Just getting started with DD20. Will have different “guidelines” for her than had for DS16 because they have different academic interests, she is more inclined to go farther away, and she is the youngest so our days of paying tuition are much more defined than they were at this point with DS16. Our guidelines include: 1) only applying to max of two reaches which means being mindful about why, 2) easy transportation between campus and home (direct flights or less than 6 hour drive preferred—having both as her brother does would be ideal), 3) affordable (willing to pay a bit more for a reach than a likely but no more than govt loans allowed above our contribution) and 4) apply to 6-10 schools with at least 1 instate likely.
DS chose his best fit which also offered his best merit. He will graduate without debt as was his goal. He is thriving there and we are very pleased. We would be happy for DD to attend there as well but she is interested in a bit bigger and better weather. Also, her academic interest is the sciences but the ultimate career goal is less firm and may require grad school so a school with lots of options to try out different career paths will serve her well.
We did learn from the process with DS16 that there is a school out there for everyone if they are willing to consider all options.