<p>Yes, njtheatremom I have. I’m sure we will try and petition just not sure how successful we will be. Thanks.</p>
<p>Now that the dust has settled, we will be helping D decide between a BFA program offering little money vs. a BA offering a good amount. The award at the BA school is based on her academics, which the BFA doesn’t seem to care about. What to do?!</p>
<p>Oh heck - it’s only money!</p>
<p>Bowl of Ramen, anyone? Vegetarian BTW - no money for any protein . . .</p>
<p>Can you afford the BFA without large loans? If not, it’s the BA.</p>
<p>Times3, we’re so excited to be where you guys are. I can’t wait to just feel excited (and actually get to feel sad for my D moving away) instead of this icky anxiety, impatience, and stress. It will probably be difficult for her to say “no” to one of the schools, too, because she can see herself there.</p>
<p>ResrchMom, I bet you’ll be there soon–and she has such great options! But with all these recent visits, I can imagine your D must have a strong sense of connection to the people she met. I’m following her story with great interest! :)</p>
<p>MT mom posting here because I love the discussion about the difficulty saying no to one program and yes to another. In our case, my D waited until the absolute last moment to say no to Ithaca because she really wanted to go there. She is now a sophomore at the University of Northern Colorado. It was the choice (hers) to graduate debt free or to have a lot of debt . We could cover the entire cost of UNC (we went on a campus visit and she really liked it) but only 1/2 of Ithaca. She is getting the training she needs and is growing in every area at this little BA school in Colorado. There are still times that both she and I regret that she is not at her first choice - but the grass is always greener… She is getting out of this program what she puts into it. She will be able to move to NYC when she graduates with no student loans and some money in her pocket! Oh - and I’ll be able to retire with my 401K intact!! haha</p>
<p>alibabba - I really think you made the right decision. As long as she is being challenged and is getting a lot out of the program, she is in the best place. I would choose that over taking on a huge debt any day.</p>
<p>Congrats Dramamamaof4 on a final decision! Hope to be there soon.</p>
<p>Great reminder, alibabba. And thanks, acting dad! Can’t wait to hear what everyone decides. :)</p>
<p>Thanks guys, just thought I’d throw out some information from the other side of the decision world!! No REGRETS!!</p>
<p>@ali…thank you very much for sharing your experience. We are at the same crossroads: two very expensive private options (one of which is my D’s top choice of course!) and plenty of really great affordable options that we can manage without loans. I love that you put the decision in your daughter’s hands and expected her to carry the difference. </p>
<p>While I really do not want my D to have to compromise (and, in fact, love the expensive school best too), I realize that whatever we do for my D we will have to ultimately do for my S in three short years. The fact is that it will just not be feasible for my husband and I to underwrite TWO $200K+ educations. So, we will do what we can, educate her best we can about debt, and support her in whichever path she chooses.</p>
<p>Easier said than done, I am sure! :-p</p>
<p>skewlcounselor and everyone else in this boat, I think making a good financial decision for the family in the face of one’s darling kid getting into a dream school is one of the hardest parts of a crazy-hard process. </p>
<p>My son did not get good FA from CMU BFA, one of 2 top choice schools. We appealed, because he was hoping it could work, but the loans would have been really large and we all just shook our heads.</p>
<p>He got much better FA from his other top school, also BFA, but it wasn’t enough to make it do-able. However, he was also admitted to another department at this school, and if he took that major, he was offered a very large merit scholarship. In other words, we told our dear son he would have to double major, meaning a switch to the BA in Theatre, to make that school work financially. And he’d have to take out moderate student loans for the rest. </p>
<p>He had other more affordable options, but he switched to the BA in Theatre and took on some loans and that was his decision.</p>
<p>In the end, it has turned out great. He was able to get an amazing student job that allows him to pay back his student loans each year. With this added responsibility, he appreciates the value of his education. </p>
<p>I still wish we could have had a money-is-no-object sort of decision process, but reality… bites. I think he was so fortunate to have a lot of options, but that very good luck threw us into a spin when we added in the $$ decision. </p>
<p>But after all that mom-angst, in truth, he’s doing better than I could have imagined, seriously loves his school, and has had enormous opportunities in the theatre school, where they treat him like a BFA. The only thing he doesn’t get is sleep.</p>
<p>I send a lot of commiseration to families dealing with this issue. I just wanted to say that kids can thrive in many schools/programs.</p>
<p>I guess, if it were me, I wouldn’t have let her apply/audition to any school I knew I could not possibly afford. What a heartbreaking decision to have to make if they get in and you knew at the outset that you couldn’t send them there without a significant scholarship. I suppose that’s a risk you could take as long as the student was completely aware of that.</p>
<p>I love seeing stories on how families made it work…it is very helpful!!!</p>
<p>I completely understand that many families don’t want the stress of worrying about affording a place, or saying no to their kids after they get an acceptance. But scholarships can be very surprising, so I’m not sure you can filter that out before you even start the process. It is helpful to do a bunch of research, and it is essential that kids understand the financial equation early in the game. </p>
<p>There are so many stories on how things work out - both from the schools’ end and the families’. It’s a tough situation, and I feel for everyone who is trying to make decisions, from all of the angles.</p>
<p>Good luck!!</p>
<p>I agree, EmmyBet. I have to say that of the schools my S applied to, we could “afford” 2 of them. So far he has received very generous offers from many of the schools and I am glad he took that leap of faith.</p>
<p>Agree here, as well. Two schools that we could not afford offered enough scholarship that they are now affordable. Unfortunately, 2 of the higher priced schools to which he was admitted have offered none and 1 has offered very little. Some tough decisions to make over the next few weeks.</p>
<p>The theme of financial aid/scholarship offers this year is definitely INCONSISTENCY (not just in theater programs, either). No way to predict who will offer how much (if any). Might as well apply and see what happens, but it certainly is crucial to make sure your kid knows what the financial boundaries will be.</p>
<p>That’s the trick isn’t it…we don’t know what the actual cost of attendance is until AFTER artistic admissions (or sometimes after academic admissions). A lot of advice has come out on cc over the years to not be afraid to apply to expensive schools because you will be pleasantly surprised at what scholarship offers can come through. I do not regret letting my D apply to some of the big name/$ schools - and it was very exciting for her to know that she was good enough to get admitted. As I said she is perfectly happy at her chosen school (in the end she had 3 affordable options).</p>