<p>If the mother’s illness is this recent, then the OP’s father may not be only concerned about saving for a lavish lifestyle as the OP stated, but for her mother’s care when they both get older and he is not able to work or care for her. Perhaps he too is conflicted between giving his bright daughter the education of her dreams and saving enough to care for her mother. He may not want to burden the OP with this situation, but the OP is becoming an adult, so perhaps a frank discussion with her father about finances will help her decide.</p>
<p>I agree with the others that UGA might still be a viable choice. The stats of the honors students are as high as any high ranked college. The OP might find like minded students there as well. </p>
<p>OP, this is not going to make your decision easier but i’ve been thinking about this a bit more…if the choice was Tech or UNC and you were basing it 100% on quick perceptions and maybe an afternoon visit, I would say, hey, you’ll be happy wherever you are…go for the huge cost savings at tech…but you’ve been working there two days a week for quite a while…and it strikes me that you really know the campus…it may simply not be a good fit for you…
on the other hand, once you’re really there…living in the dorms, etc…it may truly feel like a different place…and you’ll be part of the PS community…where you will have close friends…</p>
<p>If UGA is still option, that would be my leaning. Your only cons were party school (brother works at UNC, trust me, it’s got just as much partying) and less prestige. I would think the fact it actually has a program in your specific area of interest would be a huge bonus and make it prestigious in that area. </p>
<p>I’m curious too: why did you take UGA off the table? It’s in a college town, the honors college is nationally ranked, it’s less unbalanced than GTech, it’s not near your home, it’s got Biology with Genetics… Essentially, it has all the perks you’re looking for without the costs of UNC.
Are you so taken with UNC because you “need” that clean break from a painful past/present, or because you “want” it? It’s hard for us to estimate.
If the difference between Cornell and UNC is so unpassable, could it be that UNC isn’t as comfortable as you think? Or does your father have something against Cornell (after all, we’ve read about MichState parents who didn’t want their kid to attend UMich because of football, so…)
Try to have a frank conversation with your father this weekend. </p>
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<p>I say go to UNC. Be happy, excel. </p>
<p>Your dad is willing to pay $45K per year to go to UNC.
GA Tech is really a high pressure environment and you could easily blow your GPA. </p>
<p>You borrow money for med school or you get funded to go to graduate school. No guarantee your dad would use the savings to pay for med school anyway. </p>
<p>I suppose classicrockerdad may be right. It depends on whether your dad is sincere in offering to pay for UNC. I can’t tell if your reluctance to choose UNC is because you sense he doesn’t really want to pay for that when you have other good (amazing) options for free/cheap or if it is an internal feeling that you have about the cost/benefit balance. </p>
<p>actually, UGA is a really good question. If one has the stats to get into Cornell and UNC OOS, attending the instate public with the instate scholarships is a no-brainer. (OP would be a star at UGA and would easily garner faculty attention for on campus research assignments, etc.)</p>
<p>Well I agree bluebayou, but trying not to be a curmudgeon and eliminate UNC because of my own frugality. If dad wants to pay for it, who am I to say it’s a bad idea?</p>
<p>I am a bit puzzled about the non-honors at UNC, though. Ordinarily the better admits are sent an email for Excel Carolina. It has a listing of a variety of special programs at UNC and you rank your top few choices in order of preference and then they place you in a couple of them. Some are competitive scholarship opportunities, but honors is one and an easy one to get. If she can get into Cornell and win GT Presidents, I don’t understand how she wouldn’t get into honors. Did you select that as one of your options? Or did you even see the email?</p>
<p><a href=“Special Opportunities - Undergraduate Admissions”>https://admissions.unc.edu/explore/enrich-your-education/excelcarolina/</a></p>
<p>My dad just told me that he wants me to go where I want to go. He told me that I should go to UNC (although a part of him obviously wants to save the money and have me go in state) since it’s in my heart. I just feel guilty about making him pay that much and it means no help for med school after so I’m trying to decide if it’s worth it. And as for Honors Carolina, I never got an Excel Carolina email. Honestly I think UNC only let me in originally bc my dad’s an alumnus. As for PS at tech, I can guarantee you I’m not as qualified as the rest of them. I just found a way to charm my interviewers to make them think I’m a lot smarter than I really am. And Cornell probably just admitted me because my common app essay was a sob story about my mom’s illness and how it led to my “transition into adulthood” as a freshman. I feel like a lot of you are too quick in assuming that I’m some star student who will excel at tech— if I thought I could succeed at this rigorous engineering school I wouldn’t be so doubtful.</p>
<p>You don’t have enough self confidence. UNC admissions from OOS are NEVER “just” because of legacy. The odds of getting in for “regular” students are said to be near-impossible because North Carolina has a cap on how many OOS students can get in; it’s very competitive and they sure can’t admit all legacy kids. You did work at GTech so they knew you and they knew what level work you were able to do which is why they gave you the PS. As for Cornell, they receive, literally, thousands of “sob stories”. NO one is admitted based on the topic about which they write but rather based on their treatment of that topic, voice, etc. So don’t worry.
