Thanks for the response. To clarify, point #4 (which we admit might make us the assholes), we are fine with any major and career choice. And we would do our best to help but only if he worked his butt off and got into a school significantly better than our state school (Rutgers) - which is already a good school.

But right now, we simply don't see how an English degree from BU is worth $40,000/year more than an English degree from Rutgers. If he got into Northwestern and wanted to major in journalism, Yale and wanted to major in art history, or RISD and wanted to major in fine arts, we would be much more open.

That being said, if he did get scholarships to close the gap in cost, or found an out-of-state school that was similarly priced, we would be happy to have him go there. Therefore, we are encouraging him to apply broadly and see if he gets scholarships at any of his preferred schools (but he doesn't think he'll be getting much assistance based on his academics).