Anonymous wrote:Loans Loans loans.

No bank gives these kind of loans to 18 yr olds, only parent plus loans can cover cost of colleges like Harvard, Amherst etc and they require parents to sign and be responsible.

Loans Loans loans.

A bit of practical advice -- anyone who is looking to compete for merit scholarships needs to pay VERY close attention to application dates. At many schools like USC, Vanderbilt, most state flagships, etc, that do offer a limited number of large merit scholarships, the general student application dates are around January 1, BUT the application deadlines to be considered for large merit scholarships are much earlier -- like October or November. Don't snooze and lose.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Her friends aren't wealthier - the OP's niece's parents can afford the cost of tuition but choose not to pay. That's their right and as many of the PPs say, it's not unusual or new. I saw this play out 35 years ago when I was applying to college - it was a real eye-opener in many respects.

I don't agree with the PPs that this is the wiser route, but every family has to make their own decisions. If the OP's niece is so extraordinary and determined, she will have a lot of options. There is a surprising amount of merit aid to be had but for most kids it will require broadening their horizons and considering schools that are less selective than their own stats. That doesn't make those school bad options!

Look at the long thread posted here recently with parents citing the schools where their kids got merit offers. Maybe there are some possibilities that would appeal to your niece there.

What do you mean by "it was a real eye-opener in many respects"?

FWIW, we do not know the totality of the family's responsibilities. If my parent were still alive, we might be steering our kids to instate/significant merit aid LACs because we may need to support my parents (they worked hard and were frugal, but money cannot be squeezed out of small wages) more than we did when they were here. DH's parents are set for some years and should probably not need support from us. Maybe OP's sibling in-laws are in those circumstances. Or have another family member who may always needs some form of financial support (also the case in my family). Finally, I had u/g and grad loans to pay off for some years. Maybe the parents are in those circumstances.

What would really suck? The parents dig into their nest egg, run into trouble in their retirement years, and this very DC just says "oh well."

+1
Attitudes that every student must be at the BEST, MOST EXPENSIVE private college or their parents didn’t prioritize them are dangerous and unreasonable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Her friends aren't wealthier - the OP's niece's parents can afford the cost of tuition but choose not to pay. That's their right and as many of the PPs say, it's not unusual or new. I saw this play out 35 years ago when I was applying to college - it was a real eye-opener in many respects.

I don't agree with the PPs that this is the wiser route, but every family has to make their own decisions. If the OP's niece is so extraordinary and determined, she will have a lot of options. There is a surprising amount of merit aid to be had but for most kids it will require broadening their horizons and considering schools that are less selective than their own stats. That doesn't make those school bad options!

Look at the long thread posted here recently with parents citing the schools where their kids got merit offers. Maybe there are some possibilities that would appeal to your niece there.

I’m confused. Are you the Op?
Don’t count other people’s money.

I'm not the OP but that is precisely what the OP said: "She won’t qualify for need based scholarships and her parents won’t pay...." They *could* pay full freight but are choosing not to - which of course is their right. Try reading the OP before you snark.

Your reading comprehension needs a lot of work. You went from op saying they won’t pay to they CAN pay and just won’t without any other facts. This from an internet poster who doesn’t have the family’s financial information. That’s not how it works.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Her friends aren't wealthier - the OP's niece's parents can afford the cost of tuition but choose not to pay. That's their right and as many of the PPs say, it's not unusual or new. I saw this play out 35 years ago when I was applying to college - it was a real eye-opener in many respects.

I don't agree with the PPs that this is the wiser route, but every family has to make their own decisions. If the OP's niece is so extraordinary and determined, she will have a lot of options. There is a surprising amount of merit aid to be had but for most kids it will require broadening their horizons and considering schools that are less selective than their own stats. That doesn't make those school bad options!

Look at the long thread posted here recently with parents citing the schools where their kids got merit offers. Maybe there are some possibilities that would appeal to your niece there.

I’m confused. Are you the Op?
Don’t count other people’s money.

I'm not the OP but that is precisely what the OP said: "She won’t qualify for need based scholarships and her parents won’t pay...." They *could* pay full freight but are choosing not to - which of course is their right. Try reading the OP before you snark.

Uh, no. Snark still 100% valid.
Have you ever filled out a FAFSA or CSS? What they say we can pay is unfortunately not what we can pay. Especially if you have multiple children. “They” may say you can pay $80k a year but “they” have no idea your financial circumstances given it is based on income for one year.
People who say this are entitled. No one should expect a parent to spend $360k for their education.

Anonymous wrote:I don’t believe every state school offers full tuition scholarships to national merit finalists.
https://collegeguidepost.com/scholarships/national-merit/list-full-ride-college-scholarships-national-merit-finalists/

OP's niece must be assuming she'll be a National Merit finalist since juniors don't know yet whether they're National Merit semi-finalists, much less finalists. The only state flagships that give full scholarships for National Merit Finalists appear to be Alabama, UConn, Idaho, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, West Va. So it sounds like OP's niece lives in one of these states. Other than CT, becoming a National Merit Semifinalist in these states is not particularly difficult because the bar is so low compared to states like CA, NJ, MD, MA, etc. Or maybe OP's niece assumes she'll be a National Merit finalist because she got a perfect score on the PSAT. It's unclear from OP's post.

In any event, there are some other good (although not top 20) schools that give full rides for NMSF, like Fordham. Maybe that would be a good option for OP's niece if she doesn't want her state flagship.

Notre Dame hands out a limited number of merit scholarships every year.

https://scholars.nd.edu/awards/list-of-awards/

I don’t believe every state school offers full tuition scholarships to national merit finalists.
https://collegeguidepost.com/scholarships/national-merit/list-full-ride-college-scholarships-national-merit-finalists/

Washington & Lee offers a full ride to the top 10% of the incoming class. The University of Richmond has some very nice merit scholarships available. Try Grinnell and Oberlin also.

OP here. I’m not participating in their family issue but observed it so shared here for any possible solution.

Anonymous wrote:OP, our son is in this position, and I would really rather he go to the state school. It’s much more important to go to the big name school for graduate school than undergrad. If you want to help, help her get excited about the option she has. And absolutely make sure she doesn’t incur debt going to a fancy school.

One important point: The parents’ willingness to fill out aid forms might be as important as willingness to pay a certain amount.

Access to work-study jobs, loans and merit aid might depend on the parents just filling out the forms. So, one thing parents who are thrifty but not hateful can do is to at least fill out the aid forms and to support the kids’ efforts to scrounge up their own money.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hard to get but: Davidson, UVA, W&L, Emory, USC

I’m pretty sure USC doesn’t give anything but need-based aid.

They do. I just checked their website.

https://admission.usc.edu/apply/scholarships/" target="_new" rel="nofollow"> https://admission.usc.edu/apply/scholarships/

No, USC gives merit scholarships covering full-, half-, and quarter-tuition. NOT South Carolina, referring to Southern California.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hard to get but: Davidson, UVA, W&L, Emory, USC

I’m pretty sure USC doesn’t give anything but need-based aid.

They do. I just checked their website.