It sounds like your hesitation is about feeling guilty your dad will have to spend that much money, is that correct?</p>
<p>^ I concur with MYOS. 800 on math2 and bio. High grades/rigor/test scores. This is a girl phenomena, not having enough confidence. You have what it takes, no worries. </p>
<p>Maybe that UNC email went into the spam folder. If I were you I’d call and ask them if you received it and that you never got it. Especially if you might actually attend. Tell them you want to attend but not being invited to honors is holding you back from accepting. Your ACT(34) is well above the average for their honors program(32) and your SAT equals it.</p>
<p>Your Dad sounds like like a terrific guy. Alum, huh? I guess you have more reasons for wanting to attend than the average out of state kid. He probably has sentimental reasons to want to let you. I’m still inclined to think one of the GA options is best, but that is my fiscal conservative nature talking.</p>
<p>^email and call TODAY about the Honors Program. You’re well within range (or above) for it. Indicate you never got the Excel Carolina email and that you got a presidential scholarship at another flagship, that’s why you’re hesitating. </p>
<p>I also say Congratulations on the Presidential Scholarship! </p>
<p>I didn’t see where you posted that you were also accepted to UGA, like celesteroberts posted, but is that also an option for you? Would it be a good compromise?</p>
<p>From talking to several students at Tech while we visited, many of the students are happy. The Honors usually live together, so you have a group that you may find instant friends within, get special academic advisors and the opportunity to meet many influential people. Does it have a minimum requirement to keep from year to year? </p>
<p>What about taking advantage of the good Study Abroad program at Tech- which I’m assuming would be free for you, since the cost is included in tuition paid to the school. (even OOS students pay in-state tuition for a study abroad semester!) So this would be a great way to get off the campus and away from Atlanta. Also- they have a good system of Co-ops, which again, can be anywhere in the world. I hope you have called the school and talked about these options while you’re there- if not do so ASAP! </p>
<p>If you were my child, I’d strongly urge you to take advantage of the President’s Scholar program, at a very good college. If you don’t like it, you can buckle down for a semester, get the grades to transfer and at least you have one year free. It sounds like UNC is not giving you anything you can’t get at a later date, but GA Tech is giving you a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.</p>
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<p>highly unlikely. There are thousands of sob story essays, and without the numbers, Cornell would not accept you. (Heck, in our neck of the woods, a good sob story won’t even work for the state flagships, without the numbers.) Neither would Carolina, which for OOS, means even higher numbers. Sure, legacy is minor plus factor, but not enough to overcome sub-standard grades and test scores.</p>
<p>99% of Frosh essays are just not very good. Perhaps yours was part of that 1%, but the odds are against it.</p>
<p>Given the instate scholarships for residents, I still don’t understand why UGa was/is not an option. Med school is mighty expensive. Instate flagship for near free beats practically everything else at sticker!</p>
<p>Any additional comments?? Decision day is tomorrow </p>
<p>Nothing substantial to add, except you have an amazing set of options and can’t go wrong with any of them, as long as there is money to pay for the most expensive one. You will excel wherever you go. GT believes in you enough to give you the PS and you know how hard those are to win. They see that in you and you need to believe in yourself as much as they believe in you. Have a great time in college and do let us know what you decide. Oh, and hug your Dad. More than once. If you go to UNC, be sure to keep in contact with him. He needs to hear from you sometimes. And when you go, pack less. Don’t take that much stuff. You don’t need it.</p>
<p>Just wondering if you ever bothered to call UNC honors program? It isn’t too late! They would probably accept you! Are you trying to avoid the extra expectations of honors? You are going to be surprised at how much more qualified you are than many of the instate students. You may really enjoy the connection with other like minded students even if you chose UNC.</p>
<p>^I second the idea of calling Honors if you haven’t done so yet. Please do so NOW. It’s a no-risk situation: either you can get into Honors with all the perks it means, or you still keep your admission to UNC.
Do keep us updated on your situation. :)</p>
<p>^Yes do. I read back through the thread about this year’s Excel Carolina and a bunch of kids said the email went to spam or promotions folder. A few people also mentioned mail notification, but we never got any post mail about that last year,just the email.</p>
<p>I called UNC and they said they’ll re-review my application for Excel Carolina (Honors). I know I like UNC more, my main concern right now is the money. If I went to UNC, I’d have to pay medical school by myself. If I went to Tech, my parents would pay for medical school. Then again, with how hard Tech is I might not get into med school from there.</p>