<p>deserving of a top LAC but can not be admitted due to financial catagories >></p>
<p>I'll chime in here. First, get rid of the idea that "top" LACs are the only good LACs out there. I don't know what you are defining as "top" but there are so many EXCELLENT LACs out there across the country that it is silly to feel she is going to miss out on an excellent education if she goes to a school you may not have yet heard of.</p>
<p>And that brings me to my second point, which Cangel and SBMom have already said but it bears repeating again. Look outside the northeast and her options increase tremendously. Laying aside merit money, even second rate schools in the Northeast are among the most expensive in the country. You can get much more for your tuition dollars in other parts of the country. I could give you the names of several colleges right off the top of my head where your daughter could go to school - including tuition, room and board - for well under $30,000 BEFORE merit money is even a factor. So, please consider the "cost" of staying in the northeast as you consider your daughter's options. </p>
<p>Try to consider a wide variety of options. You are right: she is limited. But she is limited not just because of financial constraints, but because of the geographic and "name brand only" constraints you seem to have set. </p>
<p>I do understand that not every 17 year old is willing to move to another part of the country, but she doesn't have to go far to broaden her options. For example, if she'd broaden her search to include the mid-atlantic and southeastern states, and be a little flexible on her definition of "urban", she'd immediately have many more options.</p>