So, the college search that began two years ago ended today
Today, our kid picked a school from the list of those that sent an acceptance, and I forked over a chunk of money to secure a spot in the class of 2019. I'm not going to give the cave dwellers ammo to track my kid down, so I won't say which one. I will say it is a private institution, and it is ranked by US News as one of the top 10 schools in the US.
Some random observations:
1) The FAFSA and the CSS profile are not exactly the most user friendly documents of all time. The good folks at TurboTax need to develop something to guide folks through this process.
2) The selection process, for us, has been lengthy and expensive. We made trips to visit schools, and sent in 10 applications to get 4 "Yes" answers, 4 "Waitlists" and 2 "No". The applications cost money;; the ACT, SAT, and Subject tests cost money; the CSS profile submissions cost money. I realize that there are a sizable number of people who just send their kid to the local commuter school, regardless of ability. There is a certain appeal to this approach.
3) Did I also mention the process is stressful? When your kid announces another waitlist, it's beyond disheartening -- and there's nothing you can do other than to tell your kid to stand fast and wait for other answers.
4) At one level, I felt like we were penalized from the perspective of the FAFSA for having saved for college in 529 funds and an UTMA/UGMA. When I corrected a mistake to show that my daughter had money in an UTMA (I'd believed it was a 529 originally), the EFC rose substantially.
5) At another level, I would not have done things differently. If you have a smart kid, look at private schools in the top 25. Most of these offer much better financial aid than any public school outside of your home state. In some cases, you'll be better off than within your state.
We've proud of our kid, and we feel (a little, at least) validated as parents.
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If you want to be a hardass, force 'em to SKYPE you when they need a few bucks! That way, at least you can lay eyes on 'em on occasion! You're entering the zone of "I'm Independent and I Need Some Walking Around Dough!!!" Not quite as bad as puberty...but only just!
Nowadays, you don't have to send an envelope, the colleges have debit cards that the sucker parents can "plus up" so the little angels can buy their cokes and snacks and schoolbooks! They've got the whole "separating the 'rents from their cash" thing down to a fine science~~!
