<p>I just heard back from Boston College yesterday and I got in! BUT, the price is not so easily disregarded. It was my first choice and has been for about a year. On the other hand, I got into UVA on Thursday...
Both are really great schools and I'm sure I'd do well at either one, but the difference with UVA's in-state price is significant. My parents told me I have the option to go anywhere I'd like to go, but my older brother is at Georgetown and we're having trouble with just him in college. I haven't yet received the financial aid packets for either school so 'm not sure how much I'd get. Unfortunately we're middle-class and think we're getting less than last year.
I plan to work and do what I can to help, but I don't think it'll be worth all that much. If I do go to BC my dad would have to work more than he already does:( My parents don't want me to choose based on price, but should I really do that do them if I know it's easier to stay in-state?</p>
<p>When you get all the aid packages, run the numbers through this nifty calculator:</p>
<p>[FinAid</a> | Calculators | Award Letter Comparison Tool](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Award Letter Requirements - Finaid)</p>
<p>Then talk everything over with your parents. They probably don’t want to have to say “No” to you for BC when they said “Yes” to Georgetown for your brother. Lots of parents underestimate how tough it is going to be to cover the costs of their kids’ educations. However, over-spending on the first can have long-term effects on the family as cptofthehouse has written in various threads over the years. You are smart to think all of this through.</p>
<p>Wishing you all the best.</p>
<p>A few things to think about…</p>
<p>If you go to UVA…maybe you can afford to do a study abroad; and a summer abroad(or 2); a really cool unpaid summer intersnship in some great location. What about doing a double major that requires an extra semester?</p>
<p>If you go to BC…maybe you can’t afford to do any of those things. You also may have to work summers just to make extra money to help pay for school missing out on potential internships and other great experiences.</p>
<p>My son chose the less expensive school for those reasons.</p>
<p>What happymom said!</p>
<p>It’s possible that BC may come up with an offer that brings your cost into line with what you’d pay at UVA. However, if after running all the numbers, UVA is still less expensive, don’t think of it as “cheap” in the sense that going there means settling for something lesser. </p>
<p>My D’s longtime first choice offered NO aid. Her second choice, which she liked very much, offered a full ride. We told her that we would make it work at first choice – somehow – but in truth, it would have been very difficult for all of us. When she accepted the full ride, we worried that she would regret her decision, but when we visited for Parents’ Weekend two months into her first year she told us that she was so happy where she landed and could not imagine being anywhere else. </p>
<p>Given your acceptances to both BC and UVA, you are certainly a fine student with a tremendous future. What you do while you are in college is more important than where you go. Best of luck!</p>
<p>You are lucky to be instate for UVA. I can’t imagine choosing BC over UVA, even without the financial advantage. Either school is excellent, but in the long run, I think you, and your family, would be grateful that you chose UVA.</p>
<p>My parents told me I have the option to go anywhere I’d like to go, but my older brother is at Georgetown and we’re having trouble with just him in college.</p>
<p>It sounds like your parents don’t want you to feel pressured, but if the realities are that they’re barely affording G’town, then go to the school that will cost less. At this point, who knows which one that will be. It sounds like your dad is going to have to work more (and who knows if that’s always possible), or they may have to resort to Plus loans.</p>
<p>I think all the schools are CSS, so it’s likely that the total that the parents have to pay will be MORE than what they’re paying now.</p>
<p>As I’ve said on other threads, in making such a decision you have to balance the financial burden of the more expensive school, and also the quality/opportunity gap between the schools. Here, the quality/opportunity gap is small (and many would place U.Va. above BC). So I’d say that if there is a significant cost difference, you should seriously consider going to Virginia unless there is a really strong specific reason you like BC better (as in, a program they have there that Virginia doesn’t have).</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. In the end I think I’ll choose UVA over BC. I was talking with my mom and she agrees that while they would try, it would be difficult. I wanted to swim at BC and had contacted the coach already, but I’ll just have to contact him and tell him it’s not in the cards.
I’m sure I can find clubs at UVA, I might even try to join the triathlon team. So many people have told me that in the long run, going to UVA would make sense. I’m definitely starting to agree.
BC was ideal just because of the area and the chance to swim. I think that I’ll enjoy Charlottesville from what I’ve heard and club teams can provide the same environment that regular teams do.
Hopefully in a few weeks time I’ll have my deposit down and my stress settled. Until then UVA will be my choice unless something changes.</p>