters.</p>
<p>In 2003 there was a movie (TV I think) about another such student who went from being homeless to joining Harvard. She also may have written books and given speeches.</p>
<p>Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story</p>
<p>[Homeless</a> to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story (2003) (TV)](<a href=“http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338109/]Homeless”>Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story (TV Movie 2003) - IMDb)</p>
<p>[Liz</a> Murray - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liz_Murray]Liz”>Liz Murray - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>Liz Murray finally did graduate in 2009 from Harvard even though she started in 2000.</p>
<p>“It may not be a prestigious school but sometimes that’s not what matters.”</p>
<p>It’s only on places like CC that places like Fla. international U aren’t prestigious. To most people, any 4-year college is prestigious.I imagine that FIU particularly is well regarded i Miami, which is where the student lives and probably plans to stay after graduation.</p>
<p>What an incredible young woman - I wish her every bit of success. I am confused about her residency status. Her mother was illegal and sent home, yet her father stayed? Is the father also illegal? </p>
<p>This story is interesting not only because it shows a miracle of perseverance. It also shows how the children of illegal immigrants can sometimes be victimized more by their parents than by an illegal immigration system which tends to place them in a gray area. </p>
<p>If she is herself an illegal immigrant, it is also relevant to consider whether or not it is right to use funds collected from tax payers to cover her free ride (particularly in a severe recession when so many taxpayers are themselves in financial trouble). For those of use who are not hurting, it may be easy to reject such a notion. For people who have followed the rules and are at the wrong end of luck right now, the idea of their dollars going to fund this student’s free ride might make them angry (and rightfully so). </p>
<p>This is a feel good story with a wonderful message about overcoming obstacles. Unfortunately, for taxpayers whose own children are unable to attend college due to financial distress, it might be quite stinging.</p>
<p>dammit, I don’t want to continue that argument but this is the first time any thing I ever said on here has been “analyzed”, I wasn’t trying to be rude, sorry if you took it that way, and when I say “I’m sure she’ll do great” I do mean it to the girl in the story. I just meant that there are plenty of people like that but it isn’t always known. And I don’t know that it is taboo, but more it is actually rude to make a big deal out of someone being homeless and the only reason I even knew about my friend was because she stayed at my house for weeks while she had nowhere else and then the IB coordinator who was helping my friend deal with everything was telling us (me and her) that with every year this issue comes up so it’s nothing to be ashamed of.</p>
<p>I don’t mean to say what she did is any less just because there are others similar. I’m just saying there are those similar going through challenges unknown and it is done. It is possible to overcome it with hard work. I didn’t mean to make a big deal, sorry.</p>
<p>"This is a feel good story with a wonderful message about overcoming obstacles. Unfortunately, for taxpayers whose own children are unable to attend college due to financial distress, it might be quite stinging. "</p>
<p>If their kids are valedictorians who couldn’t get enough financial aid for college despite overcoming challenges similar to the girl we are discussing, the parents’ feeling upset would be very understandable. I’d be surprised, though, if that’s the case.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, it’s possible for most people to find a way to go to community college even if they have to start on a part time basis.</p>
<p>A school can only be as prestigious as you make it to be. Most kids who go to lower tiered schools go to party and focus on life instead of academics. This girl has goals and is driven, she is determined and knows how to stay persistent. “It’s not where you go, it’s what you do.”</p>
<p>"Most kids who go to lower tiered schools go to party and focus on life instead of academics. "</p>
<p>I don’t think that’s true. A lot of people go to college to party but that doesn’t mean that the majority of people at lower tiered schools are in college for that reason. Many are going to college at great personal sacrifice to make better lives for themselves.</p>
<p>I’ve visited Radford and I would certainly say the majority of kids who go there only have the party mentality and most skip classes and most are fine with earning C’s & B’s. All the kids from my HS that matriculated to Radford, most of them were party heads and had little work ethics. You go up the list to ODU, and it’s still kind of the same, at least for the students that matriculated from my school. Then you go up to VCU, and you start seeing more kids with goals and determination, but I have friends who go to VCU and would say otherwise on the concentration of such determined students (I am acquainted with a few very determined students at VCU, however, I am acquainted with none from Radford - “correlation is not causation” I know). Then you step it up to UVa, and you’re at a whole different level.</p>
<p>And of course, Radford is representative of all lower-tier colleges everywhere across the USA. </p>
<p>It’s also worth mentioning that just because you party in college and earn B’s does not mean you went to college specifically to party. Those three things are not mutually exclusive. It’s not “either you went to college to party OR you went to study”; you can do both and still emerge with a degree just fine. In fact, I’d say the majority of people who attend college do both.</p>
<p>
And this is the extremely naive belief that is being brainwashed into every youth in America, great job for purporting it. Secondly, Radford + ODU, that makes 2 representations, + VCU which represents this as well (though not as well… does that make sense?). Many students will go out of their way just to move near a specific college that is known to party, and attend a community college near there (when they could easily attend one at home, and in my specific area, the one at home is MUCH better and is even ranked as an amazing community college).
