Parents of College Class of 2018 (A.K.A., "Is this the line to the poor house?")

[madge]

Save the BB&B coupons and take all of them in when you shop. Most stores will accept them even if they are expired. Just have the cashier ring up items separately. Our store here WILL NOT accept expired coupons, but a store in Colo. will, so we will shop three when we are in CO this summer. DD is itching to start shopping for stuff, but I told her to hold off until later when she meets her roommate so that they can coordinate.

This might sound like a dumb question... Is the FAFSA tied to state taxes in any way? DD didn't do her state taxes yet. She only gets $1.00 back, so this is low on her priority list. However, one of the schools (not the one she is going to) wants FAFSA completed by March 1st. It's all done and submitted, but then I got to wondering if DD should get here state forms filed by Friday. I am 99.9% sure that state taxes have nothing to do with the FAFSA since it's federal, but that .1% wants to sure.

just Federal taxes. I'm 99.5% sure on that. LOL

our BBB quit taking expireds years ago.

 

[TLuvsD]

Our BBB takes the expired ones. You might ask neighbors and family for theirs if you need unexpired ones.

If you have a Container store near you, they will likely hold a college shopping event in late July/early August. Something like 15% or 20% off everything you buy that night. They are a little pricey, so a list is a good idea...but they have some really nice things.

 

[Bluestars]

And I am sorry, btw, that I have not been here more! DS and I just took our last cruise together for a good while... scrimped and saved and ate a whole lot of cereal for dinner for a whole year to be able to go, and it was worth every sacrifice. We made memories that nothing will ever be able to erase.

Right before we left we had one last Sea Aggie Preview at A&M down in Galveston, and it was the most helpful yet. DS was invited into the honors program, and that came with a small $1K scholarship. Every little bit helps!! What was so helpful this time was that this time, they had speakers who are current honors students. My son wasn't even going to go -- he had already spoken to the head of the honors program and pretty much decided he didn't want to do that, but hearing actual students talk about it gave him a completely different perspective. I'm so glad we went. We also found out that the school has enough funds from the Terry Foundation to offer 16 of the full-ride scholarships, which is way more than we thought. DS is one of 32 still in the running, and I wish I could hibernate until the winners are selected.

I got a good chuckle out of y'alls comments on the FAFSA... I think the chuckles I got out of my own FAFSA were for opposite reasons. Once I got the report back and saw how low our EFC is, I figured out how poor I really am, lol. Hopefully that will help with the need-based offerings, but doesn't help too much with incidentals! Just the parking pass is like $165! I have no idea if a full-ride would cover stuff like that or not.

Anyways, we also got to measure the model dorm room when we were at Preview, and I took a bunch of pictures to help me with storage ideas.

Speaking of dorm stuff, one helpful link I got from a post on CC was for DormCo! They have *tons* of great ideas for everything pertaining to a dorm room, and lots of neat products. And some really great values. Since my son is going to loft his bed all the way up, we found a very cool bedpost shelf on the site that will attach to any post and give him a small space for alarm clock, drink, etc.

Hope the site is helpful for you guys too! And please keep posting... the good, the bad, the everything in between. Crow, cry, laugh, vent, whatever you need to do. We're all here for the same reason -- support. Love you guys!


-gina-

I am glad you and your son had a great time on the cruise! My husband and I are taking our son on a cruise as a graduation present. I am so excited.

Good luck to your son on the possible scholarship. It must be an honor for him to even still be in the running for something so competitive. It is very stressful waiting to hear news on things like this. Gosh, I think I was checking on my son's ROTC scholarship application on a daily basis. I guess with the scholarship your son might get there is no place to check on it. At least it keeps you from being OCD like I was.

 

[Pembo]

Add us to the sad list Ds got rejected from the school he really liked! We have 2 more auditions/tours this month. He has already been academically accepted to both so hopefully he'll be accepted in their music programs too. Reading "we regret to inform you" is so hard...

 

[bittybabygrower]

I am so sorry

 

[Bluestars]

Add us to the sad list Ds got rejected from the school he really liked! We have 2 more auditions/tours this month. He has already been academically accepted to both so hopefully he'll be accepted in their music programs too. Reading "we regret to inform you" is so hard...

