<p>BU was very generous to S, but it was an "also ran" for him. PennState was horrible, but was even more of an "also ran" . Out of 4 UC's(OOS) Berkeley was the best, but still had us $26000 in PLUS loans( about 10000 more than we could possibly afford to pay with EFC $ 7750) . NYU was practically the same as Berkeley( even with the Trustee's scholarship) . Which left us with our State Flagship.Merit scholarship S got is pretty small( $ 2000 a year) , we don't qualify for ANY need-based money, but with in-state tuition and Honors Program it ended up being the only affordable option( becides BU) . Luckily S "loves his safety" and Seattle, and we love being able to visit him once in a while.</p>