<p>I want to both welcome you as a new poster, and join in the reaction of others who found your well-expressed first post so gripping. Thank you for the meaningful sharing.</p>
<p>Further, I can empathize with your situation, as my family went through a somewhat similar experience when my husband, our main wage earner, became unemployed at age 53 and in our D's senior year of high school (after app season and before decision time). </p>
<p>Like you, because of previous income and severance, plus the fact that we had saved for our kids' college educations, we did not quallify for any aid. D's final choice came to an honors program at a fine state school and her top choice LAC (a perfect fit for her rather unique needs). We told her that she could make the choice but would have to assume a good part of the financial burden should she choose the "more expensive spread." She struggled with the decision for weeks, making first one choice and then the other. </p>
<p>We told her she could use all the money in her college fund, but we would not be adding to it. She eventually decided to use her AP credits to shave off a year at the LAC and took on some loans. She did recognize and express concern for the economics of our situation. I was glad that she found the choice so hard. But some kids are simply not as tuned in -- I suspect my S (younger) is one of them ;).</p>
<p>For what it is worth, looking back on it now, this experience was a good one for our family. All of us developed a deeper appreciation of things we had previously taken for granted, and pulled together in a crisis. My husband did eventually (after 15 months!) find another excellent position in his field. I hope you have a similar outcome. </p>
<p>We all feel good about the decision made four years ago, but I do wonder if we still would had my H remained unemployed. The road we did not take might well have been the better one. We are sure some people thought we were out of our minds at the time. My only suggestion is that you consider asking your son what part of the cost difference he would be willing to take on himself, and make that a factor in this choice.</p>