<p>My parents suck... my mom has been married 4 times... doesn't have an inkling of stability in her... and I am not a doctor but if I had to guess I would say she suffers from manic depression... it just so happens that her son came out of the womb with more intelligence and maturity than she has... and I am frustrated by my ambition for life being stiffled by an underachieving bipolar unattending parent...</p>
<p>Give me the debt... i'll take it.... oh I can't have it...</p>
<p>astrife, many teenagers share your concern. Read the forum where we discussed students who gave up Ivy's for full-rides at state schools. Many of them faced situations similar to yours. Rest assured that you are not alone and your frustration is felt by many many students. </p>
<p>However, do watch your attitude. Realize that frustration does not entitle you to forget what your parents have done for you. </p>
<p>Lastly, suck it up (i know it's hard, i know it may seem unfair, but life is life, nobody is entitled to anything, c'est la vie), do what hazmat has suggested: get mad and then get busy to something more constructive.</p>
<p>Just remember, you are luckier than scores of other students out there</p>
<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivien_Thomas%5B/url%5D">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivien_Thomas</a></p>
<p>If you want to work in medicine you will find a way
Look at all the obstacles Vivien Thomas had
but you are thrown by this initial obstacle of your parents not wanting to cosign- how will you deal with the rest of what life is going todish out to you?</p>
<p>Astrife, you said in your OP that your parents total gross income is $80K a year and that you have been offered money by a lot of lower tier schools. You did not say that your parents are unwilling to contribute their FAFSA-based EFC - you said that they don't want to "fork half their income over". In other words, your mom has told you that you have to choose a college that gives you good financial aid .... and you simply can't accept that. </p>
<p>So your little rant against parents who make $200K a year is disengenous - that isn't your family. </p>
<p>You want to go to medical school.</p>
<p>The appropriate thing for you to do is if you are serious is to go to one of "lower tier" colleges that is affordable -- your admission to med school depends on your grades and your MCATs, not the prestige of your undergraduate institution.</p>
<p>I'd also not that your mom would have to be insane to cosign a note for someone who harbors the antipathy you expressed in your diatribe in post #63.</p>
<p>Tonight my parents told me they won't pay anything for me to go to a school that costs .01 cent when I have a full ride elsewhere</p>
<p>and thus we are to assume that you do indeed have a full ride to a school???</p>
<p>I believe he intimated that he has a full ride to Hendrix college-
this is a tad off the financial aid theme
but Hendrix sounds like a school where anyone would be proud to attend
[quote]
WORTH NOTING </p>
<p> Dr. Tom Goodwin, professor of chemistry, was named the 2003 Outstanding Baccalaureate Colleges Professor of the Year by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education. </p>
<p> Hendrix maintains one of the country's most ambitious undergraduate research programs. Our delegation to the National Conference on Undergraduate Research is one of the largest annually. </p>
<p> In the last 10 years Hendrix students have been named Rhodes Scholars, Fulbright Scholars (7), Rotary Scholars (2), Watson Fellows (22), Truman Scholars, Howard Hughes Fellows, Goldwater Scholars (16), and Arthur Ashe, Jr. Sports Scholars. The 2002-03 women's swim team had the highest average GPA in the NCAA. </p>
<p> Your Hendrix Odyssey - The ultimate expression of our unique approach to education - students receive official transcript recognition for active learning experiences in three or more of the following areas: Artistic Creativity, Global Awareness, Professional and Leadership Development, Service to the World, Undergraduate Research, and Special Projects. </p>
<p> Hendrix is recognized in some of the nation's top publications. Jay Mathews, a reporter for The Washington Post, named Hendrix in a list of 100 colleges and universities deserving bigger reputations. The Fiske Guide to Colleges placed Hendrix among the 300 "best and most interesting colleges and universities." Hendrix is ranked #11 in The Princeton Review's 2004 distinction of "Students from Different Backgrounds Interact." Kaplan Publishing's The Unofficial, Unbiased Guide to the 328 Most Interesting Colleges 2004 states that "academics are without a doubt the number one priority" at Hendrix, but the atmosphere is supportive, the workload is not overbearing, and competition doesn't interfere with learning.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Ta-dah. What an act. Sign these folks up. Lewis and Martin. Abbott and Costello . And these two. You so funny.</p>
<p>And by the way, its cu*R*m. ;)</p>
