hello there! you may remember me as bonk or the broke kid trying to decide between virginia tech and indiana university of pennsylvania. it has been a couple months and i wanted to give a final update on my college selection - and the choice may be a surprise!
so, i initially decided on IUP. i thought the school may grow on me, and honestly i finally admitted there was no way i could afford VT (i may go there for medical school instead. we’ll see!). i was almost 100% committed before i received some super surprising news.
i received an email from university of pittsburgh on may 24th regarding my place on the waitlist. I GOT ACCEPTED!!! that news was honestly such a blessing because i did not expect that last minute surprise. better yet? i received an amazing aid package giving me a full academic ride! my estimated amount after 22k of financial aid (jaw DROPPED) was about 14k per year, covering all tuition costs and some housing. following my federal loans, my out-of-pocket is about 9k per year.
there was no other option besides to leap at the choice once i received my FA offer on may 30th. however, my graduation was may 29th, so i painted my grad cap to represent both colleges and was able to showcase my final decision by covering the one i did not settle with.
with all of that settled, i will be attending university of pittsburgh as a microbiology major (maybe neuroscience double major, we’ll see) and german minor. i am a proud member of their class of 2028, and i can finally proudly say hail to pitt 
. i had a happy ending! i just wanted to thank everyone for their help and thought that it was only fair to share my ultimate decision. i will be sure to come back to help others and to share updates on college, AP scores, etc!