We’re prepared to pay four years. When we started the college search we made a point to look at schools with high four year graduation rates. We didn’t really anticipate at the beginning of this that we’d end up sending our daughter to a private college, but we decided that it was worth it to pay a bit more for the private and finish in four than attend a public and hopefully finish in four. She qualifies for enough merit aid and a generous renewable scholarship that make attending a private school cost slightly more than a state school. Hopefully it will all go well.