<p>I dont understand why parents consider schools like Harvard and Oxford "luxury" education. Yes, its expensive. But one has to work like hell to get in and survive there. Their education is by no means a "luxury." I really do feel that is devastating working for four years for long hours to go to a good school, just to find that you have no choice but to end up in a low tier college.</p>
<p>
[quote]
the family with 100,000k per year will probably have more bills due to a bigger mortgage more expensive cars to be payed off etc...,
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Those are also life choices that your parents have made and are not taken into the equation when calculating financial aid. </p>
<p>Are your parents running to the realtor to put their house up for sale to move into a smaller, more affordable house?</p>
<p>Are your parents running to the bank to take out a home equity loan?</p>
<p>Are your parents trading down to a less expensive model car (as some parents will not even see a new car anytime while their kids are in college)?</p>
<p>I am still having a problem wrapping my mind around the fact that you think your parents should borrow against or potentially bankrupt their futures while they are looking down the street at retirement when there are over 3500 colleges in this country and plenty that fall into the range of what they are willing to spend.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I really do feel that is devastating working for four years for long hours to go to a good school, just to find that you have no choice but to end up in a low tier college.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I will tell you like I told my daughter, you do not have to go to a school that you feel is beneath you but you must be an active participant in the financing of your education.</p>
<p>I pay the parental contribution, she works and pays for her student contribution, books, transportation, sorority fees, an other misc. expenses through summer jobs (she actually had 2) and a job on campus. During the school year, she doesn't even call home to ask for money, she just takes care of her business.</p>
<p>I don't have a problem helping to pay for her Ivy education (she knew going in that I am was taking out any loans or co-signing for any). She knows her opportunity to attend is a privilege, not her birth right, an entitlement for "working like hell" (because she did not do it for me but for her), or something that she is owed.</p>
<p>So instead of doing all of this bit **ing about what your parents are not doing for you, start by doing something for your self. If your parents see that you are willing to step up and put your money where your mouth is, maybe their views will change.</p>
<p>** from a person who lost both of their parents during undergrad, worked a full time job to finish undergrad, paid for 2 masters (1 ivy, 1 NYU) and paying for her own Phd Program and still working a full time job.</p>
<p>I am astonished at the demonstration of collosal immaturity, arrogance, and ungratefullness in this thread.</p>
<p>To all the students that read this post, learn this lesson of life right now. You are entitled to nothing. The sooner you learn that lesson, the better off you and the rest of us will be.</p>
<p>And if you think that the name on your degree is going to ensure your success, you are sorely mistaken.</p>
<p>Since we're dealing with anecdotals here anyway, let me tell you a quick story of my brother-in-law. He is 36 years old. He makes well over 7 figures. He is the CEO of a large wireless telecom firm. He is on the short-list of many on Wall Street of who to call when you need an expert's advice on his industry. Three months ago he was invited by the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business to be part of a roundtable presenting to their MBA students.</p>
<p>His degree is a bachelors in agricultural management from Illinois State University.</p>
<p>Get this through your heads... it is you who determines the value of your education and where it will take you; not the name on your degree. It is your character that will determine your value in life.</p>
<p>Somebody should make John Maxwell or Tony Robbins required reading at these kids' schools. Their lack of character is frightening.</p>
<p>Being a CEO is one thing. Being an employee is another.</p>
<p>Suppose you had two applicants for a particular post. One has a degree from Yale, while the other has a degree from UCF. Obviously the Yale student is gonna get the job.</p>
<p>I can understand the OP's frustration. It is unfortunate that his immaturity prevents him from lashing out at this family though.</p>
<p>We have a similar family income situation and find it hard to come up with our relatively modest EFC of $16000. Our son takes the Stafford loans and has workstudy to cover books and pocket money. He is a sophomore at a lovely small state school; enjoying life enough to have a 3.8 GPA, terrific friends and a wonderful girlfriend.
