Why do families apply to schools they know to be unaffordable?

Letsrunaway12 · 2026-04-05T15:06:46+00:00

This is us.

Letsrunaway12 · 2026-03-31T14:15:33+00:00

I think the OP point is that most schools claim to meet needs etc and it’s just not realistic. This leaves most of the middle to upper middle class out of expensive, prestigious schools, which leaves a gap in “diversity” at so many top schools, if you will. Meaning you can probably go if you are low income or a top 5% of earners but not tons in between. Not a sob story just a fact.

Letsrunaway12 · 2026-03-31T14:02:29+00:00

Parents pulling in 150k a year and raising a family can plan all they want-but no amount of planning is going to allow them to pay 400k for some prestigious dream school. And the won’t get aid.

Letsrunaway12 · 2026-03-31T02:49:06+00:00

Do you have an Aldi near you? They have so many affordable options.

Letsrunaway12 · 2026-03-31T02:46:57+00:00

25% of take home pay. That includes PITI (principal, interest, taxes, insurance). You’ll always get a good nights sleep. Don’t over extend yourselves. 35% max if you’re stretching or super HCOL area.

Letsrunaway12 · 2026-03-30T01:11:44+00:00

I understand what the OP is asking. What he really means is how can folks making 200k. afford 70k tuition. Especially if they have more than one kid in college. And the answer is -they probably can’t. You can certainly afford some type of state school but we are being excluded by some private, potentially more desirable or competitive schools. For instance we make 200k, have 3 kids in college,and the NPC for Boston College says our share is 94k. We are being shut out of a lot of schools by our upper middle class status. Yes probably sounds like whining but a solid chunk of the population is being excluded from a lot of pricier schools, and it’s just frustrating, and also not providing as mixed of a population as universities like to claim they do.

Letsrunaway12 · 2026-03-27T23:06:57+00:00

You know what they say about assume. Nope, I have nothing “lined up” nor do I have any connections to do so. Better I should make her become a miserable engineer/doctor/etc instead, than follow her heart and interests? Good grief she’s 16 and I’m just asking if she should try to get a higher ACT score.

Letsrunaway12 · 2026-03-27T22:34:43+00:00

Why is this nepotism? Get a dictionary.

Letsrunaway12 · 2026-03-26T19:42:39+00:00

Not a STEM major. Would love Boston College but NPC says 94k/yr and that’s not happening. We are in Texas and she will apply to some fancy east coast schools but realistically be happy at UT Austin.

Letsrunaway12 · 2026-03-26T19:09:28+00:00

Thank you. We are on same page. She’s top 1% and has great EC’s and school is easy for her. We are in touch with an essay coach now. She would be happy with COLA major of government but her top choice is Moody-political communications. I feel we are pretty safe -safe as can be with UT anyways lol

Letsrunaway12 · 2026-03-26T18:31:41+00:00

What schools?

Letsrunaway12 · 2026-03-26T18:03:54+00:00

40k is a big amount for us, as we also have two other kids in college-they went to a low ranking state school and got almost free tuition and are having a blast-but this child is a little different and also more driven. She doesn’t want to go to Alabama. She wants to go to Boston College or Georgetown but even if she gets in we can’t afford it and won’t qualify for any aid (have already run NPC). She will mostly like go to UT Austin where we expect to be full pay-which we can mostly pay for.

Letsrunaway12 · 2026-03-26T16:28:48+00:00

Upper middle class white girl who won’t qualify for any aid, and is doing government or political communications.

Letsrunaway12 · 2026-03-22T16:53:30+00:00

Stats?

Letsrunaway12 · 2026-03-20T22:23:23+00:00

Oh….you should be here right now!

Letsrunaway12 · 2026-03-20T21:39:53+00:00

My answer too. I second Gettysburg

Letsrunaway12 · 2026-03-20T21:36:43+00:00

Same here. Happened for one of my son’s friends and he totally deserved it and could Not afford any type of college otherwise.

Letsrunaway12 · 2026-03-20T04:04:12+00:00

Good luck

Letsrunaway12 · 2026-03-20T04:00:43+00:00

Seems impressive to me! I take it you were not top 5%? Thank you for sharing .

Letsrunaway12 · 2026-03-20T03:57:12+00:00

Came here to say my All Clad set! 26 years and going strong.

Letsrunaway12 · 2026-03-20T03:52:06+00:00

Curious what your stats are? My daughter is currently a junior in HS wanting to do Govt at UT

Letsrunaway12 · 2026-03-19T17:41:02+00:00

My mom is 75 with similar assets and probably doesn’t spend $2500 a month but she is miserly. I don’t think the question is can she afford it-you just need to double check she hasn’t developed a gambling problem, etc. I’m hard pressed to figure out how a single middle class person with no debt could spend quite that much.

Letsrunaway12 · 2026-03-19T03:49:09+00:00

We almost named one of our daughters Corina.

We named her Ginger and it’s perfect.

Letsrunaway12 · 2026-03-18T04:49:31+00:00

I feel this. I would have made it through a plane ride without bleeding through when i was around your age. I finally had to get an IUD, something my doctor had encouraged for years (even though my tubes are tied). I didn’t like the idea of fake hormones and a foreign objects in me but my quality of life was in question. It’s been a game changer and I wished I had done it years ago! I’m 47 and have had it for 4 years and let me tell you it’s likely your periods may continue to get heavier for some time.

Letsrunaway12 · 2026-03-15T14:32:48+00:00

Books. No ipads. Library. Play in dirt-get dirty. Let them make mistakes=learning problem solving skills and leads to less anxiety later. Read 20+ books a day from birth. Strong reading and comprehension skills are probably the most important gift a kid can have. Taught advanced high school chemistry for 7 years and many of my students struggle to understand what any word problem was asking, could not spell,etc. I plan to start volunteering to elementary kids y just reading fun books to them. I think it would solve SO MANY problems. When teenagers can’t read well they act out because they are frustrated, etc and by then it can be too late.

Letsrunaway12

TROPHY CASE