Rebecca Gottlieb holds up a shirt from her new school while wearing one from her old school at her family home on Bainbridge Island, Wash. Gottlieb's family paid $50,000 last year so she could attend Tufts University 2,500 miles away in Medford, Mass. So the 19-year-old made the choice many college students are contemplating right now, she gave up her dream of earning a degree from a prestigious private university and is moving back home to finish her undergraduate education at Western Washington University, where tuition, housing, books and fees will total about $15,000 next year. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Question: My family pieced together scholarships, student loans, and parent loans to enable my two kids to attend private schools in the Portland, Ore., area. I've paid off the loans for my son's education at Linfield College (annual cost about $22,500 at the time). I'm still paying on the one for my daughter to attend University of Portland (annual cost $33,000). I don't know if we could pull it off on a single income today. Have your kids had to settle for a second choice re: college as a result of today's tuition and related costs?