<p>For my oldest son, it was a matter of money. He could have gone to a top 10 school that offered him a nice financial package, but he would have had about $70,000 in debt when he graduated. Instead, he took a National Merit offer to a large OOS university and loved it. Truly made the most of each opportunity he had, including extensive travel abroad.</p>
<p>His kid brother, a rising HS senior, is keenly aware of finances and looking for colleges with good financial packages. His search includes schools with nice merit money.</p>
<p>Momzie, my D had a difficult interview with a senior student interviewer last summer. She was concerned about it hurting her admission chances there, but it is the school she will be attending this fall, so I would not be too concerned about the interview. She was asked some detailed questions about a paper she had written for a class 10 months previously, and she drew a blank. She did address it a little in her follow-up thank you e-mail to her interviewer. </p>
<p>My kids were all different in how they chose the school. They are fortunate that they did not have to choose solely on money matters. D1 had narrowed her applications by location and major, then was mostly choice of fit, but also one that offered a decent merit scholarship (not the highest amount she was offered). S chose what he thought was best for his major, also offered a merit scholarship. D2 is purely fit among several fantastic schools, no merit from any of her top choices :(.</p>