<p>OP, how would you express your life goals vis a vis education and profession? I see you want med school very much, but what do you want after that? Care for patients , start a biotech company, research a cure, or something else? Frankly, many of your posts have an entitlement tone, similar to, " I’m very bright and have worked hard, so the best schools in the country should give me a near free ride regardless of my family’s assets or ability to pay. And if the system doesn’t yield that result, the system is totally bogus and contrary to our national strategic interests to boot."</p>
<p>It seems you realize you do not have to go to an Ivy League school to get a good education, go to med school, and have a happy, productive life. But you seem too frustrated by the fact an Ivy school won’t recognize your merit and accomplishments with a near-free education. As you move through this process of admission and FA, you are likely to be surprised by how many other outstanding applicants there are. As much as you may have accomplished, you will find the competion fierce. My advice is to open your mind to all possibilities. I think it is commendable that unlike some, you do not expect your parents to spend whatever it takes to get you the best education at the most prestigious university possible. You can accomplish that by being open to schools beyond the Ivys and other prestige institutions. As two examples, UF and U. of Alabama offer remarkable merit aid and honors programs. You could certainly go on to med school from there, and with no debt, as you desire.</p>
<p>So, ask yourself: Why is it important to my life goals that I attend an Ivy League university?</p>
<p>I have read through all the comments. Once again, I did not want to rub anyone the wrong way. If I did, I apologize. I have applied to USF, FSU, UM, and UF. Yes, I do qualify for BF. I am also applying for UAB, CWRU, Rochester, RPI etc. I am going to look into U Pitt Guranteed Med Admit program. The GPA requirement is very steep though. My career dream is to work at NCI as a physician scientist one day. I hope it happens. I spent three months there and it was a wonderful opportunity for me. I will consider Harard, Yale, Duke etc. If the FA is not attractive, I won’t bother. I am expeted to pay a minimum of 100k at Med school anyways. Why dig the hole lot bigger? Thanks folks…</p>
<p>^ nice post. I think saving bucks for med school is a great idea. I would suggest checking out the threads on merit scholarships … there are some EXCELLENT schools that provide merit money … and you would be a great candidate for the bucks … good luck!</p>
<p>My career dream is to work at NCI as a physician scientist one day. I hope it happens. I spent three months there and it was a wonderful opportunity for me. I will consider Harard, Yale, Duke etc. If the FA is not attractive, I won’t bother. I am expected to pay a minimum of 100k at Med school anyways. Why dig the hole lot bigger? Thanks folks.</p>
<p>???</p>
<p>Are you saying that med school will only cost $100k? Med school (even in-state publics) costs a LOT more than $100k. </p>
<p>**
Tuition is only a part of med school costs.**</p>
<p>For instance…UFlorida’s med school costs $45k per year for an instate student. So, you need to estimate about $200k for med school (at least…privates are more). </p>
<p>On reflection, I thought I should offer some small practical advice in addition to getting preachy on you. I’m a huge fan of merit aid, and here are some scholarship programs I have occasion to research in some detail. Most of them provide fantastic opportunities. Maybe some might fit your needs.</p>
<p>Univ. of Alabama: Presidential Scholarship, Honors Program, and Computer Based Honors Program</p>
<p>UNC Chapel Hill: Morehead-Cain Scholarship and Robertson Scholarship programs.</p>
<p>Georgia Tech: Presidential Scholarship</p>
<p>University of Georgia: Foundation Fellowship and Ramsey Scholars.</p>
<p>Duke: Robertson Scholarship</p>
<p>These are only a few examples, I’m sure if you research these and other schools you can find equally good opportunities for top students. Searching on CC will also yield a wealth of information. As this is your senior year, however, you have urgent work to do if you choose to research and pursue such opportunities. Best of luck to you in whatever you choose.</p>
<p>I can see why the OP is frustrated. She worked really hard in high school and so is in the running to be admitted to an Ivy League school. Her parents both have advanced degrees so obviously it is a family where education is highly valued.</p>
<p>But if she is admitted to a place like Harvard it sounds like finances will keep her from going. Let’s face it, the $50,000 per year price tag at a place like Harvard is exorbitant. There are many families who don’t qualify for financial aid but in the end this kind of expenditure is just too great of a burden.</p>
<p>It’s not that I would like to see someone whose family has an income of $170,000 per year eligible for financial aid. What I would like to see is a yearly tuition that wasn’t so high, so it wouldn’t be so hard for a family with this kind of income to pay the full price.</p>
<p>*My Dad and Mom each spent nearly 27 years of their life in getting edcuated and working as post-docs. </p>
<p>Don’t they deserve to enjoy the new-found wealth? In the last 5 years our income has gone upto 170K.</p>
<p>The biggest mistake was buying a house in Florida *</p>
<p>If YOU feel that way, then you need to choose an affordable school…such as a state school or a school that will give you merit. </p>
<p>Keep in mind that federal aid comes from taxpayers…most of whom earn a lot less than your parents. Those families have a hard enough time supporting their own families without having to pay for others’ college costs. </p>
<p>Buying a home in Florida (or anywhere) may not have been a mistake IF your parents don’t sell anytime soon. Their “loss” is just on paper…in a few years, the loss will likely disappear. Real estate has cycles…right now is the down cycle…in a few years will be an up cycle. </p>
