Frugal Dad Has Close Call as Kid Almost Accepted to Pricey Ivy League School

Education Life

Allison, Nebraska – Dan Harrison doesn’t mind telling you that he was this close to the worst outcome possible when his son started applying to colleges his senior year in high school.

“You know how you send your grades and your SAT scores off to several colleges? Well, just for a lark we decided to send them to Harvard to see what would happen. I don’t even know where Harvard is, so imagine my surprise when we got a letter back saying he was accepted based on the outcome of a personal interview.”

Dan stops at this point and looked off in the middle distance. “For a lark I did this,” he said in a flat tone, clearly moved by the memory.

“The literature they give you makes it clear that these places cost per week what we paid for our first house. And once they’ve got you they’ve got you for all time.”

The man paused for a reflective moment as he considered the ordeal.

“Mind you, I had a lot working against me. The kid had great SAT scores, he writes well, he’s been a high achiever all his life, people just love him. That doesn’t mean I want to be a pauper until I die.”

Another meditative moment.

“It was touch and go for a bit, but right when the interviewer was telling my son about the rock-climbing consultant you could hire in the gym for $140 an hour, with a break all the way down to $135 if you committed to 48 straight hours of training, I had an inspiration.

I spoke right up and told the fellow that he hadn’t seen nothing yet, he’d really be impressed if he saw Junior’s latest science fair project. Then, as though I had just thought of it, I said, “In fact, Jimmy, we’d better get back. That meth lab isn’t going to run itself.”

And that right there was the moment I got my life back. The conversation wound down and we didn’t hear another blessed thing from Harvard.”

Asked for his advice to other parents at risk of grinding poverty simply for sending their kid to some stupid college or other, Harrison said, “look, you can never let your guard down. Take me,” he said, repeating his earlier words, “I came this close to paying for a world-class education.”

The man still looks shaken.