<p>S LOVES GU. Accepted EA to SFS. Attended GAAP and loved GU even more. GU offered virtually no financial aid. LAC offered scholarships which covered most of COA. In my heart, I know that he would be happier and more challenged at GU. Yet, there are many positives to LAC such as proximity to family, great sports, comfortablness> I know that is not a word.... However, it lacks the prestige of Gtown and more importantly, has none of the IR classes, etc. So, full freight GU or virtually no cost LAC? He wants to study IR and go to law school. </p>
<p>Is there any chance of an appeal in financial aid? </p>
<p>Otherwise, we are considering a HUGE loan, but GU would be so good for him. It kills me that he has worked so hard for this and most likely will not be able to attend.</p>
<p>Also, consider the fact that law school will run him/you a very large chunk of change - as I said in a previous thread, it averages between $38K - $50K+ A YEAR, and financial aid is pretty hit-and-miss. You and he need to ask yourselves which means more to you - Georgetown or law school. If he really wants to be a lawyer (and I do mean really, considering that a sizable proportion of people practicing BigLaw have lost their jobs in this economy), I’d say that he should probably pass on GU and save his money for law school.</p>
<p>None of those is a reason to attend college. You don’t sound enthusiastic about this LAC- you are not even disclosing the name.</p>
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<p>Good reason to pick Georgetown.</p>
<p>The conventional wisdom of C.C tends to be that the kid should always choose the less prestigious, cheaper college. I think you have to weigh what you are getting against what you are paying, and <em>how much that money means to you</em>.</p>
<p>I agree that prestige is overrated but in all seriousness I think money is also overrated. If you have it, don’t be shy to use it to buy a good education.</p>
<p>Yes! you can appeal Financial Aid – If you haven’t already, I would advise contacting Georgetown’s FA dept asap by calling and fax them any information you think might help in the FA area. Beg for work study if they have it. Put it in writing to them how much your son wants to go there. Many of the privates are very nervous about the process this year due to the economy and will have a conversation with you. You may be able to improve your offer a bit & that may be enough to tip the scales. You’d have to do it now while there is still money on their table.</p>
<p>Just my ho, but I’m of a mind that the college experience is one of those once in-a-lifetime periods. From your son’s interests, GU sounds perfect. There is nothing worse than a bad fit or a truly unhappy kid in school. I would lean toward trying to make it happen and enlisting the understanding and agreement from your son, that if you go this route, he too will be helping to pay back some loans.</p>
<p>I tend to think life is like a chess game. Sometimes it takes an uncomfortable, well-thought out move to ultimately win. Not the easiest, low-cost move. Good luck & congrats to your son!</p>
<p>Thanks for all of the responses. I think I misrepresented the LAC, trying to be somewhat protective of it by not stating the name. It is Wake Forest, which is a great school. It just doesn’t have the IR curriculum that GU can offer. There are many things about Wake Forest that S likes, and neither he nor I think he’d be unhappy there. It’s his second choice, before Y and H (no FA there either). Although he wants to attend law school most likely (he’s 18 - everything could change), he doesn’t necessarily want to practice “BigLaw”. He’s more interested in International econ/business, etc.<br>
We have saved for college, but not $200K +. Obviously S would need student loans, work study, etc. and he will be a big part of the decision.</p>
<p>I doubt you’ll get any financial aid from GU. They have a relatively small endowment for how high they are ranked. They are also very miserly when it comes to financial aid.</p>
<p>Problem is this: if your S goes to law school, the total debt will rise to $350K-400K before he even starts working. Don’t assume that his first job out of law school will pay him a salary in the six figures. Most of them don’t. Don’t assume that he’ll get a job immediately after graduation - the job market for lawyers remains very tricky these days. Don’t even assume that an undergrad degree from GU will guarantee acceptance into GU Law School - it doesn’t. </p>
<p>I’m not saying not to send him to Georgetown if that’s the only place in the world that he’ll be happy. I am saying that you’ll have to come to terms with the fact that going for a dream will incur an enormous debt that may take many, many years for him to repay.</p>
