<p>We are an upper/middle class family who strongly believe in the value of an education. We are sending both of our daughters to a highly-regarded prep school and we have sacrificed to pay the tuition which now runs $25k/year per student. We have also sacrificed to save money for their college so that they would be able to select the best college for them without regard to cost. Aside from sending our daughters to a private school, we live a very modest lifestyle. </p>
<p>Despite some very enticing athletic scholarship offers and the promise of substantial academic merit scholarships at schools she would consider "safeties", we encouraged my oldest daughter to apply ED to her dream school where she was accepted. We are thrilled despite the fact that we will be paying full tuition to a school Forbes has named one of the top 10 most expensive. This will be an immense sacrifice for us and the more I hear about all the Financial Aid and Merit scholarships that everyone is receiving the more I question our sanity. </p>
<p>It would be deeply comforting to me to hear from some other parents who are paying full tuition to have their child attend their dream school.</p>
<p>We are paying almost full cost for our DD to attend college. The school is fulfilling everything we had hoped for...both for our daughter and us (as parents). Yes, folks think we are nuts as DD had some much less expensive options. BUT life isn't all about having money in the savings account, or being able to buy new things whenever. We are able and willing to make ends meet on a shoestring (which is what we have to do after paying her college bills). We are happy and comfortable with the decision. </p>
<p>If we had intended to put financial restrictions on either of our children (we didn't), we would have done so prior to application time. You are giving your kids a wonderful gift. If you are happy with your ability to do so, don't second guess yourselves.</p>
<p>My D accepted a full tuition + scholarship over her dream school 2 years ago. She had a few other reasons to go to the scholarship school, but the scholarship was very seductive. She went for three semesters and transfered to her dream school for Spring '08.She is much happier, has made many friends and feels like she has found her place. Oh, yeah, we're paying full price since this school gives no merit aid to transfers and we don't qualify for need-based aid. </p>
<p>Is it worth it? Yes, for her to be so happy in such a short period of time. We feel that she is getting much more, both in the classroom and outside of it.</p>
<p>We are paying full freight at an Ivy. My D is extremely happy with it and so are we. Someone started a thread asking how much everyone here is paying, and a surprising number said they were paying 100%. (It was surprising to me, anyway, because CC gives me the impression that everyone here has brilliant kids who get merit scholarships and no one pays full price).</p>
<p>If I had the money, my son would be going to his number one choice without question. At this point, however, we have to decide based on financial issues.
Congrats to you and your husband on being able to give your children what most people would love to do. I personally don't think you are crazy at all.</p>
<p>We decided long ago that we put a premium on education, forgoing fancy cars and annual destination vacations. We offered our children pretty much free reign to find places that suited them academically and socially.
Fortunately, 2 of 3 earned merit money at the places they chose. But we were prepared to pay full price, if needed.</p>
<p>I would not second guess your sanity. After visiting many colleges, the college my daughter will be going to was so much her, I could not imagine telling her no, after letting her put it on her list. If you are willing to sacrifice, as you said, and your daughter was able to get in her dream school, I say, congratulations. She worked hard for it, as did you.</p>
<p>Most students at the top private LACs pay full tuition. For example, at Bucknell University about 48% receive financial aid, at Washington & Lee about 34% receive financial aid, at William & Mary (a publicly supported university) approx. 27% and at Villanova approx. 45% receive financial aid. The amount and type of aid varies according to each student's financial situation. Part of the financial aid received is usually in the form of a loan. Bucknell's average financial aid package is near $24,000 per year consisting of loans and grants. Washington & Lee averages about $28,000 per year for financial aid packages. Superior athletic ability can earn an applicant an athletic scholarship at Division I schools, but can only help get one admitted to a reach school for non-Division I A & AA schools. In light of your earlier posts, a 1230/1600 SAT I student has an uphill battle getting admitted to schools like Bucknell, Washington & Lee, and William & Mary without a significant hook. Your daughter's "hook" is/was her tennis ability. Under these circumstances, paying full costs for a dream school of this caliber is reasonable so long as it is financially feasible for the family. Of course, it depends on which schools offered athletic scholarships and how those schools match up with your daughter's wants & needs from a school. In short, students receiving financial aid may only be getting about a 25% true price break when loans are subtracted out, and less than half of the students receive any aid at all.</p>
<p>We kind of draw the line: we will pay full tuition for top schools. Most of them do not have merit aid. And I understand why these schools are worth paying for.
