<p>Most of your problems seem to be the result of lack of communication between you and your mom. Your mom may be thinking, she was promising to pay up to $25k a year, if you did not get money to attend college. In other words, if you did not get any scholarships, she would pay up to $25k. However, you apparently took her words to mean, she was promising $25k a year for the college of your choice, even if there were offers for full scholarships from other colleges. </p>
<p>In my opinion, this is neither the first or the last time you will see these type of things. This is why adults write contracts so there are no misunderstandings. </p>
<p>By the way, I also noticed that you were upset about legacies and race playing a role in admissions. Once again, ask yourself, do I have a contract with the colleges to not do that? If not, then perhaps, you have a misplaced sense of entitlement and misunderstood the contract (like you misunderstood your verbal contract with your mom).</p>
<p>I would suggest that you have a conversation with your mom. Ask her if she is happy to learn that you are such a good student that you got a full scholarship and that she may not have to pay $25k a year? This should put her in a good mood. Then, ask her if she will put that $25k a year in some investment account/ stock market account for you, for your graduate school education? If she says no, then ask her for $12k a year. If she says no, ask her for a car with insurance paid for four years for all your hard work and the money you are saving her. This should maker her smile, when she sees you are flexible and open. At this point you should ask her how she would feel about a contract with you, that would pay her back the $100k if you went to your favorite school? I don’t know about you, but I have talked about things like this with my child since he was in middle school.</p>
<p>“busdriver11, what major has summer internships that pay over $10k? I have never heard of an undergrad internship that paid anywhere near that amount. I would think $4k would be the absolute most I’d expect a student to earn in a summer internship.”</p>
<p>Dad<em>of</em>3 is correct, comp sci. My son made over 4k for a high school summer internship, and about 10K last summer in what he considered was a middling internship. Got a better offer this summer, that he turned down. Maybe I’m living in a fantasy world here, but I’d think there would be other career fields that pay well too, even in this crummy economy.</p>
<p>But even a part time job during school, maybe work study would be worthwhile. I earned about 10K/yr as a part time waitress during college. Almost 30 years ago.</p>
<p>Back then, that would have been enough to pay for the full cost of attendance at many state universities and have some money left over. Working one’s way though college was a much more realistic option back then than it is now. The implications are that, back then, the financial burden on students and parents was much less, and students had more of an option to operate financially independently of their parents back then.</p>
<p>Is it possible that the high cost of attending a university, combined with the financial aid system’s expectation of large parent contributions to their adult student’s educational expenses, is increasing the likelihood of parent-student conflict in some families?</p>
<p>“Is it possible that the high cost of attending a university, combined with the financial aid system’s expectation of large parent contributions to their adult student’s educational expenses, is increasing the likelihood of parent-student conflict in some families?”</p>
<p>Absolutely, I’d imagine it’s sucking the life out of plenty of parents finances and hopes for paying off debt and retirement. Imagine paying so much and the student blowing off school, or drinking to excess and flunking out. So many ugly possibilities.</p>
<p>My other point wasn’t that you could have a menial job through the year and pay for all of your college (like we could back in the good old days of reasonably priced tuition), but that you could earn a fair amount of money and at least put a decently sized dent in it. Especially if someone else is paying 25K/yr towards your tuition. Better to work in the summer or in your time off to whittle it down a bit if you can.</p>
<p>OP: Now that I know more about the situation, it’s not as bad as I thought it might be. I think you should try to reason with your mom and wait until April to see what the cost of wherever you get into will be, but even if your mom won’t let you go to any of the schools you want to, it isn’t the end of the world. You’re not being bullied into going to Podunk University, but rather, your mom wants you to go to Tulane, one of the best schools in America. I know I wouldn’t like it if I end up having to go to somewhere than my top choice for financial reasons, but lots of people would really like to be in your shoes and have the scholarship you got. I think it’s important to keep an open mind, and you’ll still have lots of opportunities there.</p>
<p>My mother has been financially irresponsible and is able to afford 25,000 a year</p>
<p>Your mother has just navigated through the worst financial decade in 70 years. It probably makes her sick to realize that she’s raised a spoiled brat.</p>
<p>I think the focus here ought to be on the merits of Tulane. I don’t know as much about Fordham, but Tulane has plenty of the kind of kids the OP is looking for at Brown. That’s a heck of a great fallback position for an Ivy League hopeful.</p>
<p>There are plenty of financially irresponsible people out there, but it’s rare that a teenager in the family is in a position to know whether her mother is one of them.</p>
