We are definitely in need of merit money for DD’19 and are considering a small public with good automatic merit and a nice youth group in our denomination to make up the Christian aspect. It’s the best COA we’ve found and possible debt-free. We visited, she loved it, met with the Pastor, all was good, except it’s 9 hours away and no direct flight. She likes travel and thought it would be an adventure.
Two weeks later she decides she is nervous about the distance, would like to be closer to home, and really wants a Christian school. Of course I would love to have her closer and at a Christian school. The one she likes best at the moment (and they are all pretty consistent in price after auto merit) would cost $16,000 more a year than the public. Maybe a little less if she can raise her ACT and/or get a music or theatre scholarship. She would definitely need her federal loans and covering the rest will be very tough. Her preferred majors don’t necessarily lead to high paying careers, so minimizing cost is best.
Just looking for any experiences if anyone else has been in the same boat. Have you chosen to pay more to have your kid go to a Christian school? Did you find that you were able to get a significant amount of aid beyond the automatic merit?
Need based aid is unlikely. My DH is not keen on contributing a lot, but also not in favor of having her 9 hours away.
The compromise is a different public that is closer but the price is about halfway between the other two schools. She’s not a fan of this school, but I’m going to make her visit. And we’ll keep the distant school in our back pocket as a financial safety.
The social and community aspects of a college are more important to some people than others. In my family paying more for a Christian college was a priority because of the sense of community it has compared to a public school. If you are a Christian student who doesn’t desire the party life, being in a public university dorm can be a very lonely place even if you have a church college group to attend. It’s not about sheltering oneself in a bubble, but being in a place where others share your same values and goals. I know this isn’t a popular opinion since cost now trumps everything, but there are reasons to pay more for a school.
I also agree with paying now for test prep. My son has a decent GPA but if he raises his ACT score just by a few points it will qualify him for very significant scholarships that would total $20k over the four years at a school we are considering. People will often say it won’t make a difference, but the test prep class he is taking ($1500) averages a 4 point ACT rise with their students. Even if my son raises his score by just two points it would be worth every penny.
We are a fairly conservative Catholic family. My D wanted a Catholic or Christian school that was not in-name-only, or a secular school with an active Catholic group.
We invested in SAT prep and it really paid off because she got excellent merit everywhere, including a full-tuition+ scholarship.
In the end, she chose the public university that is not too far from home because of the scholarship. She had reservations but this choice is strong in the sciences and will allow her to get through completely debt free. Her first choice Catholic college had the faith vibe right, but it was really lacking in her field of interest and would have required loans. H and I also had concerns about it’s financial stability.
If she is debt free when she graduates, she will have the freedom to pursue serving the church after graduation, to go to graduate school, or even more freedom to stay home with any future children. It’s really about giving her choices for the long-term.
We have younger children so we had to be realistic about what we can contribute.
D chose honors housing and a roommate who she knows will respect her values. After freshman year, she will be in a suite with a private bedroom. All honors housing is very close the the Catholic campus center, so that’s a plus.
Thank you for posting your perspectives! So much to think about but I think in the end we need to be financially responsible. When I posted I was in one of those moments when you want to give your kid everything. We can certainly try for all the scholarships and see what happens, and pray for clarity in where she should be.
We had quite a bit of college discussion this weekend. She understands cost restraints and is just frustrated that there hasn’t been that one perfect, affordable college yet. She is also subject to flights of fancy and when she found out Colorado Christian University has nice apartment style living with pod names like Never Land and Narnia, she’s all “sign me up!” Never mind the cost or distance I told her she can name her dorm floor whatever she likes
^^This hits home @MACmiracle . She will be at college about 36 months of her life. I don’t want that to cause long lasting financial issues for her or for us. She will hopefully work at our church’s camp this summer and future summers which will give her a lot of the Christian fellowship she desires. And we will seek out groups at any colleges we visit. I know my nephew at a smaller public really spent a lot of time at their Campus Christian House and has had an amazing time with the group.
As far as the ACT, we’ll see after a few more visits whether she likes some of the ones where she is already at top auto merit or if she likes others well enough to want to study for a retake…
My son will be attending a conservative Catholic college this fall. He received good merit, is taking his federal loan, and we have a small loan for the remaining gap. The faith aspect is very important to us. He’ll be 11 hours away by car (5 by plane.) Distance was not a factor/deterrent for us. In our case, S chose the college that will give him a strong spiritual foundation, and will also prepare him for a future career in the church (in some capacity).
I told her she can name her dorm floor whatever she likes 