an email to mommy dearest

Hi 

I don't mind it if you are misinformed about the tuition situation, because I understand that you are blind to facts, but please stop spreading false information to others, especially very gullible people with no access to reliable information. 

For this school year, my financial aid package and national merit scholarship make my tuition, including housing, as $9,525 per quarter. This does NOT include my $3000 math scholarship that was factored into the Autumn Quarter bill.

The tuition, housing, and other official expense are, by quarter:
Autumn - $7,061
Winter - $9,575
Spring - $9,575
TOTAL: $26,211 

Please notice that this is nowhere near the $20,000+ per quarter that you have been saying, and especially not the $70,000 annual cost. In fact, your numbers are completely made up and more than double what the actual costs are. The actual tuition and fees WITHOUT any financial aid is $62,425, direct from the UChicago website. This is still well under your purported $70,000.  

Even if our financial aid quotes change for the next academic years, this does not make the facts weaker, nor does it make your fallacious arguments stronger, so please do not bring this up. 

If you are trying to make me feel guilty about my life, at least use accurate information. If you are not sure about something, do not stand so firm on it if you are challenged. These are numbers with records; there is no way that I am making this up. In any case, it is very hard to take you seriously when you insult me and belittle me using outlandish statements and falsified numbers. 

Enjoy your humble pie, even though you will barely taste it and you will certainly not digest it.

Your dearest daughter, 

T 

P.S. This message will have upset you and completely humiliated you, but it was necessary because eventually you need to be confronted with the facts rather than being treated like the three-year old you act like. I tell you all of this out of an attempt to respect you. Thank you.

It sure is a good thing she will probably have trouble understanding a lot of the subtle (or not-so-subtle) insults.  In any case, I'm gonna get it tomorrow.