<p>I still think that New College of Florida is the best option.</p>
<p>The analogy I would give is a kid from MI who wants to work on Wall Street with preferred admission to Ross (UMich), won’t get much fin aid, but can’t afford full-pay at an Ivy. Yes, they could try to get one of the few big merit scholarships at Duke or UChicago, but it’s hard to argue that there is a better option from a cost-benefit perspective in that case.</p>
<p>Similarly, in this case, a public LAC that has alumni outcomes comparable to the top private LACs (the only public LAC I’ve found that is like that, BTW) is available for in-state tuition. Yes, you could try for big merit scholarships elsewhere, but I don’t see attending New College of Florida as a bitter pill to swallow.</p>