Beyond that we are ready to pay an equivalent of the cost of our state schools (around 20K). Academically I see two reasonable options in-state. If DD prefers another school (private or out-of-state) she should try to get considerable merit aid and consider earning some money or getting some loans. We probably will add a little bit to the set limit, but we are not ready to pay extra 25K a year without a strong reason.</p>
<p>We agreed w/ citimom on this - it was her job to get into the top school, and if she did we'd figure out how to pay for it. FWIW - I find the stats of % receiving FA very misleading - if you have an EFC of 99,999 and take out a small unsubsidized Stafford loan you fall into the "receiving aid" category.</p>
<p>We paid nearly all of our kid's tuition and fees but they both are taking the unsubsidized Stafford loans, and they are responsible for paying them back. I think it is good for them to have some ownership of their education.</p>
<p>Thank you for all of your thoughtful responses. Each and every one of you have made me feel better about our decision. It's great to have such support!</p>
<p>Oh, yes, like rlm919, our kids were/are expected to take out the unsubsidized Stafford loans.
The other piece of our agreement...kids had to continually progress toward an expected 4 year graduation. Failure to continue resulted in them owing us everything we had invested to date.
Results so far: 1 finished in 4.5 years with 2 degrees, 1 finished in 4 years with 1 degree; both employed and making regular loan payments. The last one is a 2nd semester freshman.</p>
<p>thanks tennismom02 for starting this post. I have finally found others who are in the same situation as we are. Our S is a freshman at a top 10 private college too. After S was accepted last year and all the excitement wore off, darling H and I went through a bit of shock of wondering how we were going to pay for this dream. Our S has grown so much over these past 6 months and I have never seen him so happy and excited about everything school wise and life in general. We definately made the right choice and can't imagine him attending anywhere's else. Like Thumper1's post it has been well worth living on a shoestring. Rim919 we did the same thing with our S and I think it does make him have a vested interest in his academic career.</p>
<p>I feel your pain. Before my daughter chose a school, we gave her the option of going to a school which offered her a 25K scholarship per year and told her we would help pay for medical school. She decided on an ivy for which we are paying the full cost but with the stipulation that afterwards she is on her own.</p>
<p>We are paying full price at an Ivy for our younger son, and we paid full price at an LAC for our older son. When I toured the Ivy with S2, the thought popped into my head: "Now, this is worth $200,000!" I feel great about my investment.</p>
<p>Besides, what else am I gonna do with $200,000? :)</p>
<p>My d is a sr in hs and I am pretty sure next year we will be paying full costs of 40k+ per year. She will take out some loans, and it's going to be tough all around.</p>
<p>Around here, I've learned not to comment about college costs. If I do, somebody inevitably "educates" me about our great community college - as if that were an equivalent experience. And then I end up feeling defensive because I do not think the local cc is a satisfactory option for my 2200+ SAT d. </p>
<p>I like this thread - it is nice to know there are people in the same situation.</p>
<p>We too are paying full freight at an Ivy for my S, a freshman. I think it is not at all unusual. I also think it is worth it just in terms of the people he is meeting, the educational options in front of him, and his exposure to a world so much bigger than he would have seen from some other schools. I also just feel that this was the right school for him, despite the merit money offered elsewhere.</p>
<p>Reading each of your stories and insights has really helped me put everything in perspective and assured me that our decision is the best for our family. </p>
<p>If reading these replies is helpful to others, perhaps I should post this topic on a broader CC discussion group... CC Cafe or Parents Cafe.</p>
<p>I had three kids to educate. One is done, one graduates in May, and the last has three years to go. All expensive, private schools. Full freight was not an option offered to them by us. They attend(ed) schools one step down in prestige on nearly full rides. It would have taken me a really long time to earn $600,000 for full freight, and that's where I drew that line. No regrets. None whatsoever.</p>