<p>I’m sorry it’s so hard for you to follow. If a student can’t afford his top choice college because of the insane explosion of college costs, your answer is “Well, sonny, if you would go to Harvard or Princeton, you would get generous financial aid.” In other words, “Let them eat cake!”</p>
<p>Many, many more students are priced out of their top schools today than were in the 90’s, plain and simple. Some borrow absurd amounts to fight this trend (to their own detriment), many others choose merit aid or other avenues that are more sensible. In particular those who aspire to law school should be pragmatic in this area.</p>
<p>“If a student can’t afford his top choice college because of the insane explosion of college costs, your answer is “Well, sonny, if you would go to Harvard or Princeton, you would get generous financial aid.” In other words, “Let them eat cake!””</p>
<p>I’m not following this at all.</p>
<p>If you are going to be a lawyer, you should not go to anything out of the T14, and you <em>really</em> should be going to Harvard/Yale law school in this environment.</p>
<p>If you are a T14-level student, you should be able to get into an ivy league school or get a free ride to a state school.</p>
<p>Therefore, you should not have to take out undergrad loans.</p>
<p>If you have to take out undergrad loans to get into your top choice, it means that either your parents are not paying for you even though they are able to do so, or that you did not get into an ivy league school. </p>
<p>If your choice is between your “top choice” full pay private U where you have to take out loans, or a state school for free, go to the state school for free.</p>
<p>If nobody is giving you a free ride anywhere and you did not get into the ivy league. you should not be planning on going to law school in the first place because you are not likely to get into the T14 at all.</p>
<p>The cost of attending the flagship state U in Mass is just a bit over 23K, of which about 10K is due to room and board. The 13K tuition, if for more than one child, is not something a middle class family could readily pay in the absence of some long range planning. It seems doable if planning includes saving over ten years, otherwise one could look at loans as delaying a college saving plan into the future. The tuition rise in flagship state university is due in part to reduced funding from state funds, but that is an issue beyond this thread. I don’t quite see the point of complaining on the “insane explosion of college costs” for private colleges. Would you be equally disgusted finding private high schools priced out of reach? </p>
<p>It’s not just private colleges. Public college costs are actually the driver. Private colleges tend to track the out-of-state costs of the most elite publics. If you live in Pennsylvania or Illinois, the cost of the best public school (Penn State or Illinois) is $30K or greater (depending on major) for in-state.</p>
<p>The tuition and fees of PennState for in state students is 16-20K, not hugely different from that of U Mass. It is also one of the most underfunded state U’s. </p>
<p>But most PA residents know of the higher cost of PennState and plan accordingly. Incidentally, i do know anecdotally that PennState can give out pretty generous scholarships as my D were given two that would have not only covered all her costs but also another 10K extra per year. </p>
<p>Except I wasn’t commenting about top choice schools or exclusively Harvard and Princeton; I was discussing strong schools that give generous merit-based aid to students who are the top 10% of their high school class. </p>
<p>Obviously, you need to twist my words to make your point; in my world, that means that your point isn’t worth making.</p>
I can’t like this post by @JonLaw enough. While some people grow and mature during college and after, the reality is that if your “best” option is full-pay at Northeastern or Syracuse, you’re not likely to survive the even more grim weed-out to get into the T14. Those are fine schools that provide a great education, but the kids who make the law school cut are usually the ones who were paid to go there.</p>
<p>I don’t want to beat up on the OP, but I also quibble with his definition of “middle class,” not out of snobbiness, but because it won’t do him a darn bit of good to describe his circumstances that way. Imagine he makes it into a top-notch law school and is then interviewing at a Boston firm, explaining how he went to UMB undergrad. “I come from a middle-class family” will make people think “You didn’t get into anywhere else,” but “I got into Brandeis with some scholarships, but even if I lived at home and commuted, we just couldn’t afford $15k/year, let alone the car to get me to and from,” makes you think you have a tough, smart kid who is on his way up.</p>
<p>Speaking of twisting words, you are either doing that or you are hopelessly lost in the tangle of your own arguments. </p>
<p>BostonLawyer: I generally assume students attend the best school to which they are admitted
Preamble: People drop down the prestige ladder due to finances
You: That doesn’t match my experience. Things haven’t changed since the 90’s, have they?<br>
Me: Yes, college has become drastically less affordable.<br>
You: Doesn’t matter, because “top schools” have increased their “financial aid” just as much.<br>
Me: Not everyone can get into Harvard or Princeton.<br>
You: Sudden change of subject from “top schools” and “financial aid” to “strong schools” and “merit aid”. </p>
<p>The point of discussion, if you would care to return to it instead of smarting off, was the premise “students attend the best school to which they are admitted”. That premise is drastically less true than it was in the 90’s, due to finances, whether you care to discuss it or not.</p>
<p>Your recent 90 degree turn is in fact supporting that, since obviously anyone who can get “merit aid” to a “strong school” can be admitted to a more prestigious school.</p>
<p>I accept the anecdote. However, not many students and certainly nowhere near ariesathena’s “top 10%” of high school students, will get such generous merit aid.</p>
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<p>Only 6.7% are getting anything at Penn State and the average is a pittance, so the percentage getting massive awards must be very small indeed.</p>