<p>My son is weighing acceptances to Bard, Lawrence, and Wesleyan against a free ride to Barrett Honors at ASU. We've always assumed that a small liberal arts college would be best for him but now we're comparing 55K a year to $0. I think we'd be crazy not to consider the ASU option. He could use the $$ for grad school and/or a house down payment. Is anyone else kept up at night thinking about this insane amount of money for college? </p>
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<p>What does he think about this assumption?</p>
<p>Of course, $220,000 is a lot of money. If he plans to go to expensive medical or law school, that may be a very significant amount to keep debt down. What are his academic and career interests?</p>
<p>He has a lot of interests but doesn’t know what he wants to do. He likes science, art, literature, politics. He could end up in med school or with a PHD in Philosophy, or?. He and I are wondering if a second tier LAC even would be a better experience than Barrett. No doubt it would be more pleasant in a lot of ways but isn’t a bit of hassle during college worth keeping options open throughout the 20s and beyond?</p>
<p>If he isn’t sure what he wants to pursue, he may wish to try Barrett and then transfer if it doesn’t work out for any reason. Have you toured all of them? What is your S thinking? If med school may be an option, it might be good to save your money for that.</p>
<p>ASU is an idealistic college experience and costless! I think it’s a no brainer.</p>
<p>yes I’m thinking it’s a no brainer too. And my son is coming around to that too. he’s very quiet and likes a smaller intimate environment so this will take him out of his comfort zone. that’s the main thing.</p>
<p>An idealic college experience is one that does not create parental flop sweat when thinking about the cost.</p>
<p>I think it is going to be tough for him to let go, especially Wes, I’m guessing (I love that school.) I think the level of money involved is so much. Can you have him look into the study abroad options and summer programs he might be able to afford with the money saved to get excited about? There was some good thread about Barrett recently that had very positive comments, maybe find that. I don’t know anything about it.</p>
<p>I know a student who is trying to make a bit similar decision. Not full pay, actually got quite generous no loan aid at one of the colleges you mention, but the contribution will virtually draw down the only savings the student has over the 4 years, and there are no parents to fall back on for any cushion, transition period to first job etc. vs full ride to a not so much in demand UC. Student has the option to take out direct loans still, though, so 30 or 40 in loans for the total over 4 years, or debt free is a hard choice. Still waiting on a few colleges, though.</p>
<p>We’ve got a budget. D knows that. What isn’t spent on undergrad tuition can be used for grad school or med school (or maybe for some other reason) If she goes over that budget, she’ll be responsible for making up the difference. She may be able to borrow the money from us, but I’m almost 60 and H is 61. Money over the college budget comes out of the retirement fund, and we don’t have years and years to replace it. </p>
<p>I’d give it a go. It’s not like he’s giving up any money from those LACs. If he can keep his grades at a decent leel at Arizona, he’d be prime transfer material at a number of schools at full price. I know a lot of kids who did not get into schools like Bard, Oberlin, NYU, to be specific, the first time around and after a year at a large flagship, easily transferred. You need to look at transfer stats at schools and if a school take a decent number of transfers and is expensive, it 's not a highly selective process. You save a lot of money even at one year. If kid goes to a small school at full price, finds’s it’s too small, not enough of what he wants, and goes big, as a transfer, the chances are very small that he’s going to get the type of awards he was offered as a freshmen. Drastic drop in scholarships and fin aid packages for transers. So this UA offer is something that is not likely to be on the table again if he decides to transfer. Full pay admissions to small private, though not necessarily those three, not so against the odds. I don’t know transfer stats for Wesleyan. I am under the assumption, but not certain that Bard and Lawrence are not too difficult to gain transfer admissions.</p>
<p>I think many parents would be thinking the same thing- 55K is a lot, and compared to a full scholarship, it is a considerable factor in the decision. The kids may think otherwise. I don’t think high school students are as fully aware of what it takes to earn 55K X 4, even those who have worked jobs, as their parents who have earned and saved it.
