<p>Twomules- you said: They can also choose how much money to offer.</p>
<p>You left out that private schools receive government funding for research and other projects. They get tax breaks galore by issuing bonds at a lower costs then a truly private corporation or entity could. The feds and the state give tax breaks to the investors of those bonds. You also left out that private schools are tax exempt organizations which means that all taxpayers support these colleges without their knowing it . How? when a donor grants money to a private college they get a tax break thus the government obtains less tax money therefore we all support the schools through the back door even if we disagree with the schools culture or mission. Religious organizations have the same privilege and should not IMHO! I believe we are not being genuine in this country when we call these colleges “private”…A level playing field would be to remove the tax exempt status of all private schools and truly treat them like a private school. This quasi role that private schools play as the enforcer of government mandates is hypocritical by its very nature. Instead the colleges go on being run like the very businesses they are yet somehow are perceived as the ultimate fair and even handed social do gooders that they are not.</p>
<p>I think the reason that posters have been somewhat harsh is that the original poster is so negative toward other people who got in. Whenever anyone says anything about how certain other groups got in because of X even though they had lower X, it tends to get a bad reaction, because it’s nasty. And also because that is an unprovable assertion. You just don’t know everything that went into other people’s applications. Maybe they got glowing recommendations. Maybe they did something heroic. Maybe they have some passion you don’t know about. Furthermore, no one is entitled to go to any school, no matter how good they are. The top colleges are scarce resources, available only to a few for reasons both financial and academic. Only a handful of the excellent, qualified students who apply to them can get in. It is VERY hard to pay for them–and yes, 100 percent need met admissions can leave people in a very bad position. But that’s just the way it is. No need to be mean about other people. We can feel for you without thinking poorly of anyone else.</p>
<p>“Instead the colleges go on being run like the very businesses they are yet somehow are perceived as the ultimate fair and even handed social do gooders that they are not.”</p>
<p>Absolutely. Colleges are business entities that perform a public service – educating the populace. But without difficult business decisions, there would be no business through which that public service can be performed. I’m sure the kind-hearted admissions people would have loved to have given tomdadon tons of money, but there’s a limited pool and, for whatever reason, their limited dollars went elsewhere. Everyone on this board needs to understand that colleges are a business FIRST.</p>
<p>tomdadon:
“The thing is, though, studying for AP exams, as noble as it may seem, probably won’t be too helpful. I’ve taken 8 AP exams so far (going to take 6 more at the end of this year) and received a 5 on all of them but one (Spanish Language), on which I got a 4. I’m not Spanish.”</p>
<p>1-I sympathize with your pain and frustration.
2-Present your argument, it is very interesting, but please don’t insult other race/ethnicity, it diminishes your point.
3-Best wishes…</p>
<p>I was in the same situation as you over twenty years ago. </p>
<p>I went to a state school, and there I met a lot of kids like me. (My best friend got into Princeton but her family…dad was a dentist but they had six kids…couldn’t afford it.) Most of us ended up doing incredibly well in college, went to top notch grad schools (where funding is easier to get…I actually deferred my admission and went to work to make the money to go there), and ended up in amazing, lucrative careers…same as the kids who got to start off in the top notch colleges, and sometimes better off because we knew how to make things happen for ourselves.</p>
<p>Try to keep the bitter feelings in check and start college. You’ll find those people who are just like you. You’ll do well and go to the grad school of your dreams…or, you will transfer later. </p>
<p>A lot of how you do in life is in the attitude. I can tell you right now that if you spend the next four years feeling bad that you could have done something else “if only” instead of making things happen for yourself, your future will be exactly what you are afraid of it being.</p>
<p>geez, tomdadon, I’m in a similar situation to you, but you don’t hear me harping on about it. I understand that maybe you need to vent your frustration, but chill out! It’s not like the world is crashing down around you, so please just stop complaining. Get over it and move on. College is only four years of your (hopefully long) life. It’s also only what you make of it. So what, the system is unfair. Big deal. It’s not going to change any time in the near future, so oh well.</p>
<p>And I apologize if that’s not what you want to hear, but I don’t want to hear whiners like you, either. It’s life. Get over it.</p>
<p>"geez, tomdadon, I’m in a similar situation to you, but you don’t hear me harping on about it. I understand that maybe you need to vent your frustration, but chill out! It’s not like the world is crashing down around you, so please just stop complaining. Get over it and move on. College is only four years of your (hopefully long) life. It’s also only what you make of it. So what, the system is unfair. Big deal. It’s not going to change any time in the near future, so oh well.</p>
<p>And I apologize if that’s not what you want to hear, but I don’t want to hear whiners like you, either. It’s life. Get over it."</p>
<p>Show me the harm in presenting my views on an internet forum dedicated to college admissions, and I’ll retract my “whining.” It is fully in your control to read this thread and get whatever insight you wish from it. If it bothers you, hit that nice little “x” on the top right hand corner of your screen. I’m not knocking at your door, I’m not calling your phone, and I certainly am not whining in your ear.</p>
<p>But, truly, if the prevailing opinion is that this thread is out of place and that the topic no longer merits discussion, then I ask the CC populace to ignore this thread hence forward. I thank everyone for their input.</p>
