<p>I think that the wedding and visits are small sacrifices for college choice.</p>
<p>I agree. Int’l travel for relative’s weddings and visits are a luxury and should be set aside to pay for college.</p>
<p>That’s not my issue. The family income is very modest. it wouldn’t take much (rental vacancies) or some other issues to upset the apple cart. As someone who owns rentals, I am well aware how finances can swing wildly at times…especially over a 4 year period.</p>
<p>There are certain majors that just don’t need a pricier education. If money isn’t an issue, then super. </p>
<p>Frankly, I think Whitman is tooooo small. Too much like a high school. Those kinds of schools can be very cliquey (sp?) - especially for girls.</p>
<p>I know what you are saying Mom2, but the family has plans on spending the money anyways. It’s not like they are invading a sacrosanct retirement account or taking out loans that would be an issue later. THe stuff they are putting off are not things that are health related either. If mom were on the list for a kidney transplant and if there is a relative dying overseas that the family feels they must visit, it’s a whole other story. It 's a matter of trading one luxury for another, and I happen to personally believe that the trade off would be more than worth it. For me, giving my child that choice in colleges is where I would much rather spend that extra money. But if it meant digging into financial accounts earmarked for future solvency and issues, that is a whole other story, as would be borrowing over certain amounts.</p>
<p>Each year your need is re-evaluated based on your family’s information and the COA so if we assume that the parent contribution stayed about the same, your scholarship should increase to help cover the higher cost of tuition, room, board, etc. We typically offer a combination of additional scholarship and loan to off-set increases to the COA. In your particular situation, you will receive 80% of your need in scholarship, with loans and work study added to help cover your remaining need. </p>
<p>That’s what I received from the email I got, so I’m not sure if they increase loans or not every year.
But I love the small class sizes, and the connection you get from having small professors. Everyone is a lot closer, and the environment there is wonderful. I was flown in by whitman to attend their admitted students day. </p>
<p>I don’t know. I would really like to go, but I can see so many things going wrong in the future, such as health problems (they’re completely fine now, but you never know), losing job, the expected amount to be going up, etc…</p>
<p>And being an actuary is just an option, I know that majoring in economics and minoring in chinese offers a lot of options in the finance and business world. I have also heard that employers like the liberal arts background that some students have.</p>
<p>Thanks for everyone’s help! I have decided to go to Oregon State, since they have a actuarial science program there, and it’s an option for me to take. Plus I wouldn’t be raking in debt, and I wouldn’t have to scramble to find a summer job.</p>
<p>I think keeping your options open by not saddling yourself with debt when there are other good options on the table is a very good choice. This gives you summers to do enrichment activities like internships, shadowing, travel, volunteering, or other pursuits you and/or your family may prefer.</p>
<p>One of the great things about larger Us is that you can generally find something for everyone if you look a bit. It can be harder to find your perfect niche in a smaller place if it isn’t turning out quite as you pictured and can get “claustrophobic” for many after varying amounts of time. There’s always grad courses IF and when you decide on them as well–always nice as enrichment. :)</p>