Accepted and trying to decide

Colleges & Universities University of Scranton
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My daughter, like many others, was accepted yesterday and was happy because she really loved the school when we visited, and so many people rave about it.

People say they got “Good Merit.” My daughter got the Dean’s, which was I think the highest amount except for the Presidential. But when I looked at the cost, I realized that even with the Dean’s scholarship, it’s still $40k! She’s not expecting to be lucky enough to get the Presidential scholarship, but we are pretty well-off and yet can’t stomach paying that much a year. Our other options are all in the 20ks. People say Scranton is a special place, but is it special enough to warrant that price?

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Congrats on her acceptance.

Now comes the hard part - one can’t just love a school but they can only attend a school they can afford. Of course, it’s best not to apply to schools one can’t afford but in many cases, one isn’t 100% sure up front.

" People say Scranton is a special place, but is it special enough to warrant that price?"

hmmm - no - you can substitute any school in that sentence for Scranton. Every school has its fans.

In the end, you need a budget and it’s not what you can afford - because it sounds like you can afford Scranton.

But it’s what do you want to afford?

And that’s the budget.

In my case, we are full pay but I set a budget of $50K.

If a school had zero chance to get under $50K, they didn’t even apply.

If they could get under $50K but it wasn’t assured, they could apply.

But they needed 100% definites - and it sounds like you got that.

So the trick here is having a budget - and letting the student know in advance what the max is you’re willing to spend. If that hasn’t happened, see if you can make it happen now.

Maybe you can remind the student that you do need to retire and when they graduate, they’ll need help with rent or grad school or a wedding or whatever - and boy this savings could really help.

Many understand the cost of college and are willing to pay - $90K + per year.

I’m like you - thinking about - in Scranton’s case - a $20K check 2x a year - would make me nauseous :slight_smile:

It’s really about up front planning for where to apply - but that’s done and gone.

But step two is the setting the expectation / budget with the student - and it sounds like maybe that was missed - so you have to see if you can circle back to it.

Congrats to your daughter on her acceptance - but best of luck to you on saving another $20K per year!!!

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Every family has to decide what their budget is and if/when they will stretch.

I think it comes down “what are her other options”, what are the implications for your family for paying for Scranton vs. the other options, what sacrifices seem realistic and “worth it” to afford Scranton and which ones are not.

I have a friend with lots of kids. They live really, really well (multiple homes, tons of expensive vacations and travel). Her kids all went the budget route- one lived at home and commuted to the local branch of the state college system (not the flagship), one commuted to a nearby city to a public U, etc. She was very clear with them upfront about the budget, and told me (we are reasonably good friends) “paying full freight would have meant either selling the vacation house, taking fewer vacations, or otherwise cutting back and we’ve worked too hard to get where we are to even consider that”.

We had a different perspective- were full pay, recognized that it meant likely working past normal retirement age (I’m one of the only one of my close friends who is still fulltime- everyone else is either playing mah jong and pickleball with a two day work schedule, or otherwise freelancing or something flexible). I don’t mind. I love what I do, and watching my kids take full advantage of college and now their professional lives has been an absolute joy for me. Spouse agrees.

But that’s us. And if our kids had been less academically focused and more concerned about social life, weather, surfing, or whatnot, I’d have been less inclined to write those checks. We were willing to pay more for academic rigor, not for better partying opportunities.

Appreciate that this is a tough decision if you have the money, but can think of many other things to do with it…

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I appreciate your thoughtful responses! It’s definitely a lot to think about, for sure! She was veering more toward an accelerated PA program at another school before this acceptance, so I think the price of Scranton will probably help push her more that way.

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If your student is considering PA school, this is a good reason to try to save some money on the undergrad years.

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If your daughter was accepted to a direct entry PA program (?) then I would consider that (if she likes the school and it is affordable).

If she wants PA but not direct entry, I would save the money for PA school.

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Yes, she’s been accepted to three so far (and still waiting on a few). They all have slight turn-offs to them, but the price is definitely right!

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No school is perfect, even the ones they think are perfect. They have bad profs, bad dorms, bad food, roommate issues, etc.

Yet there’s likely many schools that they can have a great experience at.

Too many kids get - this is the perfect place or only place in their mind - and none of it is true.

And if it makes you uncomfortable financially - then it shouldn’t even be considered…as much as we all love our kids, that’s not worth it.

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