<p>taxguy…again, for students incurring overwhelming debt, I concur on everything. For parents who will be unable to pay back parent loans, I also concur that a cheaper college would be the way to go. What I don’t agree with are the many posts that a cheaper college is the way to go and use the money you would have spent on a more expensive college on something else. We will find a way to pay the parent loans and all the rest of the money we are putting toward college. This is not money that I would have given to my kids instead, had they gone to cheaper colleges. </p>
<p>Also, my kids did not pick their colleges based on the hopes that attending elite colleges would help with grad school admissions. That topic never ever arose. Yes, my kid who attended an Ivy for UG, got into several of the top grad programs in her field. I can’t say that is because she went to the Ivy! I think it is cause of who she is and what she did. She got the top award in her UG dept. at graduation, and this was coming from an unknown rural public HS where she was the only student in her class to go to an Ivy. So, I think it is the student who makes it, not where they came from. </p>
<p>The reason my kids selected their colleges were based on fit in many areas. We didn’t choose by price. But I understand that price matters if you can’t come up with the funds to pay back loans, etc. But if you can, many of us do think it is worth it. Also, someone brought up the kind of jobs one can get when they graduate, such as in performing arts, and if paying a lot for college is worth it. Again, we did not consider the price for the college in terms of potential pay for our kid. We paid for the education in and of itself. I went to elite college and grad school and am in a low paying field myself (education). We are pleased with the experiences our kids had at their respective colleges and that as worth it for its own sake. </p>
<p>I don’t believe in spending money on what you can’t afford. But if you can find a way to pay for it, I see nothing wrong with going to a more expensive college if the fit is better for the student, even if one could save the money for some other purpose.</p>