Depends - we don’t know where the student went or what was paid.
There are assumptions being made on both sides. And I think the right guidance is for OP to have that discussion with the family - so they can look further into the subject.
I don’t see how this is not sound guidance.
Either they’ll find out no problem. Or oh crap.
Not many people - even wealthy - can afford or are willing to pay a $250,000 a year and it’s possible.
So I’m not sure why so many are against the child raising the subject to the family to validate perspective.
There’s another thread - upper class kid from Seattle wants to ED to Northwestern.
Fantastic stats and it’s noted by others of the merit possibility the student can have. . And then the student states yea I need/want merit aid. So if that’s the case, then they can’t ED NU.
Sometimes people don’t know what they don’t know. And no one should be offended when a question is asked to ensure someone does know.
Just a reminder about what OP stated 19 hours ago. In the next couple of days, he will have a conversation with his parents about finances. In the meantime, he would like to hear more about cheaper college options.
Can we move away from whether or not to believe OP’s parents?
You need to get over this…and quick! Especially if you and/or your parents need to take loans to pay for. School is just 4 years - debt is much, much, longer.
Find the right fit for you (which includes financial fit). The school name on the diploma does not dictate your success.
“My S17 chose to attend the honors college at Auburn. His freshman roommates were class Valedictorians and national merit scholars. One of them turned down Yale ( yes, that Yale lol) because of finances. They all had an amazing undergraduate experience and landed great jobs.”
This reminds me of another student who turned down Yale for Auburn.
OP - there are rock stars at every flagship. This is likely more common than you’d expect. Consumer behavior in general - chase the money.
So when you think - you worked hard and deserve better (whatever that is). Certainly, you’re entitled - but you’d be amazed at how many do exactly that.
Absolutely apply to Alabama and Auburn. Neither have essays. Both have very early acceptances. You will get into both, and with the list you have they may be the only two.
The acceptance rate for out-of-state students for computer science at the University of Washington is 2% - lower than Harvard. Georgia Tech also has a single digit acceptance rate for out-of-state students, and CS will be on the low end of that, as do the majority of other schools on your list.
You are obviously a strong student, but there are tens of thousands of valedictorians in the country and tens of thousands of people who have perfect test scores every year. The vast majority of those people will be the ones applying to the schools on your list.
Aside from the problem of “prestige” being less about actual quality than about a positive feedback loop of demand-begetting-demand, there’s also the problem of conflating the best-known programs with the most prestigious. Most people really aren’t that well-informed about higher ed.
Even among the top schools, not all are truly well-known by the average person. My daughter was thrilled to get into Rice, for example, but she found out quickly that few people at her school had heard of it - she was asked, “Oh, is that an ag school?” and “Why is it named after food?” while her friends who got into UC Davis (a fine school, but not as hard to get into as Rice, and in point of fact an actual ag school!) were celebrated with far more excitement. This was a little deflating at the time, but did it matter in the long run? No.
And then there are programs like the UNL Raikes School. People who know, know that it is prestigious and not at all easy to get into. Given your interests, it may be a better academic fit and opportunity for you than many better-known schools, and in the long run, when it matters, it will impress. Plus it would be an incredible financial value (although of course we don’t know what we’re comparing it to, in terms of your need-based aid at elite private U’s).
So, it’s one thing to want your hard work to pay off by gaining you valuable opportunities; it’s another to be focused on measuring opportunities by how impressed mostly-uninformed people will be. Prestige isn’t meaningless, but be thoughtful about how you define it.
This is the reality. To put some quick numbers on it: there are over 20,000 high schools in the US. That’s over 20,000 class valedictorians, most of whom will likely apply to college, and many of those applying to a top college. This year Stanford accepted just over 2,000 students for the class of 2027. MIT accepted fewer than 1300. Caltech fewer than 500. Princeton fewer than 2000. There is likely some (maybe quite significant?) overlap between these schools and their pool of accepted students.
