<p>Oh, and the upshot of my S’s story. The FA from at that 1st choice school turned out to be considerably less than several other schools, which made me wonder, after the fact, if the auditors had been aware they had to compete for admits in a climate of other schools with merit, and larger FA to offer? I don’t really know. Again–just speculation–perhaps they gave my son an on-the-spot yes in order to get him super-excited about attending? (He was.) But he was very fortunate to have affordable options and he chose a different program. This is stressful, even if you have been totally upfront with your kid about finances–because a top dream school is such a big thing to a HS senior. The school he chose was his other top choice (whew)–although with a bit less prestige. My advice (not that anyone asked) is to encourage students to find more than one desirable program and keep an open mind. Building a good list, that is affordable, is hard!! With FA a mystery until the very last minute, it means a lot of uncertainty. But I still love that great school who gave my S such an early and unexpected boost of confidence.</p>