There are some 80k a year schools that have very generous financial aid for the wide range that is the middle class. If you look at school statistics many have 40-60% that receive financial aid. One issue is that there are not enough of these schools for the number of kids who could succeed at them. Luckily we are ending up with one of those as an option. Not our cheapest option, not our most expensive, and less than our state flagship (that we did not apply to as they are stingy with aid). My kiddo was also able to attend an elite boarding school. On 90% scholarship. Yes it is full of full pay families but it is through their donations and support that schools like that have huge endowments and can offer large discounts to the poor, middle and even just above middle class kids. I donāt think my kid is better than anyone else, and she will be successful wherever she goes. She has had very lucky outcomes with her boarding school and college apps.
Sorry I didnāt intend to insinuate only certain people go to these schools. I was just saying that a middle class income, in many cases, is not enough to live on and pay upwards of $80k when not receiving enough aid to make it an affordable option. I understand this is subjective and everyone defines āmiddle-classā and āaffordableā differently. So let me rephrase, itās very difficult for some to pay tuition out of their current salary (without taking out large loans) due to not getting āenoughā aid (what the institution says the family can afford is not the same as what the family feels they can afford). Honestly, I donāt know how many afford college yet some how they make it work. I must be missing something or Iām just too debt averse. Anyway, some students can get into high tuition and/or selective colleges but parents canāt/wonāt go into debt resulting in many schools not an option.
Yep, our COA at W&L is just under 10k bc they meet 100% need without loans or work study. I thought we were middle class.
I am really surprised she got WLd by Bryn Mawr. What a crazy year. I know kids from the DC area who love Grinnell even though it was not what they had in mind at the start of the processā¦ Itās such a great school. Maybe if she spoke to current students she would get more comfortable with the location. Congrats on her acceptances. She clearly has a great support system and will do great.
The interesting twist is that for some kids, Plan Aāif I take it to mean first choiceādoes not equal a reach. Plan A could be a school that has a higher acceptance rate and that they absolutely love.
It isnāt just the hardest admit, Grinnell is known for quality of academics, one of the best undergrad educations available. At a price that is one of the best for you, and with her saying she loved the school itself and the vibe of the students.
Grinnell knows it is remote, and brings in entertainment and activities for the students.
I think she may be over-estimating how much most college students actually get out and about. While some do, I know students at Columbia that almost never went beyond a 2 block radius of campus. They were busy, studying, wanting to grab something quick, etc.
Especially if she is dreaming of a prestigious grad school, Grinnell REALLY needs some consideration here.
Ohhhhh! Both my kids were so in love with Grinnell!!! In the end for my S22 he was torn between Grinnell and his current LAC. It was such a hard choice, and when he decided against Grinnell, I almost felt like a weird kind of disloyalty, as we are from the Midwest. I get that it does not have a great location, but they have a huge endowment that allows them to provide for all of the same (or better) opportunities that other LACs offer. My son ended up choosing another school but it was for reasons totally unrelated to location. Good luck with the decision, but I agree that Grinnell should remain in the running!
I have used a term like this, so Iāll define what I meant, because I really understand what you mean. Keep in mind, this is just me saying these things and not my kid. He plays a particular instrument and musical genre, and he finds joy and is most challenged by composing collaboratively in groups. I want him to have peers who are musicians who like to work and challenge each other in this way, at a skill level around his. (I find most students play several instruments at varying skill levels; he is gifted with his primary instrument and also plays lots of others.) Some schools might not attract this kind of kid. Iām looking for a match.
Thereās a difference between looking for a school that has an impressive program in a certain specialized area that will attract kids who perform at that level and commenting in general terms of the overall caliber of intellect of the student body.
This is a distinction without a difference.
No it isnāt. There are programs that are measurably better at different schools. It may be arts or sports or music. Those programs require the group to perform at more or less the same level. The group is in some ways more important than the individual.
That is not the same as my child needs to be at an intellectually elite school so he can be surrounded by people of his overall intellectual caliber.
Thatās also just an entirely false premise. Many super academic kids go to state schools. Kids get in to T20 schools because they had an advantage somewhere. There is also a lot of gray area between a T20 or 50 or whatever school and Beer Bong University.
By all means choose a school because of a certain program or major or whatever. But I donāt get the complaining that any kid doesnāt Get to go to a school that has a comparable āpeer group.ā
Okay, yeah, that makes much more sense.
But I would argue that thereās no correlation with that type of āpeer fitā and selectivity/prestigiosity.
Continuing the discussion from Parents of the HS Class of 2023:
I agree 100%.
I will be using some of these points in our discussion, thx 
appreciate the thoughts - and Iāll be using some of these in my conversation.
I think looking at grad school acceptance rates is something we need to talk about, as that is her educational objective.
Is he planning to major in music? Or is he looking at schools that have clubs that meet his interest?
Yes, he plays guitar! 
Very cool. Iām guessing location is a factor then too?
My cousinās son played the bassoon. He got into all these amazing colleges because there are so few bassoon players.
just gotta say, my D23 didntā apply to Grinnell in the end for the same reason, but itās a pretty wonderful school. And for physics, I think itās hands down the strongest. I know a couple astrophysicists who did their undergrad at Grinnell.
on a different topic, Iāll just say that D23ās admin official from the SLAC she was admitted to called her cell today to personally welcome her to the school, ask if she had questions, etcā¦ Wow. Talk about selling it to her! She was flabbergasted.