The Learning Curve: Chapter 102
Bella Swan's House
"Okay, Dad," I said, walking into the living room after taking a deep breath. "Can we talk about Dartmouth, please?"
He shot me a look and then reluctantly turned off the Mariners game. "All right. Let's talk."
With a thick sheaf of papers in my hand, I hurried to sit down on the corner of the couch nearest to my dad's chair.
"Okay. I would appreciate you hearing me out on this. I really want to go to Dartmouth, and I think that once you hear everything I have to say, you'll agree that it's where I belong."
He narrowed his eyes but nodded for me to continue.
"First of all. Dartmouth meets 100% of demonstrated financial need. Given our income bracket, I think I'll have pretty much a free ride. All of their financial aid is need-based, and the average scholarship is $35,504. That means that a lot of kids get way more than that. And since they don't give scholarships for athletics or academics, it means the kids who really need it get all the aid."
"Okay, so say we can afford it. How are you going to get home if you need to? What about the things financial aid doesn't cover?"
I pursed my lips. "Well, Hanover is a much bigger town than Forks. I'm sure I could find a job. I could also apply for some private student loans. They typically don't track how those are used."
Charlie sighed. "That's a debt you wouldn't have to have if you stayed close to home."
"Actually, it is. State schools are cheaper, but they give out hardly any financial aid. I might get a scholarship to cover a lot of it, but I'd still have to take out student loans to cover the rest."
"Fine, fine, you've made your point. But are you going to like Dartmouth?"
"I think so," I said. "They have a ton of different on-campus housing options. There are ten different dining halls, some of which are open until 2 a.m. Hanover itself sounds really cool, and there's free
transportation from the campus to town. There are also buses that run from campus to Boston, New York, and even Montreal. And they have a pretty great English department. Here, look. I've printed out all kinds of information for you," I added, handing him the stack of papers. "I know that it's a risk to go to Dartmouth, but it's also too good an opportunity to pass up."
Charlie took the stack of papers from me and took a swig of his beer. "You're set on this, aren't you?"
"I am. Dad, I'm going to Dartmouth. Will you please support me in that?"
"Bella…you know I'm there for you, whatever you do. I just want to know that you've thought long and hard about this…and clearly you have," he said, gesturing with my many pages of research.
"Thanks, Dad," I grinned, jumping up and hugging him quickly.
I was starting to feel like everything would finally go my way.
A/N: Didn't mean to bring anybody down with that last A/N. There is a dark side to Dartmouth - their extremely limited grad school selection!
More Q and A time. I've been asked what I majored in for undergrad - English. I started with an emphasis in literature but switched to creative writing toward the end. And I want to go to grad school for an MFA and maybe even a PhD in creative writing.