Did anyone's child choose a free ride over a "more prestigious" school?

Parents Forum
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<p>DS1 choose the money route (academics) vs. the more prestigious and/or D1 scholarship. He choose a top LAC in MN, where he plays football D3 and his money isn't linked to his ability to play (in case he was injured or ended up sick of playing). And he is thrilled. He has no loans, all scholarships and merit grants, (tuition, room, board, books, travel, a little over $35K a year) but did ask and receive an on-campus job, to pay for extras. He works in the office of the president and helps write the blurbs for the college guide books.</p>

<p>And he loves it. He loves the atmosphere, the kids, professors, his coaches and teammates, the area and the feeling of not having to worry about money. The only drawback so far is the very reason they offered the money. His academics are easy. In mine, and surprisingly, his opinion too easy. He is a physics major and entered the school with many units due to AP and previous college classes. BUT he looked at it as an opportunity and has now decided to double major. Math and science has always been second-nature to him so he thought to explore. He is taking some more writing classes (creative, as in novels) and his English mentor/prof is thrilled. So he does writing stuff and his science lab/geeky stuff and is happy. He was working on the control pad for a personal jet pack and is starting a collection of short stories, while still playing football.</p>

<p>If he had gone to a big D1 football school as he was scouted to do, his academics would have taken a back seat. If he had gone to the prestigious engineering school he had been accepted to he wouldn't be playing football or writing. The school he picked allowed for a liberal arts education with a strong math/science background with much individualized attention (and great food) and very important in our family, not worrying about money at all.</p>

<p>He loves it. Just loves it. He left early August (football practice) and first time home was 12/22. I missed him desperately, but he has done well. Very well. He says the prez of the school loves slurpies as much as he does, they snack and eat lunch together when he works. He misses his family but can't wait to get back on 1/2. I only hope his younger brothers and sisters find such a great fit, especially with the free-ride.</p>

<p>We will find out soon, DD#2 is a senior, DS#2 is a junior, and DS#3 a freshman. Oldest DD#1 is a second semester junior at our local 4 year as a animal science major (pre-vet) and just made dean's list again. She too went with the free-ride. She is applying for a large private scholarship that will cover her last year of undergrad (in addition to her current aid) and her vet school tuition. Since she didn't have the money thing hanging over her head she was able to choose different extra-curricular activities to help her vet school application and scholarship application.</p>

<p>In retrospect, the oldests' made their decisions based on money, all the extras just fell into place after doing some background research. It worked for our family so far, hope the plan continues to work!!!</p>

<p>Kat (yeah! my kitten found his way home)</p>

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<p>By the way, I chose UCs over Harvard many years ago. Wasn't finances, though, it was wanting to stay in California.</p>

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<p>graduate school is defintitely up to them.
I also told my daughter that we would pay for 4 years of school tops ( this includes her financial contribution of loans- grants-scholarships- and summer job)
She took us a little too seriously, and when she was struggling academically, she ignored warning signs or at least ignored them till it was too late to drop ochem.
So she is taking a year off and retaking Ochem at a public school. </p>

<p>Not bad though considering. After spending a week with folks who have taken many routes through careers and college, several very accomplished and have made a name for themselves, but all gainfully employed in their fields, none of them took the straight 4 years then BA either.
But while we haven't put up a lot of money compared to some, we have tried to be supportive in finding satisfying and lucrative summer jobs and alternative ways to cover loans.( Americorps)
I also should add that our kids are very cognisant of expenses.
Our college daughter only applied to one private school and it was only because the aid package was so affordable that she could attend. She would have been perfectly happy opting for instate public if it had not been ( and we would have too)</p>

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<p>Sac, how expensive is the life of a Columbia student? What's your expectation for how much he should save for expenses each year?</p>

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<p>My daughter chose a full tuition Presidential scholarship at Boston College over MIT, UPenn Honors and Brown PLME (their 8 year medical program). She had applied to BC as a safety school and did not seriously consider it until she heard that she had been awarded one of their 15 merit-based scholarships. The other schools offered only needs-based aid which we did not qualify for.</p>

