<p>S was just accepted at Uva and we are instate, so cost would be about $25,000 yr (tuition/room board total costs). He will NOT need loans, but will have to spend all of his college savings. His academic interests are fine arts and psych.</p>
<p>He was also accepted at Denison U. with full tuition (NMF -Paschal Scholarship), but will need to pay for room and board, so about $14,000 yr. He would be able to save all of his college savings for graduate school, which he intends to go straight to following undergrad.</p>
<p>We know that Uva is a "public ivy", and it's been a dream come true to even have this school as an option on the table. But he also absolutely loved Denison. Just trying to get some opinions. He is struggling with this one because of the economy --feeling like it's a better decision to save the money for grad school and not have debt after all his schooling. It would seem that going to Uva would be a no-brainer, but the Denison deal is so good (normally costs $51,000 yr, and he's getting $153,000 paid for over the 4 years!). Now what?</p>
<p>Thank you for responding. I know there are bunches of these threads right now, but for some reason it is helpful to get an objective opinion, so appreciate your taking the time to respond. That is one of the thoughts he’s had as well, to aim for Uva graduate school. Ooooohhhh, this is so hard. We live in northern VA --Uva is Harvard for us! It’s something we’ve only dreamed of…and I can already tell that this decision may take right up until May 1 deadline. thanks!</p>
<p>If Virginia is Harvard for you then I would recommend your son go there. I would accept the scholarship to Denison only if he would rather go there irrespective of the cost savings. The difference in the money may seem substantial today but it will seem trivial years from now if it is at the expense of a broken dream.</p>
<p>In Northern VA, you probably read the Washington Post, so you may have seen this link last week in Michelle Singletary’s article about paying for college. In case you missed it, you might have your son run all of the numbers, and some of the non-numerical factors through this handy calculator from the folks at FinAid.org [FinAid</a> | Calculators | Advanced Award Letter Comparison Tool](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid) He might like to be able to see everything lined up neatly so that he can say, “You know after considering everything here, I really like University X better.”</p>
<p>Congratulations to him on having such good options, and to everyone who helped create his college fund for having the wisdom and means to do so!</p>
<p>D. is in a similar situation. Also received Paschal Carter Scholarship, although she only applied to Denison because of parental pressure and the scholarship opportunity. Despite similarities, it was at the bottom of her list of schools visited. She will likely turn down the scholarship in favor of Kenyon (with a not nearly as generous scholarship) or Amherst. </p>
<p>Although it’s difficult to turn down such a generous offer, as a NMF parent, you’ve probably already turned down many other full-ride offers that have come your son’s way simply by not applying.</p>
<p>Most real grad school (PhD) includes full funding of one sort or another. Only professional schools don’t have much fin aid (JD, MBA, MD etc). If he does well he won’t have to worry. UVA by a mile.</p>