Im sorry if i came off as annoying. I just worry a lot.
I know im allowed to go anywhere for grad school so im less stressed about that.
Thank yiu
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I feel like all of the financial info flying around this thread is getting overwhelming.
I highly, highly recommend speadsheets. Google Sheets is your friend. You can keep track of the total full-pay cost of attendance at all of the schools youâre considering⊠the amount of merit aid thatâs guaranteed, the amount of merit thatâs possible, the NPC projections, and so on. And that can be just one sub-sheet - others can be available programs, pros and cons, etc. etc. Having everything organized and accessible will reduce stress.
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Might I suggest you take a two week break from all things related to college. Enjoy the nice spring weather. Come back to all of this with a break and a fresh look.
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Yes.
And if you manage to get into a PHD program theyâll pay you to attend 
But 1st things first: your college list.
Right now, we have
- Emory as decoy for your mom, ED1
- Howard, Agnes Scott, Spelman as EA
If your school has this, you can sit and read through parts
https://www.amazon.com/adMISSION-POSSIBLE-Yourself-Getting-Colleges/dp/1402263317/
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With my mom thereâs no break 
.
I did take a break from college comfidential itself but idek
I told my mom Iâm stressed out by it and she said that was my way of telling her to shut up so 
Yeah I shouldnât worry about financial aid. Thatâs a later me problem . But tysm
How do I divergent think
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I like this but just a few posts back @rosechild said Barnard was her ED1
I assumed they mistyped and meant 2
To distract yourself:
I suggested some YA pages turners upthread and can suggest more.
You can also watch TV shows on your laptop.
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In my experience, the spreadsheet strategy is a fantastic aid to divergent thinking. Because you can generate ideas, collect information, and assemble all of it in a non-overwhelming, organized way. This reduces the urge to rush to any conclusions - the project is just to assemble the best possible database of possibilities and all of the relevant info about them.
Thatâs how it works for me, anyway - YMMV
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Edited! 
thanks for the catch.
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My friend gave me Villette?? By Charlotte BrontĂ« for a late birthday present so Iâll read the one you suggested and that.
Iâm actually very into stuff like Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, anything Victorian ever since as all as I can remember. I think I should delve into that
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Okay thank you so much 
If your parents own multiple rental properties, and if they could sell one out of several buildings and get a few hundred thousand dollars from it, then I would expect that most likely you will not qualify for any need based aid at all.
At least in my experience it is very common for anyone I have met who owns a small business or rental property to fail to qualify for any need based aid. In my experience most send their children to in-state public universities. In some cases these are very good in-state public universities (and I think that Rutgers fits the âvery goodâ description).
It depends.
Generally MD programs and DVM programs are expensive. They are very likely to cost more than $100,000 per year by the time that you get there. In-state public universities might be a bit less but are not cheap, and still might get to $100,000 by the time that you get there. Law school is similarly expensive. You would be way better off if you can get significant parent help for any of these options.
Financial aid for masterâs degrees is a bit more spotty. I got none. My wife got some aid but still needed to pay at least 1/2 the cost. This was however a long time ago and the total cost was much more affordable. You could be spending $100,000 or more per year for two years if you want to get a masterâs degree.
PhDâs are often fully funded by the universities. Most PhD programs that are worth attending will be free in terms of tuition, fees, and health insurance. They will usually also give you a stipend (meaning that they give you money) which will be sort of barely enough to live on plus purchase whatever you need (such as books). PhD students often live very frugally for 5 years or maybe a bit more while working hard to complete their studies and research and thesis. It is also reasonably common for students to get some work experience between programs, such as getting a bachelorâs degree, working for a year or two or three, and then getting a masterâs or PhD. When I was getting my masterâs degree most (but not all) of the students in the same program had some work experience after getting their bachelorâs.
Some students get a bachelorâs degree, then get a masterâs degree, then get a PhD. Some other students go straight from getting a bachelorâs degree to a PhD. The students who I have known who were accepted to very good PhD programs with only a bachelorâs degree and no masterâs were all very strong in at least four ways: Undergraduate GPA; Research experience; References; and Statement of purpose. This is tough, but it is possible in some cases.
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Fun reads sidenote for young adults who like Pride&Prejudice, Jane Eyre, and the British 19th century, including some Queer recs, some BIPOC rep. Can try to look some up if you want more (this is basically off the top of my head 
)
you could try The House on Half Moon street , Pride&Prejudice in Pittsburgh (I think they went for the alliteration 
- thereâs one queer main character), Reader I killed him (Jane Eyre is a key character), Wages of sin by Kaite Welsh (young lady wants to be part of the 1st medical school class of lady doctors - found it very good), A rip through time (a current cop is sent back to Victorian Scotland into the body of a nasty maid who works for a doctor ostracized due to his race.)
Anne Perryâs Monk series is a good read (1860s London.)
Nonfiction: Time Travelerâs Guide to Regency England.
You can also watch Regency-era shows: Bridgerton (fluffy but not PG13) and Gentleman Jack (true story, as âmade up for fictionâ as most of it may seem).
And now, with Villette + a handful of books&shows, you can distract yourself from all this stress till youâre ready to return 
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Omg Tysm Iâll check out all of these. I have an online ebook thing Iâll see if itâs on there
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Oh wow, this is a lot. I know some people whose job pays for their higher education? Do you think this would be possible. For what I want to do would I need to go through law school or do something else if I want to change public policy in healthcare or something
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Yes some jobs pay part or all of professional school tuition (against your commitment to stay in the company since they donât want to spend money on you only to see you switch to their competition.)
Youâll have a college adviser to discuss all this, especially at smaller colleges. And CollegeConfidential is going nowhere.
For now, distract yourself with reading, not with grad school scenarios
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