<p>When it comes to college - as a parent; will full scholarships to reputable 4 year institutions (that may not necessarily be top tier LACs or Ivy Leagues) always trump other options, regardless of other factors (prestige, location, general "wow" factor, etc.)? </p>
<p>My daughter got a full ride to a small LAC and she turned it down. It was too small and a poor fit. She ended up at Oberlin which she still doesn’t view as prestigious but is a great fit. They also threw her a bit of merit. She loves Oberlin although her first choice was Brandeis. Even as a NMF they gave her $0 merit. I know she liked the recognition Brandeis had.</p>
<p>“trump other options, regardless of other factors” is a pretty broad statement.</p>
<p>I guess the answer is, “It depends.”</p>
<p>Not in the case of my D. She was a National Merit Scholarship finalist, thus got full scholarship to many universities. But she decided to go somewhere else instead.</p>
<p>Of course if we hadn’t been able to afford “somewhere else,” then the full scholarship would have “trumped all else.”</p>
<p>Net price is obviously a limiting factor for a lot of students and parents. However, it is generally not the only factor in choosing a college – academic suitability (e.g. courses and majors that the student may choose are offered) is also important (if the college is not academically suitable, there is no point in going there at all). Obviously, being able to get admitted is another factor.</p>
<p>Other factors can be used to help select between the list of colleges that meet the above constraints.</p>
<p>“When it comes to college - as a parent; will full scholarships to reputable 4 year institutions (that may not necessarily be top tier LACs or Ivy Leagues) always trump other options, regardless of other factors (prestige, location, general “wow” factor, etc.)?”</p>
<p>It would seem that that answer would vary parent-to-parent and financial-situation-to-financial-situation, no? For me and mine, no, we worked hard to ensure that they could go to school wherever they wanted to without cost being a consideration. But what does that have to do with what some other parent, in other financial circumstances, might choose?</p>
<p>Taking a full scholarship to a place that does not meet your academic needs is a false economy. Prestige, “wow” factor etc. may not be all that important, but if the place lacks programs or resources in a key area of interest, then why bother?</p>
<p>Re Brandeis vs. Oberlin: it would never occur to me to consider the first more prestigious than the second. They are both good and reputable places but Brandeis hardly blows Oberlin out of the water, prestige-wise. Maybe it’s a regional thing.</p>
<p>Not for my kids. But the reasons they chose the colleges they did weren’t any of the reasons you stated (prestige, location, general “wow” factor). They picked their schools primarily because they felt very much at home with the other students they met there, because the schools were particularly strong in their areas of study, because of some other advantages of the locations of their schools (one in a consortium of colleges and the other with some internship proximity), and because we felt we could cover their EFC at that college.</p>
<p>For people who can’t or don’t want to pay their EFC, money probably trumps for them. if you can’t pay for it, you really don’t have the ability to choose based on those other factors. But if you can cover your EFC, a lot of people see the value in something besides the cheapest pricetag. Do you always buy the cheapest car available? Probably not, there are certain features you value and you pay accordingly. College is like that, too.</p>
<p>Our S was offered a full tuition and more at an OOS public (that he had no interest in) and 1/2 tuition at a private U that he was interested in. We let him attend and graduate because we could afford it–if we couldn’t, it would have been a different search and conversation. No regrets here from S or us. </p>
<p>D got no merit offers anywhere but we still supported her choice of private U, where she got her BA. </p>
<p>My niece took a full ride to a school she would not have attended without the full ride. Her family could not afford to send her away to college. She is blooming where she is planted.</p>
<p>It is nice to have a choice … I was fortunate enough to be able to pay our EFC … but for those who don’t have that choice (or choose not to spend their money), the full ride is a darn good thing.</p>
<p>Agree with many others that it depends on the individual family finances. For families that cannot afford their EFC, a full ride or even full tuition IS the elusive financial aid fairy. </p>
<p>I suppose my post was geared more towards the situation where you would be deciding between loans to a dream school or a full freight scholarship to another school - I realize that if you are able to comfortably afford any school, then this situation wouldn’t necessarily apply. </p>
<p>How much in loans! In my opinion the Direct Loan amount is,the max loan that should be taken for college. If you’re thinking it’s worth it to have your parents take or cosign $200,000 in loans for a dream school…I have to say…I don’t think so.</p>
<p>Personally, I have issues with the “dream school” concept. I thin all students should be applying to a variety of,school’s ALL of,which they would be happy to attend.</p>
<p>If a school is truly NOT affordable, the school needs to be dropped,from consideration, in my opinion.</p>
