Ah, the fog lifts. That five college consortium is a big selling point. All of those schools (except U.Mass) are outstanding in one or more areas, Amherst being generally the strongest. One of my daughter's friends was just accepted early decision to Amherst, another to Williams, three to Dartmouth, two to Harvard, one to Yale, one to Wesleyan, and one to Stanford. Big year. But, because my daugther wants music performance, she has to apply regular, go through auditions this winter, and won't know until April where she'll be going. Her considerations are very specific, however: which studios (that accept her) does she think will give her the best training and provide the best contacts for job opportunities. And then we have to figure the money out.... it's not worth going to a school even for free if you don't think the teacher can give you what you need, but there may well be some trade-offs that end up being made. Part of the problem is that the best and most selective school (right now) for her instrument happens to be very expensive and gives little merit aid. That one would be hard to turn down, even with some debt, because right now there's no 'second place' -- the next best is even harder to get into, but free (Curtis), and after than, we start making tradeoffs.
And don't we pay....