"don't let your kid apply to schools you can't afford"

[Anonymous]

Why I think it's an out-of-touch argument

1. Merit scholarships and institutional aid differences from the FAFSA and online calculators can differ widely from what reality bears out.

2. Yes, I would kill myself to send my kid to a 60K/year school if their only other option was 30/K for a crappy place. But when the student gets into the 40K not-as-good as the 60 but much much better than the 30K or above a certain threshold, what we can afford changes.

I hate it when parents on this board tell kids "you shouldn't let your kids to apply to schools you don't know if you can afford"

[Anonymous]

Tell us what you consider a 30K crappy place

[Anonymous]

My kids are welcome to apply to schools we can’t afford and we’ll see how it shakes out from there. But, no. They will not attend a school that we can’t afford.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids are welcome to apply to schools we can’t afford and we’ll see how it shakes out from there. But, no. They will not attend a school that we can’t afford.

I’m not setting them up for a life of debt and I won’t pay for a school we can’t afford.

[Anonymous]

I think there is a difference between “We won’t know if we can afford it until we get the financial aid offer” and “this school will not be affordable for us”.

If you know you will be considered full pay by colleges and you are only willing to pay $50K then don’t let your kid apply to $90K schools like Harvard. On the other hand, they can shoot their shot at someplace like Vandy that offers merit.

Also make sure that you tell your kid upfront what you can afford and let them know restrictions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tell us what you consider a 30K crappy place

Seriously. Could you make your point without calling institutions of higher learning, and by extension the people who attend them and teach at them - crappy?

My son attends a public college that accepts 80% of applicants and costs us $30k/year. The school is pretty darn fabulous, and so is my son. But…not selective, not prestigious. So, crappy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids are welcome to apply to schools we can’t afford and we’ll see how it shakes out from there. But, no. They will not attend a school that we can’t afford.

You say that now but wait till they get into HYP , you gonna empty yo 401k!

[Anonymous]

Not being aware of one’s limitations (financial or otherwise) is out of touch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are welcome to apply to schools we can’t afford and we’ll see how it shakes out from there. But, no. They will not attend a school that we can’t afford.

You say that now but wait till they get into HYP , you gonna empty yo 401k!

I don’t think we have to worry about that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why I think it's an out-of-touch argument

1. Merit scholarships and institutional aid differences from the FAFSA and online calculators can differ widely from what reality bears out.

2. Yes, I would kill myself to send my kid to a 60K/year school if their only other option was 30/K for a crappy place. But when the student gets into the 40K not-as-good as the 60 but much much better than the 30K or above a certain threshold, what we can afford changes.

I hate it when parents on this board tell kids "you shouldn't let your kids to apply to schools you don't know if you can afford"

Okay. Ignore them.

[Anonymous]

I disagree 100% and we can afford anything. Parents telling people not to apply to schools you can’t afford are simply trying to lower the competition for their own snowflake. It’s selfish and wrong to do this. Being rich has zero to do with actual academic merit.

Schools NEED to hear that their yield was lower and they lost top candidates because they were unaffordable!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are welcome to apply to schools we can’t afford and we’ll see how it shakes out from there. But, no. They will not attend a school that we can’t afford.

You say that now but wait till they get into HYP , you gonna empty yo 401k!

np. to each his own. my kid got a full ride at UMD and accepted to Yale (with no fin aid).

Chose UMD. Great decision!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I disagree 100% and we can afford anything. Parents telling people not to apply to schools you can’t afford are simply trying to lower the competition for their own snowflake. It’s selfish and wrong to do this. Being rich has zero to do with actual academic merit.

Schools NEED to hear that their yield was lower and they lost top candidates because they were unaffordable!

No, they don't. Good schools (say, T50) could fill their class multiple times over with full pay, "top candidates"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are welcome to apply to schools we can’t afford and we’ll see how it shakes out from there. But, no. They will not attend a school that we can’t afford.

You say that now but wait till they get into HYP , you gonna empty yo 401k!

np. to each his own. my kid got a full ride at UMD and accepted to Yale (with no fin aid).

Chose UMD. Great decision!

What major?

[Anonymous]

You do you OP.

Scan the posts here for all the merit chasers at the expensive and/or out of state schools and those who are feeling badly for disappointing their kids when the big bucks didn't come through.

I worked in fin aid at a private university several years ago. It was amazing to see how many students could afford to attend just the first year, using up all the savings, because parents figured that school would come through and pay for years 2-4 to keep them there. These are your students. Apply to and be prepared to pay to send them. Sure, aim high to the expensive places, with a realistic conversation about what your family can and cannot afford. Be responsible from the start.