Late to the party (are families really going 150 to 200k in debt for undergrad?)

[ucbalumnus]

@Dis3456

She will mostly be applying to big public universities, and that fit is entirely wrong for her (but we need to know that we have a few places that we can actually afford to send her). We will be applying to a few private universities in hopes of hitting the lottery with a full ride scholarship. She has the stats and ECs but so do many other kids, and we just cannot count on that. She’s a STEM kid so most LACs are out since they do not offer engineering. I pray daily that she ends up at the best place for her and that she has at least one affordable option where she will be happy (it doesn’t have to be top tier).

How much is “affordable”? What fit criteria make big public universities a bad fit?

There are small engineering-focused colleges if she wants engineering that makes most LACs unsuitable. Some are not that expensive (e.g. SD Mines, NM Tech), and some may offer significant merit to a top-end student.