<p>:( im staying for wintersession… some engineering class. i dont even know why i registered for it now. i think i was mean… and the class was popular… and there’s a huge waitlist… and i just wanted it cuz everybody else wanted it even though in reality i dont really want it. okay that makes no sense.</p>
<p>anyways… hope everyone’s having a blast right now… cuz i am. not.</p>
<p>I am not going back because 1) no money 2) no time. :)</p>
<p>now what did u quote me for bow?</p>
<p>bowtoserenity, </p>
<p>those are some pretty pictures of swarth. How’s college there? I’m applying to colleges this year, and all I know about are the top ivies and the safties. How does the college experience differ at liberal arts colleges? Is the atmosphere drastically different?</p>
<p>How do you guys afford your college education? On paper, my parents look pretty well off, and only having to pay for me, the only child. But they are reluctant to shell out a penny for me… and if I by any luck get into stanford or colleges like that… I guess I’m gonna be deep in loans… or how do you guys cover the costs?</p>
<p>u work as a bartender during night while frying your brains out during the day</p>
<p>I am sorry Zhou. GaTech is a public school, I was kidding you.</p>
<p>To naturallyjojo,
Don’t let xo…ox scare you. She is kinda…weird. If you are an international student, you do need to work harder than other ppl though. However, don’t put money issue into consideration when you apply. Just apply for the schools which you think match you most. Just be aware that LACs and big public schools usually don’t offer scholarship very generously, top private schools typically have more money. I wouldn’t worry if you get into Stanford. They have a big amount of scholarship. Plus a degree in schools like Stanford is very rewarding. You probably can pay it off very quickly after graduation, unless you majoy in art history or something. About your parents, don’t argue with them now, there is no point. After you get your admission letter, make a deal with them. Anyway, this is only my opinion. You need to make your own decision. Good luck! :)</p>
<p>well, even some public and LACs’ offer very generous scholarships/finaid. apply to some school/outside merit-based scholarships. yea. you shouldn’t worry about the money too much. if your parents have the resources, they’ll pay for you once they see your acceptance letter. if they don’t have the resources, the school will pay for you (assuming that you are a perment resident at least).</p>
<p>wow. swarth is gorgeous. it seems so tranquil. haha makes me want to transfer…j/k i’m used to ut’s bigness and crowdedness by now. i like it now…sorta keeps me moving.</p>
<p>Yeah, Swarthmore is definitely nice… To everyone who wished me the best, thanks! Well, I’m going back to Shenzhen this winter. After the Katrina blow, I desparately want to see my parents and some of my friends. So I booked the flight and I’ll be in Shanghai on Dec, 17th. So anyone in Shanghai who wants to meet up, that’ll be cool. I have a bunch of friends in Beijing Foreign Studies University but I guess I probably wouldn’t be able to visit’em. Oh, just some random question. I wonder what is wrong with the Chinese university system. It’s like everyone I know wants to leave that crappy system that shackles your mind of imagination and refrains your potential capabilities. I have a classmate who got in Tsinghua, but after freshman year, he decided to go to U of Wisconsin-Madison. The other one got accepted at Peking Univ but decided to transfer to University of Hong Kong on a merit-based scholarship. I myself, got accepted at Zhongshan Univ( Sun-Yat-Sen Univ) but decided to land at Tulane (Well, I wish I could be at Emory, UIUC, but can’t really afford them even if I got in). Plus I have a bunch of other frens at BU, Lawrence, Purdue, Cornell, McGill, U of Toronto, UCL, Cambridge blah blah blah. It’s like whoever can escape has escaped. Interesting. What about you guys? Do you guys have frens all over the place? Thanks for all the people who added me to facebook. If anyone wants my MSN, that’s fine:<a href="mailto:steven_zhou35■■■■■■■■■■■■">steven_zhou35■■■■■■■■■■■■</a>. Thanks to everyone who supported me.
