Orson,
I, too, hope that I wasn't one who offended. I think that this thread took the direction it did for two reasons:
1) people don't know where you live or what the passion area is so they are at a loss to try to help you figure out either of the following: are there ways to get the cost down for this option, are there alternative options that might cost less?
2) some of us, too, have not been able to do things that would be wonderful for our kids but are trying to give alternative options that might be good enough if not great.
My dd13 is in the second spot. She's wanted to be a marine mammologist since she was three. She's had qualifying scores for Duke's Marine Lab program since she was 11, but we simply cannot afford the $3K-ish cost without giving up something else that our family needs more like clothes, a car that runs, etc. We are also not so low income (like free lunch qualifying) that she gets major financial assistance. We can get partial scholarships at times, but even half off is too much to justify.
It seems like you're in the spot of either needing to find a way to get the cost down or finding an alternative. Unfortunately none of us has a good idea on how to find a funder right now, but maybe we can help with alternatives. I do understand if you aren't comfortable putting your location or the specifics of the trip out there on the internet, though.
