<p>So that you have options for the future, please attend the Summer Academy, and enjoy the experience. If you get along with the people there, you will even have friends at the school should you choose to attend.
I will be honest with you, as a parent, I would also encourage you to attend OSU. Why attend a lower-ranked school when you can get a world-class education for free? What you are not seeing is the true freedom that having no debt will provide. You can take on interesting jobs after college rather than taking the job with the higher salary in order to start paying student loans. You can travel for a time. maybe you can get your family to pitch in what they would have paid elsewhere for study abroad trips, or even a car. </p>
<p>You will be applying to a lot of schools next fall, and the most important thing that you need to do with your parents is determine how much they will pay annually for your education. Sit down and get a firm number. Run the EFC calculator, work through a budget, etc. Get the agreement with your parents that they will pay X and you will make up the rest. From then on, work to have more choices. If those other options don’t appear, then you have OSU as a backup.
In the meantime, research the employment stats for new grads from the other school choices. I can promise you that DeVry grads do not have the same opportunities as a student that does well at OSU. You will be the first one in your family to go away to school. That is a big deal, and you shouldn’t sell yourself short by settling for a place that will not allow you to reach your full potential. Cleveland State has a 7% 4-year graduation rate. Why would you want to put yourself in a position were failure is the rule rahter than the exception?</p>