He's considering a transfer to a highly selective, very expensive school.
He understands that even if he's admitted, he won't be able to attend unless the financial aid is right. Hopefully, his application/audition will prompt an offer that we can accept. Unfair? Yes. It hurts me that I can't just write the check. But I'm very sure he understands the reality.<br>
OP- try to get past the 'unfairness' of your situation. Many people have taken their time here to try to give you some solutions.
Best of luck.</p>
<br>
<blockquote> <p>Being a CEO is one thing. Being an employee is another.</p> </blockquote>
<br>
<p>Suppose you had two applicants for a particular post. One has a degree from Yale, while the other has a degree from UCF. Obviously the Yale student is gonna get the job.<<</p>
<p>Boy, you just don't get it. Do you think he started out as a CEO?</p>
<p>We can't all be members of the Lucky Sperm Club. </p>
<p>My young teenage daughter probably aspires to a posh Laguna Beach lifestyle because if it's on TV it must be true...(LOL).</p>
<p>I wish we could have afforded to write the check for our very deserving son to go to the college of his choice. We could not and maintain any degree of financial stability. We live modestly and the FAFSA was very harsh to us. Virtually no FA from that school either, so we moved on. But he is the same fine person and excellent student anyway, and I know he will go far. And FWIW, he is happy and successful at college.</p>
<p>You can achieve your goals, too. You can begin by channeling some of your energy into positive activities and stop feeling sorry for yourself that you are not a member of the Lucky Sperm Club.</p>
<p>Yeah, true. Dreaming is a bad idea. Its best to stay in reality. Everybody has their limits.</p>
<p>Personally I think the parents of this forum are the immature ones... if you don't think that Harvard College carries more weight on an job application than does the University of Arkansas you are sorely mistaken... And please go ahead and check the feeder schools to the top graduate schools... they are 80% from top tier schools... that's right.... it does matter.... </p>
<p>And looking at these andectodal stories means nothing... "Oh my uncle he didn't even go to college and he makes 7 figures"... I have some stories of my own like that, but the vast majority of people follow their prescribed path after going to medicore schools... </p>
<p>Parents take a word to the wise... if you are going to give a child life... you need to go to the lengths of providing opportunities for the kid to achieve in life... the child is not so you can just look at him and go "aww that's so cute"... it takes sweat and it takes money... </p>
<p>this is not the 70's where going to college at all was an honor... roughly 80-90% of my school goes onto some type of college... so when time comes to distinguish myself from these other people in the job hunt... it might just come down to school... and the people who live in their fantasy world that it doesn't matter are just deluding theirselves... it does matter...</p>
<p>The world is not perfect, astrife, and resiliancy will prove to be a benefit to you. Honest.</p>
<p>Have dreams, but be able to move on when things don't go your way. A better dream might be around the corner.</p>
<p>you might want to look at the thread that discusses the undergrad origins of students who recieve their PHds
Ivy schools are NOT overly represented.
I will amend that to going by PERCENTAGE of students</p>
<p>In the top ten schools with the highest percentage of students in all disciplines receiving Phds. Yale is # 10- preceded by U chicago- Bryn Mawr- Oberlin- Carleton- MIT- Swarthmore- Reed- Harvey Mudd and Caltech at #1
The only category that Yale comes in first for percentage of Phds is History and is followed by Grace, Reed, Swarthmore, Wesleyan, Carleton, Oberlin, Grinnell, Pomona and U chicago</p>
<p>Going by admission rate- I would expect a higher percentage of students from Ivy league school, unless as someone has suggested, those receiving their Phds are slackers and hiding from teh "real world" ;)</p>