<p>Thanx bc for details. I was very skeptical of the amended analogy, to put it nicely. Of potential carbuyers more and more people seem to be considering cars from "the big three" now, too. The idea that Americans here need American jobs here is growing. Not all agree, and that's ok, but the feeling, imo is growing.</p>
<p>The OP really needs to know what he is seeking from an education. For most, it is the learning that opens doors that leads to a nicer lifestyle. If that is true for OP, then I urge strong consideration of indebtedness. Often, paying the extra money for a dream school means that once one graduates- even if somehow it could be proven that dream school enabled him to have a higher starting salary than a lesser cost school- that person may not have a better lifestyle for quite some time because his earnings go to pay off a loan. In that case the extra money spent for a dream college would not benefit the student.</p>
<p>We were against loans, we discussed financial side with D. She graduated at the top of her HS class and is very happy sophmore at state school where we are paying close to nothing because of her numerous Merit Scholarships. She is also in a program that guarantees her a spot in Medical School. </p>
<p>My advice is to consider less expensive school or the one that offers substantial Merit Scholarships (like Case Western). My D. considered financial side when she applied, I would not want to pay for U of Chicago either (in D's case, it was U of Michigan, where she did not apply because of cost). The best of luck!</p>
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I am also being recruited by Brown. And they did an early estimate for me (In order to decide if I want to commit to the school through ED.
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<p>This is a special situation for recruited athletes. Many recruited athletes commit to a school in the ED or EA round. I don't think that Brown would do an early estimate for everyone who wanted the info to decide whether or not to apply ED to Brown.</p>
<p>I wish the EA or ED acceptance figures would pull out the supported athletic recruits. Kids will say, "Oh, there's a 20% chance of getting into XXX on the early round; it's only 9% in the RD. So there's a giant advantage to applying early." But the chance of acceptance is a lot less than 20%, when you consider how many of the acceptances are a done deal for athletes.</p>
<p>Machiavelli, you should know that at UChicago, merit is in lieu of aid. Example -- need = $6,000 and you get a $10,000 merit award -- congrats, but you're not getting FA on top of that. This is not uncommon at colleges, so be prepared.</p>
<p>Our EFC at Chicago, Mudd and MIT were all within $2k of each other. All scary numbers, but S1 has done his part.</p>
<p>In our experience, attempting to negotiate/reason with the U of C FA office was fruitless. Their FA left us to pay something like 7 times our FAFSA EFC, and right now my S would be looking at being forced to withdraw next year if he had chosen to go there. (His choice was not based on money, but <em>I</em> certainly was relieved.) I hope that you get into Brown and they come through with FA in the amount they indicated. I'd talk to the coach NOW. Since you are a CA resident, also apply to UCs if you haven't already. Leave yourself with options in the spring.</p>