I am not going to tell you what to do with your future as I don't know your career plans or financial state. I do want to say that I believe we have the same mother. I got a scholarship to a program in England, fully paid, that I had to drop out of due to a serious illness (I was in a hospital bed for three months!) and as a result of dropping that year, apparently no longer qualified for the financial aid that I was receiving before - not even for a mediocre nearby college. My mother's reaction when I told her that I may take a semester off to work and save up? That not everyone can be "highly intelligent" and she always knew I wasn't that smart. Umm... Gee, thanks. Parents tend to say things that can cut right through us. They've raised us, of course, so they know all the tricks to breaking right into you. I don't have any advice other than to go out and do what you have to do to do what you want to do. If those schools are you dream, not hers, than you can find the aid. You're most likely a brilliant young lady, and the help is there if you can navigate the paperwork and bureaucracy of it. Or maybe you don't want to go to those universities and that is okay. Honest to God, just because of the programs offered, I'd rather go to Ohio State or Western Michigan than Harvard (I'd rather go to Notre Dame than any of these schools, but that's beside the point). Just because it's the best doesn't mean it's the best for you. This sentiment is apparently going to shock the hell out of some people, but money and prestige and university ranking - you can be honestly happy without any of these.

I feel your pain. I deliberately blew an application to Georgetown for a variety of reasons and wound up going to Villanova instead. I've never let down not being accepted into Gtown, although I deliberately fudged the essay into a pile of crap and I was seriously ill the day of the interview (same day I found out I have chronic ulcers and can't digest solid food for great periods of time, lovely), and even now, after realizing that a college education means exactly shit these days (by the time I'd have a MA, a Ph.D would be necessary to get a job that pays yearly equal to what my undergraduate tuition would be, if current trends continue, and even that, a skilled mechanic will still, on average, make just as much or more), I've mentioned transferring to somewhere less expensive and obnoxious, and I've been told on more than one occasion that to do so would be to put myself among those who are stupid. I don't feel I'm stupid for not wanting to pay for a $50k/year plus tuition for no real gain, but what can you do. FYL, but ydi also for falling into the college trap like the rest of us.

You DO know that being accepted doesn't mean you have to go? @Capo: You sir are a moron and no one feels bad for you.

retard

Well... ignoring the whole debate about throwing away your acceptance letters... FYL because your mother is a bitch. Assuming the mother didn't make much because her daughter let the chance to go to some of the most prestigious schools slip through her fingers to save some of her mom's money, she shouldn't be judging the intelligence of her own daughter. Don't let the bitch get to you, at least you have a reason to not give her any money when you become rich. :)

Y would she care if it's for ur education?who could put a price on that? YDI cuz u shouldve let her at LEAST let her know....

Well, I think you're ******* stupid for doing that... If you didn't want to spend the money, you shouldn't have applied in the first place. On the other hand, congrats on getting into extremely good schools. If you're still in the early stage of your college life (freshmen or sophomore year) you can always transfer to better schools... Or call up the schools and see if they've any spots still open, you never know, someone may not go to Cornell in favor of MIT or something...

I think its really sweet you did that im sorry there is a lot of idiots bitching about it

I find some of these comments absolutely hilarious. Some are obviously written by those who've never been to college, and some who have unfair expectations of students. To OP-It wasn't the brightest idea to throw away the applications, but I can definitely understand why you did it. These high priced schools are just so expensive. Hell, I'm transferring to MSU next year, and the 17.3k/yr tuition and housing rate is gigantic to me. I can't even imagine a 50k/yr rate. Here's a little bit of info for those who either expect the student to use Financial aid, or for them to work their way through college. Financial aid in the USA is, for lack of a better phrase-****** up. Basically, the US government considers college to be the PRIMARY responsibility of the parent. Up until you're 24, you are considered to be dependent on your parents. Unless you meet very specific rules, you cannot change your status. The vast majority of students don't meet these rules. What does this mean? Well, if your parents make over 30k/yr, you probably won't get a pell grant, or any other financial need based grant. Also, this limits your ability to take out student loans. That's the biggy, because news flash-Student loans are actually very hard to get. The ONLY ones that do not require very good credit and/or a cosigner, are federal stafford and perkins loans. You can only take out a maximum of 7500 from a stafford, (as a dependent student, unless your parents apply and get rejected for another federal loan). And the maximum on the perkins is 5500, but that's institutional based, and financial need based. Meaning, you may not get access to either the stafford or perkins loans if you're parents make tons of money. Now then, what this means for students who's parents make lots of money-but refuse to help the kids. You're basically ******. Unless you can afford to pay for college out of pocket, you ain't going unless you can get a private scholarship or something of the like. To those who expect the students to pay for it out of pocket-Please explain to me how I can make enough to cover my tuition+room and board (17,300 this year), books (500/semester), and other living expenses. All the while going to college 15 hours/week, plus studying 45 hours/week. Really, I'd love an explanation. Because right now, I'm going to graduate with 52,000 worth of student debt. All for a lousy bachelors in accounting.

You definitely deserve it. You turned down the chance to go to a great college because your *mommy* wouldn't pay for it, and that is enough to make you a total douche in my book. For the sake of argument, let's pretend you're not stupid or afraid of looking stupid at school. You still couldn't be bothered to *earn* the money, and don't bother making excuses for yourself, because it is possible.