<p>I am remembering back to when I was that age and I really had no idea about costs on that order of magnitude… Granted, parent were less involved then and not every app was vetted, but they certainly ‘let’ me apply where I wanted. When I got my acceptances back (3 for 3 and this feeds right into that would you have gotten in today thread . . . no) my dad spread everything out on the dining room table to run the numbers. He didn’t ask me how I felt about the value or fit or what size wedding I wanted. He just told me that I wouldn’t be attending The University of Pennsylvania. I said “fine” and moved on to #2 and the world didn’t end. Whatever this family’s deal is, I can’t say that I’m on board with the ‘kid gets final say no matter what or they might melt’ concept. </p>