My son is attending a D3 this year. It was quite a bit more expensive than public universities he was interested in but after the academic money he received it is virtually the same cost to us. Plus he can play ball at the D3 and cannot at the larger public university. Also, we were able to show his current school the academic packages he was offered elsewhere and was able to get a little extra. The recruiting coordinator had my son go ahead and apply before they asked him to come play ball for them so they were sure he would be accepted and that we could afford to send him there. Don't let the price tag of some private D3s scare you off.