<p>I am facing some tough college decisions in the next few months. I received a very prestigious scholarship (the Herman B Wells-covers everything) to Indiana University, but I also got into Duke and expect to get in a few ivy leagues as well. But this would strain my family financially; my older brother goes to Harvard, and we fall in the donut hole of financial aid- that is, my mom is an optometrist an my dad is a general surgeon, so we won't get financial aid, but 120,000+ is a huge amount even for a blessed family like mine. I just need a little advice on what to do. I see myself going to grad school and I want to do big things (found a company, start a charity, pharmaceutical research etc). Help!! Thanks in advance</p>
<p>I think you need to discuss this with your parents. They may have the money all set aside for you to attend an expensive school of your choice. So…talk to them first.</p>
<p>Discuss with your parents, of course. But in my experience, I got accepted to several small liberal arts colleges with enormous merit aid, including a full scholarship (tuition, room, board, fees) to a few. I also got accepted to Emory with very little aid, and probably could’ve gotten into some other schools on that level had I applied. I chose to go to one of the SLACs (ranked in the top 100 colleges in US News) that gave me a full scholarship.</p>
<p>I have never regretted my decision for one minute. I’m getting my PhD at Columbia now, in a top-10 program in my field. Moreover, I only have $10,000 in debt from my undergraduate years. When I graduate with my PhD, I am free to choose any job that I want to because any job I can get with a PhD will be enough to pay off my debt. I’m right where I wanted to be from my small LAC that was free to me.</p>
<p>I think you can do all of the things you want from Indiana University. I think you can go and have a blast there, and personally, I do not think that it is worth turning down full merit aid at a great university like Indiana to pay full price just for “prestige.” But that is based on me and my experiences - you have to make the decision on your own with your parents.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/905843-top-student-3rd-tier-school-four-years-later.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/905843-top-student-3rd-tier-school-four-years-later.html</a></p>
<p>[FinAid</a> | Calculators | Award Letter Comparison Tool](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Award Letter Requirements - Finaid)</p>
<p>Read the first one for inspiration, and run your award numbers through the second for a reality check about the financial issues.</p>
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<p>Another question to ask when you talk to your parents…will they help you with grad school costs? Perhaps they will take the money saved and put it towards grad school.</p>
<p>I will say…one of our kids got a huge merit award at one school and a not so huge one at another school that cost three times as much to attend. We were in the position to have her just make the choice. She chose the school that cost US a lot more. It was the right choice for her.</p>
<p>First, congratulations on the nice acceptances to date, and on getting the big scholarship at IU. </p>
<p>Seconding the advice about talking to your parents, thinking about the cost of possible post-undergrad plans, and so forth. If you’ve applied to Harvard and get in, having your brother at Harvard already may help with the donut hole financial issue when the two of you overlap. </p>
<p>One new piece of advice–go talk to the Wells scholarship people. Find out what kinds of things current recipients are doing during their undergraduate years, what kind of opportunities they are taking advantage of. Talk to some of those other scholarship recipients who matriculated, and see what they’re like. Most importantly, find out what Wells alumni are now doing out in the wide world. See if what they’re doing matches some of your dreams and goals. </p>
<p>Best of luck in your decision!</p>