<p>We will pay more, a little, not a lot, for a child to attend a reach school for them, however, we won’t take out any loans, nor will we co-sign so they can take on more debt then the federal loan limit. They know this, they are on board with it (mostly). I don’t believe that they will get a “better” education at W&M then they will at a another LAC they are considering. Now, the campus there is wonderful and I tried to get DS to look at W&M because he would love the history in the area, but no go.</p>
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For full-pay families, I think that highly-regarded OOS public schools like W&M are worthwhile because, despite the undeniable higher cost than at an instate public school, it’s still $12-18K less per year than comparable highly-regarded private schools, many of which do not award merit aid. If your yearly college budget is $45K, W&M is within your budget, while Gettysburg and Muhlenberg are not. </p>
<p>laurendog, we paid full OOS price for W&M twice because it was within our budget. My d3 loved Muhlenberg and would have applied there if she hadn’t been accepted ED at W&M. But she would only have attended if she’d received a merit scholarship, because we were committed to that budget (and very thankful that the US higher education system offered our d options like W&M). </p>
<p>It’s not unheard of for OOS students to receive finaid at W&M, though the school is committed to meeting the needs of VA residents first, and much of its aid for students with lesser need is in loans, not grants. The only public schools that meet full need for OOS students are UVA and UNC-CH, I believe. A student with need will often receive a much better aid package at Gettysburg/Muhlenberg than at W&M. All are excellent schools.</p>
<p>LOL. I’ve been away from the thread for a while and never thought I’d see anyone discussing my earlier post when I returned today. </p>
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<p>W&M would have cost about $47k/year in her freshman year, and probably more than that in subsequent years. Our annual budget is $40k. So, D would have needed about $28k - $40k in loans for undergrad. </p>
<p>Gettysburg and Muhlenberg, OTOH, cost less than $30k/year. (She got great merit aid at both.) And, when she graduates from Gettysburg, she’ll have no debt and money left over for her DPT degree. </p>
<p>Gettysburg is a fine school. We have no doubt she’ll emerge with an excellent education. :)</p>
<p>It’s like Mick said, “You can’t always get what you want. But, if you try sometime, you just might find, you get what you need.” ;)</p>
<p>It says a lot about this community that someone would suggest that having to choose Muhlenberg/Gettysburg rather than go to William & Mary is some kind of capitulation to the second rate!</p>
<p>:o I hope I didn’t suggest that in my post #122 but if it reads as if I did, apologies! I don’t think either school is at all second rate. Glad DougBetsy’s d got such great merit aid and had those excellent options.</p>
<p>And, you know what, I should clarify, too. We never said, “you can’t go to W&M 'cuz it’s too expensive.” </p>
<p>Since 11th grade D has known that our budget is $40k per year. We told her, “You can apply anywhere you want and if every option exceeds our budget, then we’ll get loans. But, if you have any debt-free options, you’ll have to choose from those.” </p>
<p>As it turns out, Bucknell and F&M also failed to offer merit aid. D knew the “rules” from the get-go. So, with a sigh and a nod, she crossed them off when their acceptances came. </p>
<p>In the end, she was left with 8 debt-free options*. Gburg and Mburg were her finalists. Back on page one (and in the spirit of the thread title), I told our story to describe how expressing our parental preference between those 2 may have been her tie-breaker. By that point in the decision making process, the expensive schools were dead and buried. I didn’t mean for it to seem that we killed W&M at the 11th hour because we had some sudden, stingy change of heart. </p>
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<li>in case you’re interested: Dickinson, Skidmore, Gettysburg, Muhlenberg, Hobart & William Smith, Elon, Salisbury U, Juniata</li>
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I didn’t take it that way. :)</p>
<p>Oh! DougBetsy - I apologize for not remembering that it was your D. </p>
<p>Best of luck to her at Gettysburg!</p>
<p>frazzled1-</p>
<p>You are right about W&M and OOS applicants. They can be very generous. We were told it would be very difficult for our OOS D to even get an acceptance at W&M…but she did and they were actually very generous with her, financially. I think colleges preferential package more often than we realize.</p>
<p>Is William and Mary better than Gettysburg?</p>
<p>I was under the impression that they were pretty much equal</p>
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<p>Not remotely. W & M is considered on par with elite schools like UVA, Georgetown, etc in my neck of the woods(NYC) back in the '90s. </p>
<p>On the other hand, you’re the first person I’ve encountered who felt Gettysburg was pretty much the equal of W & M. </p>
<p>Not even folks I’ve known/met from Pennsylvania/Philly would agree with that…however much they loved Gettysburg College. </p>
<p>Gettysburg College does have a nice campus from what I’ve seen while driving through there while touring the battlefield site.</p>
<p>Ah okay thank you. I’m kind of a novice at this</p>