Marsian: I really like your perspective and hope my kids have that as well.
Thanks Mom2CK, not sure how it will play out. Youngest may still end up at a public U.
Also, to me, there are some schools that are worth “full pay” and others that are not. If one kid can attend an Ivy full pay, because he or she happens to have that level of ability and ambition, but another would be full pay at a regional university, when a state school would offer the same level of education, not sure I would be willing to pay $55K plus for a regional U. OTOH, if one kid had educational needs that could only be accommodated at a few high-cost schools, I might stretch my budget for that experience. In either case, life was not as fair to the kid that did not get the high ability and/or high level of drive that more accomplished kid had. Not sure how that fits into the spending parity equation.