<p>I’ve seen this happen a lot. When it comes time to pick your schools, have your family visit the counselor with you and explain the varied choices you need to make. I’ve seen many families assume that their high achieving kid is going to get full scholarship offers to HPY, and are shocked to find out that they are expected to pay a goodly part of the cost, and that their kid, though stellar, is not given the most competitive awards.</p>
<p>My son was considered a good candidate for a GA Tech presidential award, given others at his school who had gotten one in the past. Nope. Didn’t make the cut. Got into GT but would have had to have gone on our dimes. The Hotel School at Cornell was considered a good choice for him as well, and he was flushed out of that one, as fast as they got his app. Not a good start on his college apps. But there were some unexpected good surprises too. I had a pretty good handle on the possibilities, but I was still surprised at some of the outcomes as were his counselors. So certain "what ifs’ were not even on the table at the end of the year when we had the hard offers.</p>