<p>Tomadon-- A lot of kids face set backs, fair or unfair, which keep them from being able to study at what they deem the “ideal” institution. For example, my D is a high iq dislexic, 2300 SATs, high gpa sudent. We understand the system and refused to allow her to apply to any school where we felt she would be fighting a constant uphill battle to get her accomodations in the writing based areas of the curriculum. Over time, she came to understand what we meant. She spoke to students and parents at certain top level universities which allegedly gave kids the ADA rights without a fight. HA! Joke. Never happens. (But there are places where it does, and she chose one of those schools)</p>
<p>As for law school, the fact is that ALL they care about is GPA and LSAT scores. Period end of sentence. The kid from FU with a 3.9 and 170 LSAT beats the Harvard, Yale or Duke grad with the 3.7, no questions asked. I’d say you are in an excellent position to do well.</p>
<p>Also, judging by your pugilistic tone, I’d want you as my litigator ANY DAY Of The WEEEK!</p>
<p>Good luck to you, and I’d buy that sweatshirt and start getting in the mood for your new school.</p>
<p>“I’ve known this to be true: many of the parents here are just as blind as their college-bound children. Or not necessarily blind, but rather comfortably numb. If Daughter One got into Princeton and Daughter Two is enjoying a full ride from Yale, what is there to complain about?”</p>
<p>You keep making statements like the above, but I haven’t seen parents here like that. In fact, I don’t know anyone like what you’re suggesting. </p>
<p>Anyone whose kid is getting a full ride from a place like Harvard or Yale doesn’t have that much money, and in this horrible economy, that means major problems.</p>
<p>I do know lots of people like who – if they did get need-based aid – still are stretching their finances to pay their share. Then, there are people like my family who don’t qualify for need-based aid. We had the good sense to tell our sons before they applied the limitations of what we would provide.</p>
<p>That knocked out any private colleges to which they couldn’t get merit aid. It also meant my sons had to work summers and during the school year – and in the case of younger S-- who decided on a private school – also take out loans. </p>
<p>I know plenty of students of all races – including URMs – who turned down their dream schools because their parents felt that they could not afford the costs. </p>
<p>That’s life. No one ever said that life is fair. The sooner you get over that idea, the happier you’ll be.</p>
<p>Also, if one chooses to vent on a public message board, then be ready to take the heat. If you want to vent with no one disagreeing with you, vent to your close friends and family, not on CC where many people are in your situation, and are moving on with their lives without acting like they’ve been cheated out of something that they’re entitled to get. Just because you worked hard doesn’t mean that you’re owed an education at the college of your choice even if that college accepts you.</p>
<p>Of course if it’s such the college of your dreams… take all the loans… stop whining and get a job… and pay off the $200k as you go… work, use your tax returns, etc-- It’s no more than having a big mortgage and plenty of people in America are paying off loans.
That’s if you really really want it or just think you should get a free ride, LOL.</p>
<p>I have been saving $$ for my son’s college since birth. NEVER had cable TV, drive old cars, use coupons, do rebates etc. My friends say I am cheap. guess what, my EFC was 63k, theirs was 32k. Either way… we’re both paying full ride but I am PREPARED.</p>
<p>OP wrote: “my four year goal HAS been to go to certain schools and that goal shall not presently materialize.”</p>
<p>I think that’s the issue. Given that very narrow goal, I’m sure you feel let down. </p>
<p>But all is not lost. The work you put into achieving the first half of that goal – admittance, will accrue to your benefit for the rest of your life. It should also position you to perform in the top 2-5% at your state flagship, which positions you very well for graduate admission to the very same elite schools to which you had hoped to matriculate this fall as an undergraduate.</p>
<p>Nope. wouldn’t want him as a friend or neighbor or bff for my kids, either. Wouldnt even want him walking my dog! Judging by what he’s got to say, though, I seriously doubt that is in any danger of happening any time soon. But, as my litigator??? Absolutely.</p>
<p>OP, this was exactly the situation faced by a young woman I know. Only in her case she didn’t even apply to the state U because she got in so many fabulous other schools. She graduated 3rd in her class, was a commencement speaker, had edited the hs year book and the hs newspaper, and was a top swimmer. It was only AFTER her acceptances started rolling in that her parents told her they didn’t have the means to send her to any of the schools she got into. At graduation, she still had no idea what she was going to do. </p>
<p>In the end, she put her transcripts, awards and various acceptances into a folder, got into her mom’s car and drove to the admissions office at state u. The admissions person stared at the paperwork and stammered… yea, sure, we’ll accept you. It was too late to apply for FA, so instead the young woman worked two jobs over the summer, took on a bunch of loans, and only after her freshman year qualified for some state grants. </p>
<p>Was she bitter? Yup - at first. Did she get over it? Yup - once she realized the state u had a wealth or resources for the talented students even if they were undergrads. She made a friend in the admission person who helped her find interesting internship/job opportunities on campus. She made Deans List, lived in honors housing and met very accomplished, interesting peers. </p>
<p>And during her senior year she applied - and got into - an uber elite graduate program at an Ivy that offered her grant money so that her graduate degree cost nearly nada.</p>
<p>This happy-ending story is to show you: state u isn’t the end of the world. It could be the beginning of a wonderful, and limitless, educational experience.
Chin up.</p>
<p>“Also, judging by your pugilistic tone, I’d want you as my litigator ANY DAY Of The WEEEK!”</p>
<p>my first instinct would be to say ‘agreed’. but, then again, any self-respecting judge wouldn’t take such attitude from a punk lawyer.</p>
<p>i mean, wow, kid, you’re not in that bad of a position. if you’re doing as well as u say u are, then you’re smart & you’ll do well in your adult life. end of story.</p>