Now we’re almost through your reaches, and we still have A LOT of valedictorians without an acceptance. That’s why it is so critical to have a safety that you would be happy with. And to not assume that your safety will be filled with slackers or whatever, but with equally smart and hardworking students as yourself.
It is very hard to get into schools with very low acceptance rates. Lots of great applicants get rejected.
You should make sure you find a financial fit while also considering social and academic fit. Money matters!
You should talk to your parents but trust them once you have had the discussion. Finances are personal but make sure everyone is on the same page.
You can succeed from any school and will likely encounter some “rock stars” at any school you attend.
I will add the following which is often neglected…
Assuming it is affordable there is nothing wrong with you or your family having a preference for prestige schools. Many offer a variety of resources and opportunities that are unique to “big name” schools. You should not be made to feel embarrassed or entitled because you want to shoot high.
Go for it, your record and hard work make you a solid candidate. Don’t let others talk you out of taking your shot and wondering what if.
You’re a very strong candidate. Being first generation status will definitely help. Make sure you capitalize upon that in the essays. CS is a field where prestige doesn’t matter that much. Your aptitude will matter a lot more. Most companies will hire based on coding skills and interviews.
If Cornell is your ED1 choice, then pair this with as many EA schools as possible (MIT, GT, Michigan). Caltech used to have EA, but has now moved to SCEA. Then if you get deferred in the first early round, I like your idea of saving ED2 for WashU. Then for the RD round apply to the rest of your choices.
Just make sure you run the financial aid numbers on all of your early choices. You don’t want to be in a situation where you are accepted but your parents can’t afford.
If you haven’t already, you might consider UMD’s Robert H. Smith School of Business and the Information Systems (edited)Major and the QUEST program for multidisciplinary interests. https://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/quest
When families own a business, then the IRS allows a number of business expenses as deductions against income and your parents don’t have to pay taxes on them. However, those same deductions are often not valid deductions for financial aid, and you would have to add them back in when you fill out the CSS Profile which would reduce your financial aid. By running the NPC twice, you can get a sense of the difference.
To get an idea of the most generous need-based financial aid you would be eligible for, you can “test” your data with Net Price Calculator from one of the more generous colleges. Usually that’s one of the Ivies, or MIT or Stanford. You can do this regardless of whether or not you plan to apply to one of these colleges. If the NPC asks about home equity, then switch to a different NPC because most of the more generous need-based colleges no longer consider home equity in your primary residence.
Again, this is just so you can see the most need-based financial aid you might be entitled to. All colleges use their own formulas and this will NOT tell you how much you could receive elsewhere. But it will hopefully give you a ballpark of the MOST grants and aid that you would be eligible for at the most generous colleges. All others would give you less, unless you also qualify for merit aid (which is not need-aware).
But I’m in the camp that if your parents have already paid for a sibling’s college and are planning on paying for/helping them with medical school, then they probably have a very good idea of college costs and their ability to afford them and if they say dont’ worry, you probably don’t have to worry.
The thing is that my parents did not have to pay for my older siblings college, the college was paying her. So they do not completely know the finance stuff yet. Still, they keep telling me to get into the schools before you worry about costs but they have not realized that I am trying to ED as well.
“But I’m in the camp that if your parents have already paid for a sibling’s college and are planning on paying for/helping them with medical school, then they probably have a very good idea of college costs and their ability to afford them and if they say dont’ worry, you probably don’t have to worry.”
I disagree wholeheartedly with this.
OP - where did your sibling go to college? And if it was a private, were they on scholarship?
Edited - I see you just answered.
OP - why not just show them the Cornell cost of attendance, let them know it’ll be 5% higher when you go and have 5% increases each year, and see what they say?
Right now it’s $88150. So you’re looking at $375K-ish plus let’s say.
btw - it was Cornell that flat out told me, if you have $1 million in assets, regardless of income, no one is going to give you a nickel. That was three years ago so whether or not that’s true today, I don’t know - but if your parents have assets and income, you’re likely a full pay.