<p>Hunt wrote *This is fine, if that’s what the kids want as well. When they don’t we get some of the other threads we see this time of year: “How do I convince my parents that…?” *</p>
<p>Right! But if the parents are doing what they think best for student and family, I can’t fault them. Education isn’t a one size fits all process. Count me as part of the group bothered when posters make sweeping statements about private college not being worth it. And if it isn’t worth it to them, it just makes sense to me they let their kids know that early on. I understand and sympathize that families have to wait for FA decisions in many cases to decide final worth. But if you are clearly full-pay and you don’t believe it’s worth it, why apply? The situation the OP describes seems to me to put the student in an unfair position. I didn’t discover CC until after the applications were all in. After a panicked over-reaction to an EA deferral, our son found himself with an embarrassment of riches including offers for merit scholarships we had never known existed and it never crossed our minds not to let the kid make the choice… I feel like I can offer my opinion here. Let the student decide and own the decision.
IMHO</p>