<p>We left the choice completely up to her. My husband and I had told her that we would pay for four years of school. So if we paid for undergrad, she would be responsible for med school and so would have more than $200k of debt after 8 years at Brown. But if she received a scholarship for undergrad, we would pay for med school and she would be debt free. She agonized over her decision and changed her mind continually during the month of April. For someone who had always been decisive and unemotional, she became a different person and became very indecisive and extremely emotional. In the end, she chose BC specifically because of the scholarship and the perks that go with being a Presidential scholar, like an all-expenses paid trip to France for a month sophomore summer and a junior summer internship anyplace in the world -- fully paid for.</p>

<p>I worried about her choice over the summer since it was a pragmatic decision and not a decision based on where she really wanted to go if money were no object. I am happy to report that after the first semester, she is very happy at BC. The program is everything she expected it to be. Her classes tend to be pretty small -- she absolutely loves her Honors program curriculum-- only 13 students in the class discussing the Great Books. And she is already doing biology research in a professor's lab as a freshman.</p>

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<p>So, what schools do you recommend for someone looking to get money, and yet not go to a state school.</p>

<p>What about ideas such as Franklin and Marshall, Whitman, Layfayette, Hamilton, Lehigh, etc.</p>

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<p>Originaloog, I've read this thread with interest (I'm a longtime lurker, and finally posting!) as my son is also strongly considering RPI because of the money they are offering and the strength of their Mechanical Engineering program, although he could well go elsewhere. I'm very happy to hear that your son is as happy as he is at RPI. If you don't mind, where did they come up with the $25K for your son? We already have the $15K in hand from the Medal (which I am assuming you have) but what else did he receive? I'm wondering if my son is in line for some other money, possibly a leadership scholarship (team captain, founded a school club). As you put it, the "bargain price" for what you get is very appealing, and he loves the school. This is a great thread.</p>

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<p>I suppose I am not the most appropriate poster here, as my family could feasibly afford to pay tuition at a "more prestigious school", however my daughter did have a strange debate on her hands. She was accepted with a full ride to University of Chicago and instead chose to attend Boston College where they didn't offer her money. It was a tough decision, but it came down to the fit, and to her, the more prestigious school was not the best fit.</p>

<p>That might have been confusing? Oh, and I'm on a posting tear again as I just returned from a week with the in-laws and need to vent.</p>

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<p>Futureadcom, everyone's experience is appropriate here. I'm glad you posted. The more information the better is my motto.
My first kid, I paid up. I'm not so sure I will do this with my second kid. That's why I started this thread. I want to read about other people's experiences and why they decided to pay up or not.</p>

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<p>I chose a half-tuition merit scholarship at Smith over full price at Northwestern (Medill School) and Emory, and over a full tuition, room, board, fees, books, etc. scholarship at SUNY Albany, which would have allowed me to get a ba and an mpp in 4 years. </p>

<p>I'm now a junior, and I think choosing the middle ground financially and academically was good for me--I feel challenged but not lost, and I can't imagine my life without some of the people I've met and experiences I've had. It's not incidental that I ended up at a LAC and a women's college and am thrilled there--if I had it to do over again I would have applied to more places like Smith.</p>

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<p>dstark- I think I would have a problem paying for one and then not for the next.
One thing I do notice that the kids who are paying some of their own way are more likely to take school seriously. I know this is a broad generalization.</p>

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<p>mom60, It's a slight problem, but I have talked to my son about this. Of course, what I might say and what he hears may be two different things. One thing about my son is he understands money much better than his older sister.</p>

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<p>I chose GWU over John Hopkins, BC, Emory, Vandy and others due to $, but I think "chose" is an inappropriate word, because I didn't have the choice at all to go to JHU, BC, etc. without financial aid.</p>

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<p>I would say the same about my son. He is much more practical and frugal with both his and my cash. He would choose the full ride but try to make some financial arrangement where we split the difference.
When he was little boy he would offer to not go to the county fair for a cash payment of 10 bucks. He knew I hated the fair and it was a good deal for both of us since he really didn't mind not going.</p>

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<p>A kid at my school did Rutgers over Yale because of full ride at Rutgers... Now that is a crazy one...</p>

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<p>Mom60, I read on another thread that your son is a poker player. Mine too. If my son chooses a cheaper school, he is also going to try and make a financial arrangement.</p>

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<p>Lighthouse, our son also got the $15k for the RM plus a Legacy scholarship from the Alumni Assn(wife is a grad) and Leadership Award which came out of the blue.</p>

