We’re going through a similar dilemma. My son’s into several great schools (BC, Michigan, UVa, etc). Right now BC is number one but they offered zero financial aid. Some other “lower” ranked schools have offered about $25k per year in merit scholarships, making them about $100k less than BC over 4 years. So, I guess the question becomes, do you like BC more than School X + $100k? We’re trying not to let money influence the decision, but it’s obviously a factor. My overall advice to the person who posted this is to go where you want UNLESS you’ll have more than, say, $50k in personal debt. It also depends on what you want to do in the future. If you want to be a teacher or social worker, you definitely don’t want debt.