<p>I don’t know what would change his mind. Do ask him to visit the LAC and see if he could be happy there. My son came back from our state school and a safety school (also a financial safety) and told us that he could go there. Not his first choice but if money was an issue, he had no problem with it. My friend was flabbergastered that her son said he would be just as happy to go to Fordham on a scholarship and commute rather than go to Holy Cross, if there was a money issue. Both kids meant it. </p>
<p>My son’s good friend chose Middlebury over GT and never had a regret. Not a monetary decision on her part.</p>
<p>GT is an awesome school especially SFS which is very difficult to get in to. The programs and teachers are awesome, and the location… esp for IR. You should push the FA office. Paying for school is like a mortgage it is so hard to decide when it costs so much. How did your son feel about hte LAC.? atmosphere etc… TOUGH decison best of luck.</p>
<p>D is a frosh at GU. I appealed last year but was told by the FA director that GU does not consider appeals. But you could try your luck anyway. GU is a great school. D loves it. She plans on law school as well. GU is a feeder school to top laws schools, so that’s another plus to consider. But yes, it is expensive and we will slowly pay off our loans. She turned down an Ivy for GU and worked too hard in HS for us to deny her. We’ll manage the bills even if it takes quite a while. Good luck. You and you s have a hard decision to make.</p>
<p>NYMama and downtoearth,
I am new on CC and don’t know how to copy quotes from posts, but thank you for your advice. It is so difficult as I feel that S has really done his part to be accepted to GU SFS (as well as other great schools), and although we have saved, it is not enough. His college fund account is way down as is our retirement account. I have heard enough financial advice to know that it is crazy to sacrifice retirement accounts to pay for college. However, I will never forget how relieved I was when my dad told me I could attend the private LAC I wanted instead of the state university. (And this was in VA where I was admitted to UVA, W&M, etc.)<br>
I will push the FA to see if there’s anything. S also turned down H and Y. First choice is Georgetown SFS.</p>
<p>cptofthehouse, thanks for your input as well. S has visited LAC, stayed in the dorm for a weekend, and had a great time. I know he’d be fine there. I would certainly not encourage him to go somewhere I thought he’d be miserable.</p>
<p>“In my heart, I know that he would be happier and more challenged at GU.”</p>
<p>Besides gut reaction, how could you possibly have any certainty about this?</p>
<p>“GU is a feeder school to top laws schools, so that’s another plus to consider.”</p>
<p>Based on what data? I took a look at the admissions to national law schools a couple of years ago, and once you control for test-taking ability, found virtually no advantage for any school outside HYPS. The one exception: Schools tend to prefer their own graduates. So Georgetown might be an advantage for its own law school, but outside that, I strongly doubt it.</p>
<p>If you didn’t get FA at harvard or yale, there is very very little chance that georgetown will give you money, as they have far less generous FA policies than HYPS.</p>
<p>Curious. How do you see Wake Forest? I was surprised that it was not listed in the top LACs. Has it lost status? How does it compare to Davidson, W&L, UVA, Duke, W&M, Gtown?</p>
<p>What kind of law do you think he will do? The SFS is a much sought after school within GT. People apply to other schools within GT to essentially transfer in to SFS. The IR education at GT is great But if he is only interested in IR and doesn’t plan on going into a specific type of law related to it… that might be a consideration.</p>
<p>S is a SFS G’town graduate and I am a huge Georgetown fan. I strongly suggest appealing financial aid. We found G’town to be very generous with financial aid (had an overlap with another child attending BC - G’town put BC to shame.) S considers his SFS experiences to be life-altering. He was constantly talking about programs, etc. with top people in the IR field - and his professors were the absolute best - again a who’s who of top people in the field. To be accepted to SFS is quite an achievement and one not to be passed over lightly - plus your son is thinking about law school now, but who knows what will happen in four years? Oh - another option - and one we have employed with our own children - we pay for undergrad and grad school/law school is on their dime. That also works. Good luck with the decision. Two good choices, but…hoya saxa!!</p>