Instead of uselessly calling this out, why not provide a counter example - wouldn’t that be more intuitive (I say more, but the former isn’t even intuitive to begin with). Secondly, when did I say all? Let’s just follow trends here and not argue exceptions please…</p>
<p>
Huh? What are you trying to argue against? Look, if your focus is more on partying than your grades (which my point was that at lower tiered schools, this is generally true), then you are there to party, whether or not it’s the “exclusive” reason (which, btw, it’s rare that anything is decided upon based on one “exclusive” reason, most decisions are made after considering multiple factors with some factors weighing more than others). The students can say what they want and think what they want (& therefore in essence lying to themselves), but with time, actions speak louder than words. If you’re putting more effort into partying, laying around, sleeping in, watching TV, on the computer vs. studying, finding opportunities, doing internships, volunteering, working, then where do your priorities lay?</p>
<p>" I would certainly say the majority of kids who go there only have the party mentality and most skip classes and most are fine with earning C’s & B’s. "</p>
<p>Most college students are happy to earn whatever grades they need to earn to graduate. It’s only at the very top colleges and on sites like CC that students and their parents think that Bs and Cs are dreadful and will cause students to be lifelong failures.</p>
<p>I’ve read that most top executives were B/C students.</p>
<p>
In their day. No one said B’s and C’s are dreadful, but they are generally representative of students who place more focus on other things besides their studies, which shows where their priorities lay. Again, “you” (meaning anyone who has) are picking out my words without its context & its overall point, and arguing a tangent.</p>
<p>I am always surprised when I hear people say the party schools are lower tier. The biggest partiers I have ever met went to top schools. The smart kids are really good at EVERYTHING. 
</p>
<p>Seriously, though, a lot of intensity and competition can produce some wild partying.</p>
<p>Back to the news item…Yes, valedictorians will likely get lots of merit aid. But tax payers who have less than stellar offspring might like their money back from the government to pay for an LAC for *their own child<a href=“or%20whatever%20else%20they%20feel%20is%20best”>/i</a>, rather than have their money redistributed for someone else’s child’s education.</p>
<p>I am all for students like this young star getting a free ride. I just think it should be funded 100% by private donation. Absolutely no money should come from the government either directly or indirectly (i.e. from taxpayers, since the government really does not have a money tree).</p>
<p>
Who said this? I don’t see this anywhere…</p>
<p>Secondly, I don’t know what kind of schools are “top” to you. Top to me would be like UVa, and while they do party, they are FAR from being a big party school - in fact it is not even known to be a party school at all. Mid-tiered schools are typically the biggest partiers because while they do consist of a pretty educated student body, these students generally lie in the mid-to-wealthy ranged class, so they have the money necessary for hard & continuous partying. JMU, for instance, is a mid-tiered school and it was ranked top 10 party school by Princeton Review. The other schools on the list were also mid-tiered schools (like WVU) and some lower-tiered schools. Nowhere did I see a “top” school, unless you hold a lenient categorization.</p>