Hello, I am a high-achieving high school junior (you can read my stats in my previous thread if you would like). I love Notre Dame, but although it has always been my dream school, it is so expensive. I could afford Notre Dame, but I would need my parents to pay over 50,000 a year for me to go there. On the other hand, I could easily get into the Marquette University honors program and go there on an almost full tuition scholarship. Being at Notre Dame has always been a dream of mine, but I also really like Marquette and would not mind being in the honors program there. Any advice on if I should go for my reach/dream school with a high price tag or go for reputable schools with very high scholarships?
Are you wondering which school to apply to ED? It is premature to wonder what school to attend until you’ve been accepted to both.
Also, what do you plan to major in? I’d send my own DD to Notre Dame in a heartbeat for, say, business. Gender studies would be an entirely different story, one not worth $50K/year to me.
From another post you seem to be a HS junior. They would both be excellent options but why on earth do you need to decide now? In fact until you have two acceptance letters and two affordable options in hand there is no decision to make.
When the time comes I suggest you apply to both (I think you can apply EA to both ND and Marquette but check), see where you get in (see if you get into ND, be sure that you get into Honors program at Marquette). Look at exactly how the actual financial numbers come out and discuss affordability with your parents. Consider if you will need funds for future plans (ex. if you plan to go to grad school).
If both schools have accepted you and both schools are affordable (with no big loans, no hardship for your family) then re-visit if you can before making a decision.