My son was offered a spot at a very good college. When the conversation turned to scholarship or academic money we were told, very little is available. The school currently costs $66k to attend. My 14 year old son doesn't have a clue what he wants to major in or what career he wants to pursue. We decided to wait. We could have played the commit as a fall back game but decided to have some integrity. He has very good grades so we are expecting there to me other offers to similar schools and hopefully some real $$ is offered. If not, so be it. We'll make a more informed decision further down the line as he matures. Bottomline, I don't want him to be saddled with $300k in debt when it may not be necessary to pursue his career goals.
Finally a little sanity on here. Don't get sucked into the brand name BS game. No one is offering your son a CEO position when he gets out of school, this is a fact. $300k in debt will take a lifetime to pay off. Even if your son gets a high paying job when he gets out. I promise you, there are mid level top 20-30 schools, lax wise, that will offer your son a ton of money. That money will come from both Lax and academics. You're making a smart decision. You can't believe the kind of money they can come up with if they really want your son. I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't hear it for myself. Good luck!