<p>*
If the HY wants me, then they have to take care of me. *</p>
<p>HYP will have 1000s of applicants that are like you or that have higher stats. They don’t need to do anything out of the ordinary for any student.</p>
<p>Believe me, I get it. I think it’s sad when people who work really hard fall short of their aspirations, especially when it’s through nof ault of their own. But the martyr complex is really an emetic to me; her family isn’t persecuted for being affluent. She has far more options than the vast majority of other kids in the country, especially kids who have comparable stats but smaller family incomes or kids who have similar incomes but much lower stats. No one – no matter how talented or worthy, as this student clearly is – is entitled to a spot at Harvard (just as no one is entitled to an expensive sports car, either). Besides, even if Harvard’s tuition was 0, they couldn’t possibly accomodate all of these great students who really do deserve a spot at such a high-quality school. </p>
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<p>That’s an excellent point. The good news is that an Ivy education can be thought of a luxury good here. There are literally thousands of colleges in the United States; the OP is bright enough and hard-working enough to succeed at wherever she chooses to go and is fortunate enough to have financially successful parents who can afford to send her to most schools without incurring student loan debt. It’s sad that she might not be able to afford Harvard, but it’s hardly a tragedy.</p>
A reduction in the value of your house doesn’t increase the mortgage payment or the taxes or any other expense involved with owning the house.</p>
<p>While your parents may only be able to afford to contribute $15K, it has nothing to do with your house going down in value.</p>
<p>Harvard limits the financial contribution of families making less than $180K with limited assets to only 10% of their income, in your case $17K. So you should definitely apply to Harvard, it would be very affordable for you. The other Ivies aren’t as generous.</p>
<p>^ If someone had any type of ARM and their property was worth materially less than the mortgage balance, they MAY have to make a cash payment in order to refinance and stay in their home. The amount could be large …</p>
<p>Choices choices…gotta say…some families will fully fund college and others won’t. That is a family decision. This kiddo HAS options. The family can either contribute to help out…or not…that is their choice. </p>
<p>I will tell you…there are plenty of families out there in much more pricey areas than FL who pay for college out of current earnings with incomes in the $140K range or even less. Been there…done that…for seven years. That was OUR choice.</p>
<p>If someone had any type of ARM and their property was worth materially less than the mortgage balance, they MAY have to make a cash payment in order to refinance and stay in their home. The amount could be large …</p>
<p>True…but the student made no reference about that.</p>
<p>More likely the parents have tied their inability to pay more to their “paper loss”.</p>
<p>We often have students posting “non-reasons” for why their parents can’t pay more for college, simply because they are just repeating what their parents have said or the kid made assumptions.</p>
<p>I once had a kid tell me that his parents can’t pay much for college because his dad is an insurance agent for Allstate and he had to pay out for a lot of claims. LOL The kid didn’t know/understand that the agents don’t pay for claims.</p>
<p>^^^^^^
People do not seem to understand the gravity of real estate decline in Orlando, Florida. Mecca of foreclosures. When people lose 60% of wealth, it does not take few years to rebound. Do the math. If a property goes from 500K to 200K (60% decline), it has to rebound 250% to go back to 500K. 250% appreciation in few years. Are you kidding me? Assuming a steady 6% ascend, we are looking at 14-20 years from now as a minimum. Do not look at stock market and be happy. Come over to Orlando, Florida. The foreclosure capital of the world. It is not as simple as saying it is a paper loss. My parents will be 65 when the housing market come back to 2005 levels. Are they supposed to live and die with loans for rest of the life? Lot of friends and families are hurting in Orlando, Florida. If my parents wants to foreclose, then they can afford Harvard. My parents do want to commit a white-collar crime. There are lot of doctors, attorneys walking away from million dollar homes with no guilt. Also, Florida is a recourse state. They will come after you, once if they know you are a W-2 earner.</p>
<p>When people lose 60% of wealth, it does not take few years to rebound. Do the math. If a property goes from 500K to 200K (60% decline), it has to rebound 250% to go back to 500K. 250% appreciation in few years. Are you kidding me? Assuming a steady 6% ascend, we are looking at 14-20 years from now as a minimum.</p>
<p>If your parents have no intention of selling within the next 10-20 years, then it’s not a big deal that they have a paper loss. Their home loan will end at the end of their 30 year mortgage regardless of what the market is doing. You seem to think that their loans get extended because of this downturn.</p>
<p>we’ve owned our current home for 11 years. Who cares what the market is as long as we’re not selling or taking seconds or refinancing. We’ll pay off our loan on time - regardless of any dips that are going on now…they’re not relevant. By the time the mortgage is paid off, I’m confident that our home will be worth a lot more than what we paid. Anything that happened before that is irrelevant.</p>
<p>You’re saying silly things because you don’t know any better. Allowing your home to go into foreclosure is not a white collar crime…it’s not a crime at all. However, it will damage your credit rating. There’s no reason for your parents to o this for a paper loss. The home’s value will come back. I’ve seen too many of these cycles…the value will come back…sooner than you think.</p>