I didn't really try to go to a good school and am finishing up my degree now at UMass Boston. I regret it because everything and everybody is average and there

I didn't really try to go to a good school and am finishing up my degree now at UMass Boston. I regret it because everything and everybody is average and there seems to be a natural tendency toward the average of the group, which is not good when surrounded by average people. I don't know how well Poly stacks up, but at a school like MIT you are going to be surrounded by many more people that are smarter than you and you will learn so much more. Here are my thoughts on how to scrounge up some money. Over 4 years you can borrow up to $27k through Federal Direct Loans[1]. I'm pretty sure these are available to anyone who fills out the FAFSA. You can get an on-campus job, probably at a good wage (can someone chime in the hourly wage for a student worker?). Assuming $15/hr, working 15 hours per week for 9 months, that's $34k over 4 years. Assuming same rate, you can also get a summer job for around $8k over 4 years. With your parents $100k, that's $169k right there. If that's not enough... Your parents can fix their financial situation within 4 years and take on additional private loans. You can have someone other than your parents cosign your student loans. Good luck! [1] http://www.direct.ed.gov/applying.html