<p>Loans which exceed that of the government’s and require private lenders type loans - perhaps 80k+. Seems like a reality for a lot of the students I go to school with. They get so caught up with the idea of some school, whether it be because the school is an academic powerhouse… or a notorious party school; and then they blindly accept the fact that attending that school will entail 6 figure debt. </p>
<p>My D chose between a $40K per year to a top 50 LAC and a $10K per year scholarship to another private ranked about 20 spots higher. We could afford the more expensive option without loans (although not easily) and allowed her to choose which school she liked best even though we both agreed she could be happy at both and the quality of the education/experience was probably extremely similar. She chose the more expensive option and may have to take out the federal unsubsidized loans. Would D have had the same choice if more loans were on the table? No way. </p>
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<p>Part of this may also be past reputation in certain areas. I recalled hearing from some math/CS folks including a few HS teachers/Profs that Brandeis’ math department rivaled Harvard’s sometime in the late '60s/early '70s. </p>
<p>However, while Brandeis was well respected among teachers/parents when I attended a public magnet HS during the early-mid '90s, it certainly didn’t outshine Oberlin unless you were highly interested in Near East Studies or you were an aspiring pre-med. </p>
<p>Incidentally, I was also admitted to Brandeis with a sizable scholarship package. However, Oberlin not only gave me much more money so the scholarship package covered the vast majority of my undergrad expenses, but also had a much stronger program for my academic interests. </p>
<p>I think of Oberlin as more prestigious than Brandeis.</p>
<p>This thread quickly derailed to an Oberlin versus Brandeis discussion, lol. Whoops.</p>
<p>I think it depends largely on geographic location - in the Northeast, Brandeis carries about as much prestige in its name as Boston College or the smaller, private LACs like Amherst or Middlebury. Oberlin isn’t as largely known - though my Latin teacher went to Oberlin as a classics major and continued her education at Harvard after graduating - one of the most intelligent women I have ever met. </p>
<p>"Loans which exceed that of the government’s and require private lenders type loans - perhaps 80k+. Seems like a reality for a lot of the students I go to school with. They get so caught up with the idea of some school, whether it be because the school is an academic powerhouse… or a notorious party school; and then they blindly accept the fact that attending that school will entail 6 figure debt.</p>
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<p>Oh gosh. These students are making a very regrettable mistake. in such a case, definitely take the route that won’t require extra debt beyond Fed Stafford loans…and if much of those can also be avoided, to that as well.</p>
<p>It really troubles me that so many of those signing loans have NO real idea what the debt means and how long it will dog them (and probably their loved ones as well). I read so many young people (and some older ones) encouraging the “dream school,” even to the tune of 6 figure loans and it is unconscionable to me. I don’t care whether the kiddo SAYS s/he will major in engineering or some other lucrative and/or high demand and high paying field–it’s just too much debt and will really limit choices.</p>
<p>So many kids and families don’t thoroughly explore the lower cost options and dismiss it out of hand when there really often are more affordable options that can get the student an education WITHOUT the mountain of debt. Sometimes an in-state public is cheaper than a full tuition where the student will have to dorm. It’s really important to figure out the TOTAL cost to the student and family, after deducting all GRANTS and SCHOLARSHIPS. It’s also important to consider the likelihood of keeping the same or more funding for all 4+ years of college. So many times, it seems like the family is putting ALL their resources toward the first year of college without any coherent plan of what happens for the following years and any other kids.</p>
<p>80k does seem to be the going amount of loans among the folks we know who have the dream school bug. Literally, dozens of them. I would have to disagree with many folks here - I think 27k is too much for a student, particularly one who will graduate without a defined skill set (e.g. business or English as opposed to nursing or engineering). I wouldn’t want to foist that amount of undergraduate debt on my child if I could avoid it. I would put 20k as the tippy top amount I’d put on my child. And truth be told I’d be very hard pressed to allow even that. I’d strongly encourage my child to take the free ride. I might feel differently if my kids had some driving ambition or very focused ability that could best be served by a single school. </p>
<p>As it is we don’t qualify for financial aid and we’ve put a limit on what we’re willing (and truthfully able) to pay and so while our kids will likely get into all the schools to which they apply, their real admission/denial will come with the merit scholarship award. Within our very strict budget, the decision about schools is entirely up to them. However, they need to understand that things like cool trips abroad are coming out of that budget and so it is to their advantage to keep the school’s price tag low. We’d very much like our children to graduate debt free and at this point are not allowing them to take out any student loans.</p>