| Nobody should ask a parent to take out PLUS loans and I, for one, would never agree to do that. Parents are already paying as much as they possibly can even if the school meets the fafsa and profile amounts. Those numbers are geared to stretch a family to just before the breaking point. Loans are not financial aid, they are loans with interest. No matter what you may feel about it, it is the parents money. There are thousands of students who's parents won't help at all and want the student to work their way through school.
The OP has done nothing wrong except set a precedent of paying full price to a mediocre student and then not pay full price for the good student. That is where the problem was laid. The fact that Pepperdine is so much more expensive is the issue. It does seem sad that he will be attending the same school as his sister, though, and near to home. It seems a hardworking kid deserved more then that, but life isn't fair. They should perhaps reward him by buying him a car. Maybe that would even out the glaring discrepancies between the siblings?
I am wondering: Is the sister taking her opportunity to buckle down and do well at the school? If she isn't, I would consider having her transfer to a less expensive school. |