I know these topics are cliche as heck, but I'm pretty confused right now, and would like some adult perspective on this. I'm a high school student from Florida, trying to decide between Georgetown, and Cornell College (LAC, located in Iowa).
I got no aid from Georgetown; I did get a good scholarship from Cornell College. All told, I would probably have to pay about +$40,000 more per year for Georgetown. I am an only child, and my parents have an income of about +200k a year. They strongly encouraged me to go to Gtown, and said that they could fully afford to pay the tuition out of pocket.
However, I'm kind of uncomfortable with this for a few reasons: 1) My parents still have their own loans to pay off, and they are planning to invest in a business soon; I am not sure how much they have in retirement, and they absolutely refuse to tell me (they work hard, but spend freely), 2) I want to go to graduate school, and my parents claim they will pay for that as well, 3) Cornell College is smaller, and is a LAC; maybe this would offer me more opportunities to know professors, get research positions, etc.? 4) I don't want to be stressed at Gtown for 4 years, thinking about how much it's costing my parents to pay for my degree.
Another thing that worries me is that I'm kind of a poor student). I have terrible study habits due to some anxiety issues. I made do in high school (pulling many all-nighters due to procrastination, and with many Bs and Cs), but I need to shape up in college--especially since I'm thinking of med school. Would a small LAC be better for me than a competitive place like Georgetown? Then again, wouldn't a low GPA from Georgetown be better than a low GPA from Cornell College? I have no idea.
Both of my parents are Indian immigrants, and they are strenuously in favor of my going to Gtown--in fact, I don't think they'd even let me go to Cornell (they're extremely rankings-obsessed; they were fairly disappointed that I 'only' got into Georgetown and other 'okay' schools).
So, actually, where I go to school is basically out of my hands, but I'm still really unsure about this choice, and an outsider's perspective would be helpful. Thoughts?
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