Thank you, mom2collegekids!

Your consistent message about running the EFC, thinking realistically about college costs and value, and the recognizing the amazing resources of state schools really helped in my son’s college search. I started coming to CC to get info about the expensive, “elite” schools I naively thought he should attend. In those early days, our state flagship was at the bottom of the list. We live in a community where that way of thinking is the norm, and his grades, scores, and ECs were very competitive: I thought that’s the direction we’d inevitably take. But he loved state U. --the programs, the diversity, the size–after visiting, and recognized the value of saving for the grad program he plans to pursue. And after seeing you pop up in many threads (the picture of you and your cute dog would always catch my eye), I slowly realized that no, we didn’t have to write an insane tuition check that we can barely afford (we don’t qualify for FA, but we’re not wealthy by any means), and no, he didn’t have to stress about getting into a school with a low acceptance rate, and yes, state U was an awesome choice for him! Thank you @mom2collegekids and various other posters for your wisdom.

Thank you or your kind words!

Best wishes for your son and your family!

:slight_smile:

Yesterday I received a message from a dad whose NMF instate premed child will be going to UF on a total free ride (with cash back!). His child had been admitted to some top schools, including an ivy, but at FULL pay. The child is determined to go to medical school, so saving $250k for undergrad will mean that parents can fund most/all of med school costs.

If he does change his mind about med school, certainly a degree from UF can take him virtually anywhere.

If this student does go to med school, no one will give a rat’s patootie that he didn’t go to tippy top undergrad.