<p>BTW, because he knew that he would be applying and giving RPI serious consideration if the dollars added up, he asked his GC if he would put in a good word for him with the RM committee. The year before they had not named anyone(an oversight???) and it had gone unused the year before too. He was not the best math/science student in his class but probably among the top 5. His GC was happy to do this for him and the outcome was a good one. The top 4 in his class went to NYU, Cornell, Colgate and RISD.</p>

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<p>Projecting the substance of this thread into the probable near future - </p>

<p>This difficult choice may affect my son's decision. It's probable that he will receive a full tuition offer or free ride from the state u and similar offers from at least two other colleges. He applied to 5 schools which give only need-based aid, 4 where the merit aid is excellent (1/2 to full) if you grab the brass ring, and 3 where full tuition is likely. </p>

<p>The need-based aid schools might decide to throw us a partially chewed bone (the middle class hyenas slavering over the lion's kill), but it probably wouldn't make much of a dent in the projected $193,000 cost of the non-merit aid schools - (42K * 1.05 for three more years). </p>

<p>Since he is a flexible and generally calm individual, he is not head over heels about any particular school (a useful trait right about now). He has been accepted to one of his preferred choices, and if he decides to attend, it will be a 0% aid choice (and/but) a truly expansive experience. </p>

<p>The basic questions that I'm wrestling with, in advance of knowing the final landscape of choices, are these: 1) 'what is the overall lifetime value (tangible and intangible) of an exceptional educational experience versus the cost impacts' 2) 'how much is it worth to you (the parent) to assist your child in achieving an optimal education that will fully support development of his intellectual potential?' and 3) the underlying question, i.e., 'what is the God's-eye perspective from which you (the parent) should make (your part of) this decision?'</p>

<p>For my part, this looming decision illustrates the down side of my education (degrees in philosophy) and profession (25 years in an analytical career) - there are way, way too many angles from which to ponder these questions! If he decides to go for the $$$, a burden will be lifted, but at the same time I will regret his missed opportunity (Marlon Brando - "I coulda been a contenda!" Jimmy Carter - "Why Not the Best?" - you get the idea). Although the often-expressed cliche "nice problem to have" applies, it is causing angst in the parental unit. As one sage was fond of saying, "happiness is the interval between two miseries."</p>

<p>Ok, that's enough quotation marks and parentheses for one post! I'd be very interested in hearing how you, as parents, have handled or are handling this, as it were, 'spiritual' / 'parenting values' aspect of college choices.</p>

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<p>Stacy, so you're a Zollman. Okay...I'm impressed. And I mean that seriously.</p>

<p>Given your choices, I think you did extremely well. Of course, I've become enough of a Smith honk that I'd pick it for many students over Northwestern straight up, Medill being one of the probable exceptions.</p>

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<p>Finances were a big concern at our home last year. In our case, we told our daughter early on (sophomore year) that we could not afford a big-name school that did not offer merit aid. We could afford to send her to our state school (her reluctant choice would have been UT) but that anything more costly would require merit aid. Therefore, she focused all her energy on applying to a mix of safeties, reaches, and matches that offered aid. Since she was our first to apply, we really did not know how competitive she would be. Plus, the vast majority of students at her school attend in-state publics, so her counselor was inexperienced in the ins and outs of merit aid too.</p>

<p>She was very lucky -- she is attending her first-choice school (UChicago) on a full-tuition merit scholarship. We did not receive any need-based aid. If UChicago had not worked out financially, she was prepared to attend Emory, where she also received a full-tuition scholarship. In addition, she received full tuition at UNC-CH and Tulane. She received tuition and room at Fordham and Loyola New Orleans. Washington U in St. Louis offered a little more than 1/2 tuition. (She was less fortunate at NYU, which offered $8,000 per year, Davidson, $5,000 per year, and -- ironically -- UT, which only offered her about $1,000 per year.) In the end, it cost us less to send her to UChicago than to UT. </p>

<p>One benefit of talking about our finances early was that it prompted her to work hard to reach her goals. She really wanted to go to UChicago and put her heart and soul into making it happen. However, she believes that ultimately she could have been happy at any of the schools on her list. It's worth noting, however, that the same technique isn't working as well on our son. He keeps saying that he wants to earn a scholarship to a "good" (read: out-of-state and in a big city) school, but he doesn't seem to have the same drive his sister had. That's OK -- all kids are different -- but he will find out in a few years that we were serious about not paying $40,000-plus per year in college fees!</p>