<p>Our D was accepted into the Monroe Scholars, we are out of state and don't qualify for Fin Aid. The out of state tuition for next year '14-15 has not been set yet, so appears to be a moving target, and tuition is raised every year by a different percent, so hard to plan for the expenses. D has other very good options with merit scholarships, but wants to go here. Will W&M offer her anything else or should we tell her she can't go here? </p>
<p>Have your daughter check the college portal… the estimated 2014 COA and individual aid information was posted for our son today. We were presently surprised. </p>
<p>Have your daughter talk to the admissions officer who admitted her and see if any merit is possible. She can mention like schools that have given her scholarships. How that will go, who knows? It is entirely possible that you will have to pay full price. That you know the upcoming year’s amounts gives you a base, but if you are concerned about increases, yes college costs have gone up each year which is why we are this terrible price thresh hold at this time. </p>
<p>Did you come up with numbers as to what you can pay, what she has to contribute? Like should she start looking for a job NOW for weekends to continue through the summer if she’s to have a chance of going there? The costs at any of the colleges have tended to go up each years, so it’s not like W&M are anything different that way, but if the price as it now stand is not affordable, then you need to sit down and go over the money situation and what her alternatives are. </p>
<p>Being OOS does cut down on your chances of money from there, I have heard. If it’s not affordable start thinking about other schools and bring your DD into the loop. Was you decision dependent on what the cost was this year, and if it stayed close to that dollar amount, it was going to be a go? Because it pretty much has, it seems. Surely you did not expect to go down and at this point, you probably have a good idea that your DD isn’t likely to get any money from this school. </p>
<p>We have contacted financial aid and we don’t qualify for anything. We also contact admissions to let them know that she had other merit aid offers and there is nothing else available. We ran the numbers out for 4 years for the other two private schools (Whitman and Scripps) with merit aid and also W&M. We think the gap is $30-40k for 4 yrs. W&M being more. The bigger question is whether or not it is worth the expense and the cross country travel. Her major is Environmental Science. </p>
<p>Scripps and Whitman are very comparable schools in rankings as liberal arts colleges to W&M. THey are very much smaller so W&M is more of a large college experieicne. Also W&M does have a little more name recognition but I doubt that matters in environment studies.</p>
<p>That said as a research Liberal arts school, I may think that there will be more or better chances to do research in enviromental studies ( I would look at the other schools website to see.)</p>
<p>Also, W&M proximity to DC will give her a definite leg up for studying environmental policy ( in fact W&M houses the Commonwealth Center for Energy and the Environment— <a href=“Commonwealth Center for Energy and the Environment | William & Mary”>http://www.wm.edu/sites/ccee/</a> )if that is up her alley.</p>
<p>As a Monroe Scholar she would be able to contact the professors and secure a research gig first year if she was interested. Look at your other schools and see what type of non-class opportunities they would offer, experience like this is not available at many smaller ( and bigger) schools. My son has done research every ear and summer since arriving on campus and LOVES it… </p>
<p>Thank you for your thoughtful comments.</p>
<p>In all honesty…I know money is a big issue for choosing a college, but I also think happiness is important. I chose an in-state school because it was cheaper, but it hasn’t been a great experience. It’s always different for each person, but pick where you love because you have to be there for four years. </p>
<p>College shouldn’t be something to just “get through”. You should genuinely love it and be proud to say you went there. </p>
<p>Now, I’m trying to transfer to W&M because that’s where I know I’ll be happiest. Yes, it’s expensive, but the feeling I get from the campus makes that debt worth it.</p>