HELP PLEASE

<p>You still are not clear about which school costs more by how much… Again, I reiterate that how much a school gives is not important. It’s how much it costs you (and take out self help like loans and work study when figuring out the bottom line costs. </p>

<p>If you are asking if it’s worth going to a school that does cost $20K a year more than another, the answer is, yes, it can well be worth that premium and more to some people. People make that choice all of the time. Whether it’s something affordable to a given family is a whole other thing. If your parents can’t afford it and have to cash in retirement savings, scrimp, go indebt and worry, it’s not a good idea. But where it crosses that line between affordable or not is so individual that none of us can say it’s worth it without a better idea of your family financial situation and how your parents feel about the differential. </p>

<p>The schools don’t like it when you compare them to another school who is giving you more money. They don’t play that number’s game. If you send your tape, it won’t make a difference to the Financial Aid people. They crunch numbers. They have to get in as many students within a limited budget. Right now, they are considering transfer students. So, if you plan to say “XYZ University is giving me XYZ monies. How much will you give me?” They are going to tell you: “happy trails at XYZ university”.</p>