Oh, did I mention it snowed? It did! I’m so sick of living in the South. When I was in China, I lived in the South. And then I went to a southern school. Sigh… I wanna live in the north and enjoy walking to classes passing through trees clad in captivating white shining dress. How nice would that be, eh?</p>
<p>To naturallyjojo: To put it realistic, I think it’s extremely hard or just not feasible for foreign undergrads to finance their education on their own. There are ver very few schools that offer generous finaid or merit-based to internationals. And if some schools do offer, the competition will be keen and cut-throat. As a statement found at UPENN’s website puts it, they sometimes will have to turn down a well-qualified intl applicant just because the applicant applied for finaid and the school cannot offer finaid. So be aware that it’s extremely difficult for you to finance your own education. Don’t count on on-campus job opportunities. Those jobs will mostly give you like 1000-2000 a year and that’s nothing compared with 40+K tuition at a private school. So right now, you wanna get some research job done. Get a list of all the schools that offer generous finaid or merit-based aid to foreign undergrads. And then cut them into three categories: First Choice, Match, then Safety. They should be arranged in a way that the toughest colleges to get into should be placed ahead of those who tend be easier to get in. Then target each school individually. You’re on the right track then. Good luck and I hope this helps. Oh, regarding financing my education, I’m darn fortunate to have the best parents ever who are more than willing to take money out of their real-estate fund and car fund to contribute to my education expenses. Tulane cost 43000 and I got a merit-based scholarship that equals 18K. Sweet.</p>
<p>^ agree with the above.
but naturallyjojo, since you applied stanford ea (right? or am i just making up stuff again?), i assumed that you are at least a green card holder (intls needing aid aren’t allowed to apply ea).
well, if you are intl…as i was saying schools like ut are pretty generous to us too. i’m here with housing and tuition covered and am still getting extra money from them for books and extra spending. it’s quite nice.</p>
<p>yy,u have a green card right?</p>
<p>no. i don’t. why else did you think i was screwed for college admissions? lol</p>
<p>I just noticed that the distribution of our colleges are very well represented geographically:</p>
<p>NY
MA
PA
TX
GA
LA
MO</p>
<p>any of us have fellow chinese threadee in the same STATE?</p>
<p>and yy-
you did get to a good school la :)</p>
<p>i do agree with the private school giving good finanical aide; its basically the same as yy for me - tuition + board. but i dont get shopping money for random things i’d want (one of those cat-like chairs that are round, earrings, boots, an irving rice mirror, the new colored vaio…etc). im not pressured into working right now, and i feel like im getting lazy and going too easy on myself. highschool… i was a waitress and worked like 30hours/week on top of my 6APs lol but i couldnt say anything cuz i was getting paid under the table, and i was sooo addicted to cash flow. i think its best if i work myself to death im weird yes. literally… cuz i cant wait for next sememster. 5 classes, 2 labs 1 of them orgo – 2 MIT classes (1hours transport on the fcktruck aka exchange bus), 2 math (linear algebra, differential equation) and im gonna find a job somewhere in boston… so its like school in the day, work in the evening, and party at night. as long as i dont sleep, my plan sounds flawless</p>
<p>but then it’s like… $1000-1500/month is not going to pay for school. this is my indulgence money… the real money comes from when i get good grades. its a lot less hardwork to write essays and get scholarships then trying to work for that $40k/year. of course… im not sure if they’ll let me write an essay for a new dressing mirror</p>
<p>okay my main point is… you can always apply for outside scholarships. its not only the financial aide which usually are grants that you dont have to repay but if they dont give you grants you can always try to get other scholarships. i have like 2 additional michigan scholarships, so my parents dont have to worry about me, and at any point in life if i feel like i want to be financially independent i probably could except i know itll just be really tiring and im kind of basking in this laziness right now</p>
<p>okay i take that back i kinda want to sleep right now but im not going to cuz if i sleep now i have work to do at night and i want strawberry daiquiries tonight</p>
<p>people were not meant to do this… im in so much pain… okay so the first time i stayed up all night i was really tired the next day and was like… wow im so impressed i can function. then i started doing it more–until it became regular and i am totally fine on 3 hours/day… or so i think. now im at the stage where its like… i can sleep anywhere anytime and i wont wake up probably. i mean… i slept through a firealarm wednesday night, on the table of the science center wednesday afternoon, and on a chair in the campus center dinning hall that was really weird HAHAHAHA can you imagine that sight??? i slept there for 1/2 an hour</p>
<p>p.s… i’ve been doing 3hr/days ever since sunday. its friday.</p>
<p>ni zhi shao zhe le shi nian yang shou</p>
<p>See if your brain still function well and can figure that out.</p>
<p>I Watched Harry Potter!!
I Love Harry Potter!!</p>