<p>
[quote]
I turned down a full ride to Purdue to attend MIT. The scholarship I won consisted of full tuition for a bachelor's degree, master's degree, and a doctorate, in addition to room and board, a study-abroad experience, and a "small stipend."
[/quote]
Another guy from my high school turned down this package to attend MIT also. It sounds like a crazy good deal, until you realize that most engineering master's and PhD degree programs are fully funded anyway, which we definitely didn't realize at the time. (And of course, he didn't even end up going straight to graduate school in engineering anyway, because he's working in finance and making pots of money.)</p>
<p>If by some miracle I am accepted into MIT, I'm pretty sure I would be talked out of it/hated if I went because of cost. :(</p>
<p>Kevin, I'm in the same situation as you... if I got into MIT, I think I would get some money, but it would still cost a lot for us... and I'm sure my parents would do their best to talk me out of it.</p>
<p>While in HS, it's easy to see the cost of MIT skyrocketing, but in reality, you can save quite a bit by being smart:</p>
<ul>
<li>Buy groceries, cook for yourself often = roughly $5 a day for food instead of $20, and nutricious.</li>
<li>Borrow books when you can or buy used. If you can't borrow a book, and it's for a class that's just a one time stint (like 3.091 for me) then just use the reserve copies in the library.</li>
<li>Don't live somewhere with a stupid dining plan forced upon you. what the hell is all i can say to that stuff. </li>
<li>Get a UROP/Campus Job during the school year = $1k or more per semester</li>
<li>Do internships or UROP's over the summer = many $1000's each summer.</li>
<li>Don't blow money on stupid things all the time. You would be surprised how much money many kids just throw away at first. It seems to take most frosh here a semester to get adjusted.</li>
</ul>
<p>In any case, just via a UROP and careful spending, the only thing my parents are paying for is tuition and board. Maybe eventually I'll be able to cover board as well. I imagine many MIT students are doing the same. </p>
<p>So yeah, saving money isn't as easy as ... just getting a free ride + stipend + whatnot, but hell it is MIT (+ eleventy billion) and also, it is the real world ( - 10000) (and in the real world you don't get stipends to sit in your room and do nothing thanks to SAT scores and what not).</p>
<p>I turned down a position at Walmart to work at MIT. Does that count?</p>
<p>Just kidding... (no insult intended to Walmart employees)...</p>