Help, I feel resentment towards a friend

[chell]

Hello,

in the past couple of weeks I have a feeling of growing resentment towards a friend of mine. Here's why:

My friend and I just graduated from high school and are now moving on to uni (different universities). I graduates top of my school. He did okay-ish. Not really bad but not great either (pretty average). Right from the start it was clear to me that I would not be able to go to any university I wanted even though I had the grades to back it up. The reason is that I cannot afford to get my own place, let alone live in another town. Now, I'm not from a "poor family", my dad makes decent money but we (3 people) live on his income alone. My parents are able to pay my tuition fees. That I am very grateful for. Leaving uni without any debts is a good thing as I'll be able to start saving for retirement etc. immediately.

Now, my friend doesn't have the grades to get into a really, really good university but he had a choice of universities to go to - simply because he's able to live anywhere he wants to (financially). This is not because he's from a "rich family" - I don't know their situation exactly but I do know that they're receiving some kind of social security - even though they own a house here and (possibly) another house in another country.

So I talked to my friend today about how he's gonna afford living in another town etc. and he told me that he qualifies for state support (because of the family's lack of income). Half of that state support is a loan to him that he'll have to pay back after university but there's no interest. The other half is a gift from the state. While the amount he'll be receiving is substantial it's not enough to make a living. So he said that he'll receive some savings his brother has accumulated and that his father will financially support him as well ( I do not know where the money is coming from ). He also said that if push came to shove he will receive more assistance from the state to help pay his rent. Because my friend's parents are from another country he also qualifies for scholarships based on his ethnicity alone.

So, the bottom line is that my friend (who did not get top grades) had a choice of universities because of extensive support (even though his family's technically less well off than my family) from the state etc. while I did not have a choice even though I had TOP grades. I might get a very small scholarship but to do so I need to go through another selection process.

This situation has let to a situation where I perceive him to be a parasite (using state money to fund his studies. Oh and he's planning to leave this country after getting his degree...) and at an unfair advantage. He's moving away soon and while I feel a bit sad about that I'm also really angry at him and whenever we talk I think it shows. I didn't chose to feel this way..

So I'll be going to the somewhat local university, having to commute there while he's getting a place of his own in another city, probably near his university etc.

I'd appreciate any thoughts/wisdom/insight!