<p>IUmom7: I don’t know how to cut quotes and re-post them, but I wanted to address what you said about you being worried your child would get lost in the shuffle of a large school. That is a major concern for us - D is very shy and quiet.</p>
<p>She has every intention of getting her PhD, but was wondering if the first 4 years mattered as much as where she would go to graduate school. Cost is always a factor and she has the in-state money coming if she chooses a SC school; Furman scholars money if she chooses to go there (amount ?); etc… This BY NO MEANS covers everything, so money is a consideration for sure (it really is unfortunate that you can’t find out about merit scholarships prior to applying - it would make everyone’s life so much easier if we had that information up front). I have no idea IF or HOW MUCH financial aid we would be eligible for…from reading all the posts, it looks like we need to use one of the online calculators to figure that out. </p>
<p>Thank you everyone for your posts. :)</p>