Parents/Current Students: Does paying for college

MomCares
Mon, 05 Dec 2011 19:37:38 +0000

I hope your parents are committed to helping with your college costs, since in spite of current cash flow problems it does sound like they have more resources than many families.

For what it’s worth, my SIL has been a college counselor for over 30 years, and she says that in spite of her own frugal tendencies she has developed a STRONG bias in favor of families reaching for the very best education they can afford. She says she’s seen MANY students who chose a cheap school over the school of their dreams who end up dropping out or making a costly (in terms of both time and money) transfer later.

She urged us to do whatever it took (I refuse to take loans but that’s another story) to send D to NU rather than the several full-ride options she had, and much to my surprise so far we’re all making it work and are all feeling VERY good about that decision.

Remember that even a “free” school isn’t free when you consider that you devote at least 4 of the prime years of your life to going there.