I read many great stories of people turning down high ranked college for a full ride at Honors and what not. I thought it would be interesting to hear the individual stories of the reverse situation. Is this less common? If not many follow up posts, I will assume it’s less common or those who did this rather not talk about it. Lol
Many years ago, I turned down four years of free tuition plus free room and board at a slightly above average private college to attend the stellar Williams College at full pay, and I have never regretted it.
(For all those on this site who understandably worry about long-term consequences to the middle-class parents of full-pay students, I am also pleased to note that my parents, both public school teachers who took out a second mortgage on their house at the time to make it possible, are enjoying a wonderful retirement— they took two cruise vacations, saw some Broadway shows, and are living in a nice senior living community. They lived frugally all their lives when I was young to make my college education possible and to save for their retirement, and their planning worked out well.)
My son was accepted early decision this year to his top choice college, but if he had not been, and if he had been given full tuition at some of the schools to which he would have applied RD that offered merit, he would have chosen many (but not all) of his more selective colleges above the free ride college as well, and we would have supported his choice.
My son’s reason now and mine years ago were identical. We wanted to immerse ourselves in the life of the mind at a college where almost every student is smart and very intellectually oriented. Williams is an amazing college where the opportunities available, and the interactions with peers and professors, create an amazing educational experience for four years.
It is not the right choice for every family, as financial circumstances vary. But if one can provide this opportunity for one’s child, and the child earned his/her admission to a top college through hard work all through high school, in my opinion, there is nothing better on which to spend one’s money.
D1 was offered a full ride at a good LAC. She was accepted as their Presidential Scholar. She turned it down for Cornell as a full pay student. I never regretted the decision because 1) I could afford it without greatly impacting our lifestyle, 2) she had the best 4 years college experience (according to her), 3) she was able to get a high paying job after graduation.
We are now facing something similar for D2’s law school options. She has been admitted to a top 5 school (probably without money) and possibly some merit money at other top 14 schools. This time is going to be much harder because I am not sure if I want to or can pay another 250K.
Not my kid - but a friend’s son turned down the Jefferson Scholar program at UVA to go to Harvard. He is a graduating senior this year and does not regret his decision.
@TheGreyKing Since you were full pay at Williams your parents were at least moderately affluent. Many families do not have that luxury. Many families do not even own a home on which to take a second mortgage. You are also assuming that without Williams your life would not have been as happy and successful as it has been.
There aren’t test cases with kids. No matter how well a given choice turns out, there may well have been at least one option not taken that would have turned out better. And no matter who poorly a given choice turns out, every other option on the table at the time the decision was made may well have turned out worse. You take the info that you have at the time, make a decision and move forward. Given decisions that worked or didn’t work for someone else may not work/may work well for you.
Not exactly the same thing, but my husband and I allowed our daughter to apply ED to Cornell even though we knew that she would have been a strong candidate for a full ride at our state university (which was her safety school). She was admitted to Cornell ED, so we never found out whether she would have gotten the free ride from the state school. However, classmates with comparable credentials did get it.
No regrets.
@Marian: Similar experience. Son applied ED to Northwestern, then received a stellar package from a state flagship which included tuition, fees, room (but not board), foreign travel & , if I recall correctly, a book allowance. Withdrew the ED contract supplement, but still chose Northwestern.
To address the OP’s question: Why ?
Tough to answer. The state flagship had a mandatory long weekend for the scholarship students that was scheduled during the same weekend as son’s high school graduation from boarding school. Attended graduation, but the state flagship offer remained intact. Had our son attended the state flagship week for scholarship students, the choice might have been different.
But our son & our family preferred NU even over Ivies.
@Marian - Similar here. Son applied ED to UChicago and was accepted. Although the cost to attend was likely to be free or almost free at our state flagship and he could have likely gone to one of the top English colleges for a little less than half what UChicago is going to cost, he’s going to UChicago. UChicago is a fantastic school and a fantastic fit for him, so I feel grateful that I’m in a position to be able to allow him to make that choice without greatly impacting my finances. But having grown up poor, I’m also very aware what an incredible luxury that is. He would have been fine at a number of places.
A close family member.
It was a question of fit.
And there were no regrets.
Choosing a prestige college at full price versus a full ride at a non-prestige college is is purely a form of consumption. If you can afford it—great! It’s like asking if anyone would take a loan for an Audi A8 or pay cash for a Hyundai Elantra.
For law school, the effects on job and career opportunities (and therefore the financial ROI) are less opaque than for undergraduate, since everyone at law school is studying law and seeking a law job (while undergraduates study many majors and have much more diverse job and career goals).
Yes, but you choose which forms of consumption you want to pay for.
My husband and I allowed our daughter to go to an expensive school even though she could have had lower cost options. But we both drive Hyundais, which are fully paid for.
The parent’s full pay costs were likely less of a burden back in the day than today’s costs are.
Upwards of at least $50K per year is a huge chunk of money. Not convinced even places with Harvard’s reputation are worth it- but then, gifted son would not even tour that campus when in the neighborhood. A top undergrad student from a non top college can go to a top grad school in the field (with stipends of course) and save a ton of money.
For law school there are average and well above average schools. It will depend on where the D plans on her law practice and the type. So many lawyers have trouble finding jobs to pay bills without adding those for school. Supply and demand.
@oldfort: Interesting dilemma. Columbia & Chicago place well. Depends upon the T-14 schools in question & the scholarship amounts offered. ucbalumnus provided a great chart from law school transparency that should help.
Top law firms recruit heavily and almost exclusively from top law schools. Go to the best law school you can get into.
@Veryapparent : The choice is limited to T-14 law schools.
The entire T-14 “places well”; the issue is what kind of law and where the student wants to end up. If the choice is Yale full pay or Columbia with money, and the kid wants a job at a top white shoe law firm in NY, take the money from Columbia and run. Want to be a judge or a law professor? Think hard before turning down Yale. Want to run for Senate from Virginia? Take the money from UVA, turn down Harvard, and don’t look back.
"What kind of Law "? Are you referring to corporate versus public interest ?
Also, the issues remain at Columbia/Chicago with no money versus lower T-14 with an unknown amount of scholarship money; and how much money is needed at a particular lower T-14 to turn down Chicago/Columbia at full pay ?