<p>We’ve actually made this offer, verbally, to our 3 children. We are full pay, but not financially able to commit to paying the really big bucks. We ran the numbers, figured out how much we could actually afford to pay for each kid equally, and gave them the number, letting them know that if they picked a school above this number we would loan the additional needed (we would have official terms and a signed contract). We feel this is something we can afford to offer our kids, and that it can be done fairly and without causing long term family strife.</p>
<p>So far, D1 chose a school with significant merit, well below the number we gave her. S chose a state school, so good there as well. D2 is just starting to seriously look, so we will see.</p>