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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Op, it is a very tough time. The kids really do not know much about the colleges (except that they are not getting into the top ones -- they get THAT message) then it looks like there are thousands of colleges to choose from, and where to start? But really, for most people, with a little thought, you realize that there are not thousands of colleges that meat your needs. For example, maybe you can't (like most people) afford the privates. That cuts it right down to the State colleges, of which there are a limited number. The kids look down on the State colleges because teens are natural snobs, so that leaves them thinking: where will I go that is cool? But in reality, most are going to State, or where their parents went. It is very stressful.
If you are living at all comfortably in the DC area, you do not qualify for FA,[/quote]

This post sums up where we are right now with our junior.   It's a bummer.  [/quote]

Why isn't the logical response to this situation to tell DC that the best state school s/he can get into is the default.  If that's not where DC wants to go, s/he needs to find (and get into) either a school that is worth the extra $ (and both how many extra $ the parents are willing/able to spend and what counts as "worth it" need to be made explicit upfront) or an equally good school that costs no more than the state school (e.g. because of FA or merit money).  That should narrow the search quickly.  [/quote]

Well, ITA about the default being the state school, but I think you are fooling yourself if you think the average 16-year-old knows how to identify schools that might cost no more than state school. I can't tell you the number of educated parents I talk to who haven't the foggiest idea how financial aid works, what the difference is between merit aid and FA, which colleges offer merit and which don't, which schools offer enough merit aid to bring the cost near to in-state publics, and what kind of stats kids need to get merit at particular schools. I can count the college-admissions-savvy adults I know on just a few hands. You really think a junior in high school is likely to master this? And you want to just let them flounder about, maybe apply to a bunch of schools that a knowledgeable person could predict won't be affordable for that family, and just let the chips fall where they may? What would be the point of this exercise? If your teenager needs dental work, do you turn them loose with the phone book and the internet and let them figure out which dentists are any good and which are covered by your insurance and hope they pick well? If they ask for or need help picking a dentist, does that mean they don't really want their teeth fixed or that they're not ready for it?[/quote]

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