Questions, Confusion, Geology Major

Cardinal_Fang
Mon, 14 Sep 2015 15:09:36 +0000

Carolinanora, you say that this or that school “gives good merit aid,” but it seems to me you’re looking at the wrong number. Instead of looking at the discount, you need to look at the bottom line (the net cost) and whether you can afford it. Your daughter needs to apply to at least one school, and preferably several schools, that (1) you know you can afford, given the aid that you know she will get and (2) she likes. Figure out the safeties and the matches, and then she can apply to a few schools that are academic reaches, or that you probably can’t afford even if she were to be admitted.

How much can you afford to pay per year? Make a spreadsheet of the colleges she is interested in, the cost given the merit aid she can reasonably expect, and the cost given the merit aid she could possibly get if she was really fortunate. Pay no attention either to the sticker price, or to the amount of the expected merit aid-- just look at the bottom line, because that’s what you’ll pay. If a college is too expensive even with the most generous merit aid possible, cross it off the list now.

So, Texas. It’ll cost you $50K/year before merit aid, and she won’t get merit aid. Can you afford that? If not, Texas falls in the financial reach category, and she needs to keep looking.

But let’s look at the University of Montana. Missoula is a great little town, and she’d only have to pay $34K/year. Can you afford that?