Wow guys, this is great new info. DS just finished his first year @ a public college in NC (out of state for him). They have an awesome alumni base. When we talked to financial aid, we were told that 26K (tuition, room, and board) was the worst case scenario, and that NO ONE gets worse case scenario. Guess what? Pat's tuition last year hit that mark. His GPA was higher than most. That FASFA stuff is a joke. We were told that we should be able to contribute $1100 per month towards his education. We could certainly do that, if we did not eat, or have electricity, or buy gas for the cars. The "Please tell us why you think your kid should attend for less" essay from the school-another joke." We had lots of reasons, unfortunately, they just looked at the pay stubs....Patrick loves, loves, loves, his school, and had an awesome first year. If we do the math, after four years, he will be over $100K in debt---and he wants to be an elementary school teacher.....The system is so messed up!!!!