<p>^^^ At some school, only jrs and srs can serve as RAs. Also, there no gaurantee that if OP’s son applied, he’d be selected.</p>
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It’s pretty easy to earn more than $5k/yr in a combo of an on-campus job and summer job. Since money is tight in the household he may be able to cover it, or at least a large portion of it, himself. This wouldn’t compromise the education he gets and might even improve and enhance it.</p>
<p>OP - Congratulations to you and your son on working through this difficult process with your priorities intact. No debt and closer to home will undoubtedly make him happier in the long run; those are things that mattered to him before admission fever hit and those are the things that will matter once he’s in school and the first thrill of college has settled into the reality of earning a degree. Good for both of you!</p>
<p>Another thing to consider is that COA estimates are usually fairly high. Of course tuition is a set amount, but I know for our 2 kids we are coming way under what their colleges estimate the total COA. Maybe because they are less than 2 hours away. And our household expenses have gone down in a lot of areas because we are feeding two less people and filling up the gas tank a lot less, and doing less loads of laundry, etc…</p>