<p>I think some of the advice being offered here is verging on trollery. Yes, it’s true that prestige counts less than MCATs and gpa when it comes to med school admissions - but, you have to graduate first - and, that’s where the real advantage of going to a top school comes in. With everything we have learned recently about the obstacles facing even gifted low-income students, it would seem the height of folly to forego two colleges where the graduation rate is 90% for a commuter school where the graduation rate is in the high 30s:</p>
<p><a href=“Better Colleges Failing to Lure Talented Poor - The New York Times”>Better Colleges Failing to Lure Talented Poor - The New York Times;
<p>You’ve done the work, you’ve received the fat envelope not just once - but, twice. You’ve been been awarded an aid package most middle-class families would kill for. That isn’t just looking the gift-horse in the mouth, it’s performing a complete Heimlich maneuver on it! </p>
<p>Yes, I totally get that she may not want to leave home yet. That’s where the role of parent comes in; only you know your DD. My experience is that what a seventeen year-old says now isn’t necessarily how she will feel a year from now.</p>