You are not asking your parents to pay over $70k for education, you are asking them to pay over $70k to live in warm weather. You said if Purdue was in a warm place you would have committed already- so you have the education you want. It’s not the weather you want and you are asking them to pay more for that.
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Plus…it is for 4 years…so $280,000.
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OP, I don’t know your parents. But I’ll reflect on what did it for me.
1- I told the kids I’d pay for MORE rigor, engagement, challenge, academic difficulty but not less.
2- Told the kids that the “contract” was that they’d take being a college student seriously- showing up for class, attending cool lectures and symposia by visiting professors, getting involved in meaningful EC’s, working hard in every single class not just the ones they thought were important, getting jobs/research/volunteering for things that “made a difference” in some way… and that in return, we’d pay for whatever major at whatever college as long as we agreed that it provided more rigor/engagement than a cheaper option.
3- Explained that we were on the hook for 8 semesters. period. Change majors? Figure out how to graduate on time, or figure out how to pay for the extra semester. Want to study overseas but you’ll miss an important pre-requisite? Find a different program. Can’t bear to leave your friends, all of whom are on the 5 year plan? So graduate, get a job, and go make new friends.
I think the best way to convince your parents is to show them that you understand the value of a dollar-- and that you are prepared to take your education very seriously, and graduate on time.
Personally I was not interested in paying more for nicer weather, better frat parties, cooler spring break trips (which I wasn’t paying for anyway), etc.
Demonstrate to your parents that you understand what an incredible opportunity you are getting and they may come around. Good luck.
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I feel like this thread is turning into a little bit of a pile-on.
And I suspect that what the OP is holding out for at the end of the month is probably UC Berkeley, since the private U’s being mentioned cost far more than the OP’s (unfortunately low) estimate of the COA at UC’s.
OP, obviously you’re dealing with some strong feelings around wanting a highly-prestigious school, and also feeling anxiety about cold weather conditions, which you haven’t experienced before. All of this is (per your words) tempting you to use whatever leverage is at your disposal to coerce your parents into paying for a more expensive school than they’re comfortable with. At the same time, you’re aware that you don’t want to be that person, and/or to put that strain on your relationship with your parents.
It sounds as if your parents must have worked hard to earn their wealth, starting out in affordable colleges in India. I don’t know them, of course, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they were feeling torn between their desire to give you everything they didn’t have when they were your age, and having a hard time with the perception that you’re taking their resources for granted and expecting them to put forth a six-figure differential so that you don’t have to wear a winter coat at college.
I’m sure you have worked hard too. You didn’t get these acceptances as an international applicant by being lazy. You deserve the opportunity your parents are trying to offer you. But try not to magnify that into a larger sense of entitlement that crosses a line in a way that a lot of us here are reacting to. Deserving opportunity is not the same as deserving your every whim.
My opinion, for what it’s worth, is that you should take UC’s off your list. They’re too expensive and don’t offer the academic options and flexibility that you’re looking for. True, if you got into Berkeley, you could probably switch into IE even if you couldn’t get into Haas for business (which you could attempt as a sophomore, along with all of the other aspiring business majors). But you can take on that question if/when you get accepted there. At the very least, rule out San Diego and Davis. Going to a worse-fit school for a lot more money, just because it’s warmer, would be frivolous,unfair to your parents, and ultimately a compromise that wouldn’t be in your best interests either.
UF is certainly warm, and well-regarded, and relatively affordable, but it’s not known for academic flexibility and you’re not talking about wanting to go there, so I’m going to assume you wouldn’t choose it over Purdue or UW-Seattle.
So for now, simplify the discussion to UDub vs. Purdue. I see your argument that UDub could work academically. But it’s still over 65K/year - 20K more than Purdue, and the four-year total could differ by 90K with cost increases - and the dark, wet conditions in the winter could easily cancel out the temperature differential in terms of overall comfort.
So my opinion still leans toward, stop worrying about the weather, follow your initial instinct, and commit to Purdue. But keeping UW in the mix and doing a thorough analysis of the pros and cons is fair.
You have time to decide. It may be that you need to table this long enough to take a deep breath and let the emotions around all of this settle a bit. The good news is that you have earned really good options, and your parents are seemingly willing to foot the bill for at least one, if not more, of those good options. So congrats on being in a fundamentally very good situation!
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The OP still has not clarified which (if any) US schools at which prices are acceptable to the parents.
You are placing waaay too much importance on the cold if Purdue is otherwise a great fit academically and financially. It’s not cold al of time and you will be indoors most of the time anyway. Spend a few hundred dollars on some winter clothes and a warm coat and embrace the adventure.
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Good post. What is this academic flexibility you are referring to wrt UCs and UF?
I agree that this thread has become a pile-on at this point. Probably best to pause and give OP a chance to read and respond.
@Fall24_applicant, I think the critical question (which several of us have asked) is: how much have your parents said they’re willing to pay? $50k? $70k? Lower? Higher, if it’s an Ivy?
Please clarify so we can guide you further. Thanks.
Ease of changing majors, adding minors, and so on. At some schools, it’s difficult-to-impossible to access popular programs that one wasn’t accepted to at the time of application. And some schools don’t even have all of the options that the OP hopes to keep open.
If it’s warm weather you’re after don’t go to UW. I live an hour away and yesterday was our first nice day of the year so far, and it was only 63 or so. It’s temprate here (rain is not that bad btw), but never really warm. Summers are around 70 generally except with the occasional 110 degree heatwave. Winter generally in the 40’s with the occasional dip into high twenties. We even had a cold snap this year where it got under 10!
OP: good advice about Seattle weather above. The temperatures mentioned are in Fahrenheit.
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Thank you everyone for your valuable advice and time. I will be cancelling out UCSD and UCD from my list for sure due to poor academic fit. Right now, I’m leaning towards Purdue. Will discuss with my parents and let y’ll know where will I be committing. And yes, I’ll work and try not be indecisive in my future 
Again, thank you so much CC community. Your help meant a lot to me.
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If you haven’t already done this, check out the various organizations for Indian students - Clubs and Associations | Purdue-India Partnership - and the resources on the linked pages. See if you can get in touch with some students there who are from your region, to get their input on how the adjustment has been for them.
There’s a really robust community of students from India at Purdue - the number of international undergraduates from India cited on the pages linked above (876) is larger than the total number of international students from India at UDub, grad and undergrad combined. (And this despite the fact that UW is larger overall.) Purdue’s total population of Indian international students is close to 3000! It doesn’t appear that you’d have any trouble finding support and feedback from people who have already made the adjustment that you’re feeling a bit anxious about.
Good luck, and props for being gracious about all of the strong feedback you’ve gotten here.
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