<p>I know. We didn’t do it right. We did tell our daughter that it may come down to finances. She picked two good safeties (including financial) then promptly fell in love with three more expensive schools (which really do seem superior by comparison) and proceeded to get admitted everywhere! Even the safeties would be a stretch for us to afford. I guess in the back of our minds we always knew there was a chance the FA gods would smile down on us. If we had not taken that gamble with our older daughter, she never would have even considered applying to the top-notch LAC she attends. They were surprisingly generous with FA. </p>
<p>blossom is right – we have to face facts and make the best of it. She’s a really good kid and will completely get it. She has no sense of entitlement whatsoever. She had a difficult high school experience and I promised her college would be better, which is partly why I had hoped against hope that her favorite schools might find some $$ for her. She’s so fortunate to be going anywhere to college, and knows it. It hurts me, as her mom, to be unable to give her more, which is silly.</p>