<p>Our son here is a finalist, admitted to some colleges already from the early action round or rolling admission that sponsor National Merit scholarships. One of those colleges is reminding him repeatedly to designate it as his first choice–which in some respects it is. One college that will decide on a regular decision application is also a National Merit scholarship college sponsor; most places he has applied do not have National Merit scholarships. Besides student preference, what else do you recommend as criteria for deciding which college to designate as the first-choice college? All the choices in hand are sufficiently good that they could be “first choice,” especially if one has a substantial cost advantage over another. </p>
<p>I think all the colleges in question are pretty good about covering demonstrated financial need for low-income students. (It feels weird to us, who usually think of ourselves as “middle-class,” to be deemed “low-income,” but our FAFSA estimated family contribution is, realistically, not very large at all.) So what’s the best way to decide a first-choice college if all colleges endeavor to meet demonstrated financial need? </p>
<p>Good luck to all of you grappling with the same decision. I’d love to hear from other families who you are balancing the pros and cons of making one choice or another.</p>