^Excellent point, ucb. We’ve been in that scenario too. I didn’t think to mention that Pell eligibility can affect state grants too. NYS residents should note that families who qualify for the ~$7k NYS Excelsior tuition grant and full ~$6k Pell Grant will only get ~$1,000 for tuition. NYS applies the Pell grant to tuition first, and the Excelsior will only be used to cover the balance. It is very difficult to pull together enough money for residential college if you’re at the upper limits of Pell eligibility but have a modest income and a student with average stats. Families have to read about different types of financial aid and understand how they work.
EconPop, you have a lot of good information to share. I can see how you might think your son’s stats, where he’s accepted, and what aid he’s awarded are personal and not relevant to other people’s journey, but the purpose of this site is to ask questions and share experiences. Surely you’ve read threads here that had specific information that helped your journey.
Kids with average stats and limited resources aren’t well represented here. I think some of the feedback you’re getting is because, at first glance, your thread looks like it would help fill that hole. But by being purposely vague and not giving results you’re setting up a “lady and the tiger” situation where posters have to create their own ending. Families in this situation need more information, not less.
If the sum total of what you want to say is “apply broadly and see what happens,” that’s fine. You’ve done that. But I don’t really understand the purpose of dangling carrots such as “we have several affordable in state options” without letting other lowish income/average stats kids know where those things can be found. If your plan is to report back x number of affordable acceptances without saying where they are or what the net cost is I hope you reconsider. Yes, it’s nice to know affordable options are out there, but why would you want to keep them a secret?