<p>Sit down with your parents or whoever it is who will be helping you pay for your education, and run the numbers here: [FinAid</a> | Calculators | Award Letter Comparison Tool](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Award Letter Requirements - Finaid) Then talk about just exactly what else you might do with the money saved by going to UMD instead of one of the others and/or what options having a lower expense for your education would give you. </p>
<p>Some families are fine with paying whatever the bill is for their kid’s dream school, and will shell out for an institution that they believe is a somewhat better fit. If you are in that situation, you are truly fortunate. Most of us, however, do have to choose the least expensive option for our children’s educations. If that is the situation you find yourself in, you can be glad that your least expensive option is still an excellent one!</p>