“When I was 16, my high school principal told me that my spotty attendance was hurting the school’s funding… later that week I became a high school dropout”
“I also hadn’t taken the SAT, so I wasn’t even sure if I could apply to universities. So I enrolled at a nearby community college with open admissions and low tuition with the intent of earning my associate’s degree.”
“…I only applied to one college the University of North Texas, which is not even ranked by the US News and World Report. It was a nearby state university with low tuition costs, and it meant I didn’t have to deal with relocating”
“…today, I am a doctoral student at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, which is ranked near the top of its field”
"A critic might point out that I saved money to the detriment of my education: I took more community college classes than university courses, I based where to attend not on prestige but on low tuition, and I used old textbooks. But today, I am a doctoral student at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, which is ranked near the top of its field. In addition to a full scholarship, I also receive a living stipend and have won fellowships from the National Science Foundation and Google. Last summer, I interned with the Pew Research Center.
And no one has ever cared where I got my bachelor’s degree or questioned the quality of my undergraduate education."
Nice find! Many on here could benefit from reading this, especially the last sentence…
@sorghum Right, which is why a comparison between the two is null.
A quick glance at the Penn graduate school of communications shows that, out of 400 applicants, 15-20 are admitted into the doctoral program.
sheesh sorghum,… Arent your standards just a wee bit too high?
Not all students want to go into STEM.
he’s a PhD student at the UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA with a National Science Foundation fellowship!!
Not shabby at all imho. And NOT easy to accomplish, either…
Not ALL students have an interest in going into STEM areas.
BTW- I’m the mom of a Caltech PhD student.
I’m very proud of my son, but if the student mentioned in this article were my DS , I would be JUST as proud of this young man’s accomplishments.
I mentor a young woman who’s story would read like this: “I chose to go to community college and transfer to the local flagship because by 18 I was pretty much raising my younger siblings because my parents had addiction issues. I lost both of them before I was 25 and now have full custody, while raising my own son. I DID get that AA degree and continue working towards my bachelor’s. Some days, between work and school I barely see my siblings and son, but it is worth everything I do, because I WILL be the first in my family to get a college degree!”
I am here to tell anyone smirking at the people in this story as not doing something prestigious enough, or challenging enough, or whatever they think is “better”, aren’t fit to wipe this girl’s shoes. I don’t think most people could face getting out of bed in the morning with that much weighing on them every single day, with no one to give you any kind of break, before you’ve turned 25. She may not be at a “top” school but she has a Ph. D. in heart, drive and strength that I doubt most people could ever hope to have.
Well said @sseamom. I prefer this type of inspirational story over the ones where a senior whines that their parents can only afford (to give them) 25,000 per year and they won’t qualify for any financial aid and can’t go to their dream school…blah blah blah… It shocks me that a child could be so ungrateful to be handed 100,000 dollars.
Yes, there are much less dramatic ways for “The Not-Rich Kid’s Guide to Graduating from Medical School With Zero Debt” You can substitute “Medical” by any other Graduate school.
Just do well in HS, this actually includes attending classes and so unfortunate task of doing your homework…
Attend the college that offers full tuition Merit award (or higher)
Negotiate with parents paying for your Grad. school.
Straight forward, no drama approach that you will not find in any mainstream media, not so impressive, I guess. I know many who are done just that, including my own kid. She did not have to negotiate with us though. We decided that her very hard work and wise decision choosing college deserved being debt free after Med. School, so we told her that we will pay for it. And how did we paid - combo of equity loans / 401k withdrawals and the most important - continue working past full retirement age. While D. is financially independent now, we still fully enjoy our jobs.
