@saintfan You would have to understand my sister to understand what happened. My parents did tell her that they couldn’t afford those schools. She was stubborn and applied anyway. That wouldn’t have been that big of an issue if she had applied to more realistic schools in addition to them, but she wouldn’t hear of that. Literally, she would not apply to safeties. She was an NMS and my mom knew she could have found colleges that gave good scholarships that my parents may have been able to afford or at least work out some deal with small loans or work-study or something, but she wouldn’t look at state universities because she felt they were beneath her.
But that is less of a story about colleges than it is about my sister. She had some serious issues with entitlement (not just regarding colleges, it was far more than that) that eventually severed her from our family. No one could reason with her. I do not blame my parents for the college dilemma because they made it clear that things would not work out financially for the schools she insisted on and suggested other options. But she wouldn’t listen or search out alternative options. My parents talked. She didn’t listen.