If merit is a necessity in order to afford, it pays (no pun intended) to investigate the school’s common data set in order to understand the likelihood of merit. Look at the percentage of students receiving merit aid, the avg amt, and the 75th % test score/GPA range. (The top 25% range is the most probable range for merit consideration.) Their website might also give details about the profile they are looking for (community service, leadership, etc).
@Mom2aphysicsgeek – I think attainment of fluency is an individual thing. My daughter spent 4 year in high school studying Russian, took 2 more years in college at her home campus, spent a semester abroad in high school with a host family in Russia, another semester in college studying in Russia… and still does not consider herself fluent. But her first job out of college required that she have at least minimal proficiency in at least one UN language, and so at least she could tick off the box. Beyond that it wasn’t really something she needed in her work.
I think there’s a value in having studied a language even if one does not become fluent. I think it is premature to worry about the end goals of the college program for a student who is intrigued or interested – the OP’s daughter may or may not decide to major in the language or to pursue a career requiring that language, but it is still a valuable course of study.
I think the real problem is the mindset that a student has to pick an undergraduate major that will be the foundation for a career. So many students end up changing majors once they get to college, and so many adults end up with careers that have little or no relation to their undergraduate majors. Despite all of the years of Russian study, my daughter did not major in it. She also thought she might want to study linguistics and did take one course, but that one course was enough for her to realize that she didn’t want to pursue it further.
To the OP: Rutgers has a core curriculum – and if your daughter ends up at Rutgers, then her college career will begin by choosing courses to meet all of the required areas – see http://sasundergrad.rutgers.edu/academics/requirements/core
That will give her structure in terms of choosing courses, and will also help expose her to a variety of different courses. That is very often the path through which “undecided” students find their niche. It is not just about finding a subject that interests them – the deciding factor is often a professor who inspires them.
At the same time, colleges set up these distribution requirements knowing that it will help assure that undecided students will be accumulating at least some foundational credits toward their eventual majors. So the student who is undecided isn’t losing ground by exploring — she will be working toward meeting shared graduation requirements from day one.
@calmom My post was in response to the multiple job suggestions for being fluent in Russian.
OK – agreed that a Russian major in and of itself does not translate into job where fluent Russian is a must – but my point is that even foundational knowledge of a foreign language can be an asset in searching for employment. I think its useful to study any foreign language, and it can be an added benefit to an employer or in certain lines of work, even without fluency.
And the distinction between undergraduate major and career applies to the vast majority of careers. Hence the OP’s concern about the need for grad school – but my point is that the undergraduate degree is a necessary foundation for just about anything.
Thanks again for all the thoughtful responses. I envy the kids who pick nursing, computer science or some other field that leads to a decent job out of school. Since my daughter isn’t one of these kids, I’ll just have content myself with the knowledge that she’ll find her way eventually- with or without grad school. She wants a large school with a diverse population so some of the small LACs are probably out. Wherever she goes, I want her to thrive and be happy and finding that school, while keeping within the budget, is always the tricky part! I really appreciate all of the stories and suggestions.
Those students are often locked into decisions they made as teenagers, missing out on the opportunity to grow and change during the formative years of college.
And I think you have an unrealistic view of the employment options for those students. For example,
Source: http://www.scpr.org/news/2014/08/07/45836/some-new-nurse-grads-struggle-to-find-jobs/
Another point: From the financial point of view, a career that requires a PhD is not necessarily a bad thing. Most students in PhD programs do not pay for their graduate education. They have teaching or research assistantships that pay their tuition plus a stipend that they can live on if they’re frugal. (My husband has a PhD, and my son spent some time in a PhD program before deciding that it wasn’t working out well for him, at which point he left without finishing the degree and got a job. Neither of them had any debt from graduate school.)
It’s medical, law, veterinary, and business school students who have to pay for their professional degrees and often go deeply in debt to do so. (You don’t even want to know how much my daughter owed at the end of her MBA program – despite having received a substantial scholarship).
@3irishgirls I just wanted to throw in a random perspective for you. I would be thrilled if my child were interested in those majors. Also i have a PhD in a social science (one of the fields those competitive parents cringe at) and have been unemployed only 2 months out of the past 20 years. All of my positions have used the degree or required the degree. The only limit for me has been my (previous) inexperience in showcasing my talents and networking effectively.
I studied languages and literature and knew a few Russian majors. They all did very, very well in the job market - one went to law school and made a fortune thanks to her Russian (worked for an oil company that did business with the Russians) another went into business, had her MBA financed by her employer, and is now in charge of Eastern/Central European operations at a major international company, and a guy who ended up working at Langley at clearly some high position because he lived in a very upscale area, drove very expensive cars, and sent his kids to exclusive private schools where he encouraged them to study languages 
As you visit colleges and firm up her college decision, she may want to reach out to the people in career services. They can give you information about placement rates, salary ranges and he types of jobs that recent grade accepted from particular majors. It helps students align what they might image, with what is really happening.
To me the most important thing is no which major the student chooses, but that they make informed decisions from early on in the process. I think it can help them make good decisions for them and avoid surprises when it is too late.
I was on full scholarship at Purdue in Experimental Psychology when I woke up and decided it was not for me. I left with the master’s degree, thrilled I didn’t have debt. I know what a long hard road it is and not everyone makes it. Maybe my daughter will go the long haul…I guess only time will tell! My husband got an MBA and I agree- it was a bloody fortune.