M.A. asks: Our daughter excelled academically – she has a 4.43 GPA and passed nine AP classes! She got into her dream school, but even with a scholarship, the $70K yearly difference in cost was too high without jeopardizing our retirement. She’ll attend a very strong state school instead – any advice on how to make us all feel better about the decision?
Your daughter should be proud of receiving an acceptance letter to her dream school. The rising costs of college attendance are no secret, and your family is not alone in making tough decisions about cost. While my team at CollegeAdvisor emphasizes the importance of evaluating cost factors on the front end, we’ve still seen several students admitted to their dream schools but enrolling at another great institution with a lower cost of attendance.
The beauty of creating a balanced college list is that hopefully, most – if not all – of the schools on a student’s final list should excite them. It might not be her No. 1 choice, but my hope is that the school she will be attending is somewhere she can envision herself thriving.
Here’s the silver lining: Your daughter still gets to capitalize on the opportunity to receive a competitive education at a lower cost to your family. What she does with her education will determine the true return on investment.
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