[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by cstreit

FWIW in general the people I know that got a full ride from Mom/Dad didn't do as well as those who really earned their education through loans/jobs/etc...

Don't underestimate this element. I watched two of my wife's younger sisters screw around at college while mom and dad were paying the bills, not taking school seriously until their parents finally cut them off. It's really easy to treat college as a parent funded vacation without any skin in the game. Both were/are great kids that did well in high school, they just took advantage of the situation.