W&M or full-ride at JMU

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:JMU. Go with the no debt.

+1

Because tuition and R&B will increase at both schools, but JMU it will still be free. At W&M, who knows what the FA packages will be in future years. So the $13K you need this year could be $20K by senior year.

It won’t. “WM promise” guarantees your freshman year tuition is locked in for 10 semester. Even if tuition rises for the next academic class, your kid keeps paying the same tuition they did freshman year.

Thank you---I was not aware of that fact. Just figured someone who only "owes" $13K to W&M for FA is not a "typical DCUM" family that posts here and an increase in costs could be a real issue. Everyone saying "it's only $13K" is coming from a place of privilege.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:JMU. The price difference between the two schools is probably about $100k all-in, right? Use that for grad school, grandkids or a down payment on a house someday.

+1 if you can set your mind to think “what is practical” then take the free ride. Undergrad is not worth the expensive price tag unless money is not any issue. Most students will need a higher degree eventually. Give your kids the money then because it is more value to them. Or give it to them to live off of when they truly go out on their own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. My child decided to accept the scholarship from JMU. Thank you to everyone for your feedback!

Awesome! Now invest that money even more that you saved for their undergrad and watch it grow!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Thank you---I was not aware of that fact. Just figured someone who only "owes" $13K to W&M for FA is not a "typical DCUM" family that posts here and an increase in costs could be a real issue. Everyone saying "it's only $13K" is coming from a place of privilege.

Yes. This. It would have been doable for us... but not comfortable. Knowing our kid will have the freedom of being debt-free is everything. Now we can focus on child #2 who isn't as good of a student.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Thank you---I was not aware of that fact. Just figured someone who only "owes" $13K to W&M for FA is not a "typical DCUM" family that posts here and an increase in costs could be a real issue. Everyone saying "it's only $13K" is coming from a place of privilege.

Yes. This. It would have been doable for us... but not comfortable. Knowing our kid will have the freedom of being debt-free is everything. Now we can focus on child #2 who isn't as good of a student.

Congrats to your DC for making a decision! Debt free is an awesome way to go. They will be highly valued at JMU and given assistance to succeed with this program.

And for kid #2---there are tons of places for kids who are not as good of students for a combination of merit and FA. You just need to look at the appropriate tier of schools. I have two different kids---one with 27ACt/3.6UW and one with 1500/3.99UW. Both found their schools, the "not as good student" ironically cost us much less with great merit at a school costing $65K all in than their sibling at a T40. BTW, the "not as good student" found their path at a T100 school, graduated in 4 years and has had a great job for 2 years and adulting just fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. My child decided to accept the scholarship from JMU. Thank you to everyone for your feedback!

That's wonderful, OP! Your child (and you) are very fortunate to have this incredible opportunity. All the best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. My child decided to accept the scholarship from JMU. Thank you to everyone for your feedback!

OP- My child is a Centennial Scholar at JMU (absolutely loving it there). You are aware that the scholarship is reevaluated by the financial aid office yearly and it's not an automatic 4 year full ride, right? If your family finances change, the value of the CSP can also change. They are making some changes in how re-qualifying is calculated since there will be changes with FAFSA coming out, but it's not all flushed out yet. Congrats on CSP, the application numbers were huge this year!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Student loan max is $27k not $40k. Do you have the remaining $13k?

Yes, I meant that student will get $5K(ish) loan and the rest we'd pay for.

Just not sure if the prestige factor of WM is worth it.

There are only a few schools that someone should turn down this JMU scholarship for, and those are some Ivies, MIT, and Stanford.