I received full scholarships to the University of Alabama and the University of Oklahoma, a full tuition scholarship to Tulane, large scholarships to several other schools (including the College of William and Mary and the University of Miami), a scholarship for half the cost of attendance to Rice University, admission into honors programs at schools (including UT), and from my absolute dream school, Duke University, I received…nothing. Nada, zilch, zero. My family is in that unfortunate position of not being eligible for financial aid, but also not being wealthy enough to pay over 60k a year. Here’s my background:
I have two significantly older siblings who attended prestigious universities at the same time. Back when they went to college, our family income was significantly smaller, so they received financial aid. However, my parents still had to pay quite a bit out of pocket, thus impacting their ability to set money aside for my college fund. About a year ago, our family income nearly tripled. This increase has not truly changed our lifestyle because I live in a relatively wealthy city where, even with this increase, we are still not considered to be well-off. It has not heavily impacted our savings due to unforeseen costs relating to family matters, so I still do not have a lot saved for college. Unfortunately, I am not eligible for financial aid at any school.
My parents did not speak with me about our financial situation until the beginning of April. Since it has been awhile since they looked at college costs (b/c my siblings are older), they were unaware of how expensive college has become. They always told me that they know very little about college and the college application process, so it was no surprise to me when I ended up applying on my own without their assistance. Unfortunately, this meant that they were not even thinking about how much they would pay next year.Once I heard back about financial aid from all of the schools and learned from my parents that they had very little money saved, I knew that the majority of the prestigious schools I got into, such as Columbia and Northwestern, were simply no longer feasible. The cost of attendance is extremely high for most of these schools, and I live very far from pretty much every one of them, so traveling would be another expense. However, I visited Duke before I knew of our financial situation, and I fell in love. Picking a dream school can set students up for heartbreak, I know, but Duke is it for me.
My parents could only afford to pay half the cost per year at Duke. This means I would acquire somewhere around $120k in debt just for undergrad. I would either take out loans, or my parents would be willing to pay in full but I would have to pay them back. However, I feel guilty placing this financial burden on my parents, especially because they will be retiring soon. Also, I plan to attend med school, so I will definitely be taking out loans for that. Duke is an amazing school, but is it worth the debt?
If I were to attend Rice, my parents could afford it (b/c of my scholarship). I do not see myself there, but it is still a fantastic school. It is also only a few hours from my home, so traveling would not cost too much. After staying on campus and visiting a ton, I simply do not think Rice is a great fit for me. Most likely, I will be attending a state school next year because of the low cost.
Is going into debt or making my near-retirement age parents spend a ton of money to go to Duke worth it? Also, could I receive any FA if I explain that our income increased recently?