Really depends on your family finances. We're budgeting to pay 250k for our daughters education. I want her to pick the school that is best for her without any financial considerations. If we had two kids? Probably whole different calculation.

Anonymous wrote:Ugh, pp. why are yours summing second tier will give more money? The schools that have more money are Princeton, Harvard etc.

You are totally and completely wrong on this. Princeton and Harvard will meet 100% of your financial need, as THEY determine it. When you fill out their financial aid form and they tell you that your financial contribution is expected to be $42,000, then they will give you enough financial aid to make up the difference between the sticker price and $42,000. That's it. They will expect you to contribute the rest. Princeton and Harvard and their ilk give NO merit aid.

Other schools try to compete with Princeton and Harvard for good students by giving merit aid. So the same student who has to pay $42,000 to go to Harvard or Princeton might have to pay only $30,000 to go to, say, Tulane or Case Western. You may think it is worth it to pay an extra $12k per year to attend Harvard or Princeton. I do not.

Now, if you are a lower income family, the financial aid you get at Harvard or Princeton will likely be worth your while.

Anonymous wrote:Ugh, pp. why are yours summing second tier will give more money? The schools that have more money are Princeton, Harvard etc.

They do have more money but they are not giving to families like PPs.

I can't imagine encouraging my kid to turn down Stanford to go to Alabama. Are you kidding me. Sure, apply, but don't rule out other options.

Ugh, pp. why are yours summing second tier will give more money? The schools that have more money are Princeton, Harvard etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, money is no issue if he gets into any Ivy except Cornell, or Stanford, Chicago, or MIT. All of these schools are 100% need blind and all will cover undergrad tuition, room, board, and fees -- without student loan debt. At all of these schools, not even 1/4 of the students are being billed 100% of the maximum tab. Please call their aid offices and do some homework before sending him to Alabama --

need blind is not the same as 'what we would comfortably want'.

my youngest sister went to a 100% need blind school that covered everything that was considered as our 'family need' with 100% grant money (no loans)....but they still asked our family to pay 80% of the cost. And we are a middle-middle class family that lives in a 'shit box' house from a crappy town in the north east.

it's the classic middle-class squeeze by schools. if you are middle class, saved a shitload, didn't take vacations, drove 15 year old cars, bought small houses with a tiny 10 year mortgage, you are going to get fucked by any 'needblind' school.

need blind is dependent on what a formula considers is your need, not what you feel your need is.

Yep. We are a 2-income family, one parent is a teacher, one a government worker. We live comfortably with 2 children in a 1500 square foot home. We drive a 6 year-old Honda and an 8 year-old Hyundai. Colleges consider our family's expected financial contribution to be $42,000. I can tell you that there is not a snowball's chance in hell that we can pay anywhere close to that to send our eldest to college. DC1 will go in-state or will go to whatever 2nd tier private school he likes that offers enough merit aid to drop the price below $30,000. Colleges that meet 100% of financial "need" only will not be considered. So yes, I would send a kid to Alabama over Stanford or MIT or Harvard or Williams--IF I thought he would be happy there and would get a solid education there.

OP, Alabama's Honors College gets top-notch students. If you haven't read about it yet, here's a link--might make a difference re your child's experience there.

http://honors.ua.edu/honors-q-and-a/

Anonymous wrote:It depends on your financial circumstances. No way in hell would I want my kid to turn down Columbia or Stanford to go to Alabama. If you are on welfare and really need the aid money, it might be worth considering, but otherwise, no way.

There is a big difference btw welfare and benefitting financially from a free ride to college.

OP, what would your financial picture be without scholarships, aid, etc? Do you have the money to send your kid to college now? Will you gave to take out loans, mortgage your home, delay your retirement or otherwise suffer financially?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:if he wants to practice medicine or will do ROTC take the offer. Even law school (if he's a very good standardized test taker, a 3.8, 175 from Alabama will get you into a top 6 law school).

if he wants to work in prestige whore industries like strategy consulting (specifically McKinsey, BCG, Bain) or Investment Banking/Trading in NY/SF, then I would not take that offer.

What kid knows this going in as a freshman?????

in many countries, "kids" choose their profession when they are 18. not everyone gets to spend $200,000+ to figure out what she likes.

Anonymous wrote:if he wants to practice medicine or will do ROTC take the offer. Even law school (if he's a very good standardized test taker, a 3.8, 175 from Alabama will get you into a top 6 law school).

if he wants to work in prestige whore industries like strategy consulting (specifically McKinsey, BCG, Bain) or Investment Banking/Trading in NY/SF, then I would not take that offer.

What kid knows this going in as a freshman?????

I know two kids from the DC area who left 'Bama after the first semester/year. They couldn't get past the casual use of the N word or gay slurs by their fellow students.

Although it pains me to say this, Alabama is a decent school.

Ugh.... I feel a little dirty.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, money is no issue if he gets into any Ivy except Cornell, or Stanford, Chicago, or MIT. All of these schools are 100% need blind and all will cover undergrad tuition, room, board, and fees -- without student loan debt. At all of these schools, not even 1/4 of the students are being billed 100% of the maximum tab. Please call their aid offices and do some homework before sending him to Alabama --

need blind is not the same as 'what we would comfortably want'.

my youngest sister went to a 100% need blind school that covered everything that was considered as our 'family need' with 100% grant money (no loans)....but they still asked our family to pay 80% of the cost. And we are a middle-middle class family that lives in a 'shit box' house from a crappy town in the north east.

it's the classic middle-class squeeze by schools. if you are middle class, saved a shitload, didn't take vacations, drove 15 year old cars, bought small houses with a tiny 10 year mortgage, you are going to get fucked by any 'needblind' school.

need blind is dependent on what a formula considers is your need, not what you feel your need is.

+1

Anonymous wrote:OP, money is no issue if he gets into any Ivy except Cornell, or Stanford, Chicago, or MIT. All of these schools are 100% need blind and all will cover undergrad tuition, room, board, and fees -- without student loan debt. At all of these schools, not even 1/4 of the students are being billed 100% of the maximum tab. Please call their aid offices and do some homework before sending him to Alabama --

need blind is not the same as 'what we would comfortably want'.

my youngest sister went to a 100% need blind school that covered everything that was considered as our 'family need' with 100% grant money (no loans)....but they still asked our family to pay 80% of the cost. And we are a middle-middle class family that lives in a 'shit box' house from a crappy town in the north east.

it's the classic middle-class squeeze by schools. if you are middle class, saved a shitload, didn't take vacations, drove 15 year old cars, bought small houses with a tiny 10 year mortgage, you are going to get fucked by any 'needblind' school.

need blind is dependent on what a formula considers is your need, not what you feel your need is.

Does he love Alabama? Because I know a number of kids from this area who went there and transferred after a semester or two. For most it was because they just didn't fit in to the culture, in part because they weren't from Alabama. One even got in to one of the most selective sororities, loved Alabama football, and still left after a year. Not worth giving up Columbia to be miserable at Alabama (not that that is a given, but you just want to make sure).