<p>Love this thread. Been reading it off and on for a long time. Our DS turned down several great schools with little to no aid for the once in a lifetime full ride offer at the 2nd tier LAC. He is happy as a clam and thriving. Not an Arts major, but I think the lessons of debt vs dream school can be universally applied. We have a friend whose daughter is attending an Ivy. They ran up nearly 100K in debt (daughter and parents) thru the end of her sophomore year until the daughter joined the AF Reserves and established independent student status which is not an easy thing to do these days. She reapproached her Ivy with the new financial info and her financial aid turned upside down overnight with the Ivy picking up most of the tab. She did this all herself. Smart kid. I think she is a History major.</p>