This is a hard place to be for a student who feels all options are possible and who also has peers attending prestigious colleges. There is also a tendency not to value the in state option as much, and the students know other students going there. Good students might feel a let down if they get into a college that peers who did not work as hard as they did got into too.
Your son’s hard work has been rewarded by this scholarship and honors program. Barrett honors program is known to be good. I also think parents do have the choice of making the best economical decision.</p>
<p>What does he want? Is he motivated enough to take advantage of the opportunity? If you can afford the exclusive college option without serious sacrifice, I would say consider it. Your son will get individualized instruction, a chance to interact with great profs and explore subjects in an intimate setting. The experience may be irreplaceable and unique, a moment in life that will never be repeated. That was my experience at Oberlin and I found great inspiration that has lasted me my entire adult life. </p>
<p>Of course, small colleges can also be an easy weigh station for mediocrity. We have a friend whose daughter is at a school of that expense level, and she is coasting with courses like painting and weird feminism, not stretching her mind or striving to any kind of excellence. If mine were doing that, I would be pulling out my hair in frustration. </p>
<p>That being said, the cost of an American college education simply is insane. Our principal options were Bryn Mawr at the same cost (after a scholarship) and U Cambridge in the UK, where it would cost 1/4 the price for a degree in 3 years. </p>
<p>How did he get into Wes, yet get no merit money (based on what you are saying) to Lawrence? And Lawrence is a little cheaper than the rest to start with (only a few thousand, but every little bit helps). </p>
<p>What was the understanding about college funding going in to application season? Did he apply to ASU to have a financial safety? If one of my kids applied to small LACs with the expectation that they could attend if accepted, I would not tell them in March or April that they had to attend the least expensive school unless our financial picture had changed. I might encourage them to choose the full ride, and I might point out that they could use the money we set aside for their education for grad school instead. But our kids were permitted only to apply to schools that we knew we could afford.</p>
<p>It’s your money and of course you have the right to decide how you’ll spend it. Fwiw, two of my kids turned down full tuition offers (one turned down a full free ride) elsewhere for the schools they chose. </p>
<p>What can you afford? Will it be necessary to take on a lot of debt if your son goes somewhere other than Arizona?</p>
<p>Your family’s financial circumstances play an important role in the decision here. </p>
<p>If being fullpay is an issue then without a second thought I would take the full scholarship. Use the money saved for graduate school. But then again it is a personal choice of what matters more to you rank, or graduating college without massive loans. Personally I would sleep better at night knowing that college costs are taken care of. Paying for college is as stressful as taking on mortgage for a home. </p>
<p>Something to remember is that the idyllic college experience is just four years of life out of what, 80? 90? It seems paramount at 18 but personally the minute I graduated the NEXT four years seemed a LOT more important (and they were, I started a career, bought a car, and bought a house within 3 years. Within 4 I’ll be married and plan to have a baby.) It’s good to keep these things in perspective. I think at the right price, good enough really is good enough. But only you can judge if ASU is really good enough or if the price tag at the other schools are worth it, you and your S.</p>
<p>If money is an issue, go with the scholarship. If not, then you can afford to let him go to a small, expensive school.
How much is the small school going to hurt?</p>
<p>How to sell the scholarship to him? I wonder if you can have him talk to kids in the Barrett program. The university is big, but in it are lots of small groups, and this program could be one of them. </p>
<p>I am sympathetic. I have a kid who would do better at a small school, but our state flagship is strong and cheap. His choice isn’t imminent, but I am trying to get him to at least consider the state school. We are going to have to point out to him the small programs that would make the school more palatable. </p>
<p>I’m with you. It would be VERY hard to turn down a free ride to a state U for undergrad for an expensive private college (especially not an ivy). </p>
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<p>Has he looked at the course offerings and curricula at each school to see that each school offers everything that he might be interested in?</p>
<p>In terms of the experience, ASU will have more offerings, but many introductory level courses may be large. The (more numerous) student peers at ASU will cover the entire range from top-end students to those who are just barely college-ready, while the student peers at the small LACs will likely span a narrower range.</p>
<p>But $220,000 is a huge amount.</p>