<p>I understand that you tried really hard to become a contender for an Ivy league school, but if your mother cannot afford it then you just can’t go there. Unless, you take out a student loan or can get financial aid. It isn’t the end of the world if you don’t get into your number one choice.</p>
<p>You need to wait for all acceptances and financial aid packages to come in. I don’think you are spoiled but I do think you are being unrealistic as to the amount of money it takes to educate a kid in college. A full ride to a great college is a gift, and what you choose to make of that gift is up to you. You can parlay that college experience into something impressive by being really involved, get to know professors, get involved in research if that is what you like, and be sure to land the best summer internships you could find. Your grades should be very high since you might be attending a school you consider to be less that what you have worked for. If you have top grades, know your professors and are involved in some very interesting on campus and off campus work you will be all set to attend an Ivy league grad school and it wont cost you or your dear mom a penny. Good luck!!</p>
<p>My guess is those high paying internships do NOT go to incoming freshmen, or sophomores. More than likely those $10K internships go to rising college juniors who are very lucky or rising college seniors. Those will NOT help the OP pay for college her/his first two years.</p>
<p>As I said PAGES back. Take a breath, and wait until all the acceptances and financial aid packages are in…THEN have a discussion. You will have to live within the financial limitations of your family…everyone does. Luckily for you, there are already some affordable and terrific college choices ON your accepted student list.</p>
<p>Would the “Columbia Journalism School” referred to above be the school whose full name is the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism?</p>
<p>Anyway, Columbia College has people designated “Kluge Scholars”, but my understanding is that they have need-based financial aid like everyone else. I also suspect that the phrase “regardless of financial means” is in practice interpreted as “for people without other available resources to pay”.</p>
<p>While Columbia has some endowed scholarships, at the undergrad level they are disbursed as part of Columbia’s need based financial aid process</p>
<p>Columbia states:
</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>If the girl you know received an endowed scholarship from Columbia J school, which is a graduate program, financial aid at the grad level is different from financial aid as the undergrad level</p>
<ol>
<li><p>All grad students are considered independent as far as federal aid is concerned. The amount of stafford loans increases from 7500 to 20.5k (although this amount will be all unsubsidized effective fall 2012)</p></li>
<li><p>With the exception of law/med/dental/vet school the parents income and assets will not be used when determining a grad’s student’s demonstrated need.</p></li>
<li><p>Grad students can borrow the full cost of attendance as a Grad plus loan (- any stafford loans)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>If the friend you know received the Kluger endowed scholarship, she had a financial need (which is not unusual for grad students who were not working or were making very little money at the time they applied to school).</p>
<p>One convenient place to check if a college or university awards non-need based financial aid is in section H of the Common Data Set. I could not find a Common Data Set on line for Columbia, but for Dartmouth, for example, it shows 0 undergraduates receiving a total of $0 in non need-based financial aid.</p>
<p>Tulane has already started distributing Presidential Scholarships, which are full tuition, to students who applied early.</p>
<p>Columbia also has John Jay and I.I. Rabin Scholars but these may not have much of a monetary component.</p>
<p>Read thru thread quickly but think many adults here are being unduly harsh and critical of a 17 year-old college hopeful.</p>
<p>Lexie, you will find that many people are forever made bitter by their own childhood/life experiences and this colors their “advice” to the next generation. Just focus your critical time left on apps, and revisit this thread/topic post-Jan 1st. Good luck!</p>
<p>Let’s get back to those safeties. OP, I hope you get into your Ivy reaches, with all the money you need, but what if you don’t? It’s not too late to apply to a safety or two that you like.</p>
<p>I do have safety schools other than these two, but none that I’m really over the moon about. I am a big fan of the open curriculum and I have only found that at Brown, Wesleyan, and Amherst. Any suggestions that are safeties with that type of academic environment?</p>
No, sunbite, the presidential is the top of the merit awards given at admission, and is a 2/3 tuition scholarship. The full tuition scholarship is the DHS wich is announced in February (and requires a separate application). There is another scholarship (community service, etc) that is given in differing amounts and can be combined with the Presidential and the other merit scholarships to potentially equal a full tution award, but the CS scholarships also arent announced yet. There are special scholarships for residents of Louisiana (OP is not one). There will be a new scholarship next year called the Weatherhead, but its not available yet.</p>
<p>Agree that the OP should take a closer look at Tulane. It has a lot to offer.</p>
<p>Lexieam- are you National Merit SF? It will help others to help identify scholarships.</p>
<p>To other parents- Tulane has offered Presidential Scholarship of $27K. Very generous but for our family it doesn’t get it to $25K. Their full tuition scholarships is the Dean’s Honors and won’t be announced until late February.</p>