<p>We have told our daughter we won’t limit where she applies based on $$, but that $$ would have to be factored into any final decision. I have alwasy regretted somewhat my parent limiting my choice to the local state school, and I don’t want my daughter to have the same regrets. That said, she gets the expense side, and it certainly gave her more impetus to study for standardized tests, keep her GPA up, etc. As I tell her a lot, getting a 32 on the ACT opens up some schools for consideration that may not have been on the list for financial reasons; that and her GPA make some good scholarship money available.</p>
<p>The other thing about costs is, for want of a better term, the ROI. For example, would a lower priced school give a child the same competitive advantage as another? I don’t know how you answer that. If the goal is a Broadway career then I suppose you have to look at the track record of kids from a certain school reaching that goal, extent of contacts that can be made in the industry, etc. Any other thoughts out there?</p>