Very Soon Decision: #1 LAC vs. In State

@mamaedefamilia Okay, I get what you’re saying

The decision has been made, then.
You cannot go to Williams.
I am so, so sorry your parents let you apply, hope, get invested, only to pull the rug from under your feet once you got in. (Unless they had told you straight up that they wouldn’t pay).
Will you get the difference between the 35k they’d give you for Williams and the 9k they’ll pay for UMass? Perhaps to use on a single sophomore-senior year, for study abroad, for internships in costly cities?

@MYOS1634 Just because they will have the additional money if I don’t go does not mean they will give me the money. Also there must have been some confusion but my other option is not U Mass - it is an honors college in a different state

In other threads you said you were in the Southwest. Do your calculations include the cost of traveling? And you also said you definitely want grad school. That won’t happy with the amount of debt you’re looking at taking on. Graduate debt free and have the freedom to move where you want in 4 years

Congrats on your hard work paying off with an admission to a flagship honors college and Williams.

However, please avoid thinking your parents should “give” you any of this money and it’s not appropriate for posters to suggest it is “yours” in my opinion.

Parent’s only responsibility is to have kept you safe and sound, provided food shelter and provided you with love and guidance.

They are in a position to help you attend an flagship honors college with no debt. That’s a wonderful gift, above and beyond the basic expectations of a parent. You are very fortunate in comparison to so many other children.

Perhaps they can help you with some travel and overseas educational opportunities. This is a decision for them to make in the light of all other financial needs for the family.

Your dad and mom also owe it to each other to protect their financial futures and retirement. They both might not be around to help the other, you will have the opportunity to support yourself with this great education you see about to receive.

Be happy and hopefully you can recognize the blessings you have in the big picture. Over time it will all become much clearer.

@frozenyyogurht Are there any other alternatives among your college choices that are affordable and out of state? If I remember correctly from your earlier threads, you are NMF and were going to apply to some public colleges that offered generous merit. Is UT-Dallas still in play? Any other affordable options other than in-state?

If in-state happens to be Barrett Honors, I know of a bunch of kids who have chosen Barrett as an out of state option due to affordability AND academics and are very happy there.

I think OP has a large grant from UT-Dallas. It’s either a full ride or a net cost of $9k/year. They’ve been posting about this issue since at least December. The parents can’t afford their EFC and there’s a younger sibling.

@frozenyyogurht, are your parents cosigning a ~$40k/year loan for you? If not, Williams isn’t an option.

Um?

Really… life’s a Journey and lesson learned.

Realizing it is ones own personal choice. Maybe applying was necessary to know the limits.

D18 applied to 15ish schools and learned all sorts of lessons and now knows the value of having options and the uncertainty of eventual financial aid packages. The surprises along the way and real world limits.

She too applied and was accepted into a reality test…

Two out of state schools… UVA and The University of Michigan…

She really liked UofM { UVA too } and could have conceivably gone there… except the packages came back. UofM turned out to be $15,000 per year greater than UVA after any and all need baised aid. Even much more than any other school on her list.

Her response was

“What are they Crazy”

So yes maybe the decision to go into significant debt without help is not the best case scenario. Maybe just Maybe it’s best to keep advice to just that the financial duress one would undertake going down that path and the upside of choosing a very good package which creates the most debt free path.

Maybe ask questions to help, sure makes sense but to dig around and try and find the history across threads and making assumptions and drawing conclusions in a desperate attempt to give advice is rather clumsy. In fact it’s rather uncomfortable ? to watch.

@j123D123, Some of us have been advising OP across threads so we remember their story. It’s not uncommon for people to refer to previous threads, and there are various reasons for it. You’re welcome to give advice however you want.

Students can’t take on significant debt without help. Students can only borrow ~$5500/year on their own.

Sounded Stalking Like … Seemed Creepy at first read…

Ok the fly on the Wall… yes with help without getting too specific

Parent signs. Kid says they will be responsible and pay. Do they. Who knows.

Point is I know a family that just did this little song and dance.

Ugly waiting to happen.

@frozenyyogurht : What did you do?