Sorry to hear about the rejection. Good luck to him with his auditions! That's great that he is already accepted to the schools.

 

[Gina]

Good luck to your son on the possible scholarship. It must be an honor for him to even still be in the running for something so competitive. It is very stressful waiting to hear news on things like this. Gosh, I think I was checking on my son's ROTC scholarship application on a daily basis. I guess with the scholarship your son might get there is no place to check on it. At least it keeps you from being OCD like I was.

Just a quick update... DS got the email yesterday -- he's a finalist for the scholarship!! They want him for a personal interview at their expense up in Houston next month. I am nauseous with excitement and stress.


Pembo ~ So sorry about your son's news :-( But maybe it happened for a reason, and he'll end up liking one of the other schools even more!

 

[Pembo]

Just a quick update... DS got the email yesterday -- he's a finalist for the scholarship!! They want him for a personal interview at their expense up in Houston next month. I am nauseous with excitement and stress.


Pembo ~ So sorry about your son's news :-( But maybe it happened for a reason, and he'll end up liking one of the other schools even more!

Congrats Gina!

 

[JeannieNM]

Pembo- I am so sorry that your son did not get into the school. It is so hard having to face the auditions and all the competition. Hopefully he will love where he ends up.

Gina- sending your son good luck on his interview and scholarship pursuit.

We had a 50/50 week. DD got another academic acceptance and an artistic rejection. It was hard but luckily she is busy and after some tears, fears, and doubts she has moved on.

She has not heard from her top 4 schools on either the academic side or the artistic. So we are waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting....It is really hard waiting.....

 

[elgerber]

Shifting back to the dorm question, for those of you who have kids in dorms already, how much of their clothes do they take with them?? I was just doing laundry today, and my dd has sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo many shirts, it's insane! I can go for a few weeks without washing shirts for her. I am just wondering what is a reasonable number to take to school. They are mainly girly fit t-shirts, so it's not like they take up a ton of room.

 

[Bluestars]

Just a quick update... DS got the email yesterday -- he's a finalist for the scholarship!! They want him for a personal interview at their expense up in Houston next month. I am nauseous with excitement and stress.

That is wonderful news!! He is so close! Good luck.

 

[PrincessNancy96]

Shifting back to the dorm question, for those of you who have kids in dorms already, how much of their clothes do they take with them?? I was just doing laundry today, and my dd has sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo many shirts, it's insane! I can go for a few weeks without washing shirts for her. I am just wondering what is a reasonable number to take to school. They are mainly girly fit t-shirts, so it's not like they take up a ton of room.

I have a DD who is a sophomore in college.. her freshman year she took almost everything... This year she took about half of what she did last year... She took all her summer stuff and several of her winter items (especially sweatshirts and sweaters)....She does have many items that she keeps for both seasons... jeans/sweaters/sweatshirts etc. Then when she came back for Thanksgiving she took the rest of her winter items and brought home a majority of her summer clothes... She is headed back hopefully in 2 weeks and she'll bring home winter and take back summer items... Although I may have to drive her stuff done because she is an RA and may ended up working all of spring break since campus dorms do not close for spring break like they do for Christmas break.

Hope that helps even a little.

 

[PrincessNancy96]

Congrats Gina to your DS.. that is great news..

To those who has received the other letters... Better things are yet to come...

 

[TLuvsD]

You want to buy those slim hangers for the dorm, they really save a lot of space. Our D is also a sophomore, freshman year she took a lot of summer clothes, then picked up clothes for cooler weather when she came home. Some of this depends on how far they are going and the weather conditions where the college is located.
The tshirts, jeans and sweatshirts are more or less universal, year round wear.

 

[madge]

Just a quick update... DS got the email yesterday -- he's a finalist for the scholarship!! They want him for a personal interview at their expense up in Houston next month. I am nauseous with excitement and stress.

yay! yay! yay!

 

[IDoDis]

Pembo -- I'm so sorry! I hope that brighter days are ahead. I don't know how you music and dance people deal with that added layer of auditions and acceptances to the whole process! It must be really stressful for everyone.


Gina, that is so awesome! The field must be pretty small now! I hope he gets one of them! Full ride, right? Good luck to your DS!

 

[madge]

and all this time I thought rejection letters were the worst .... well, they're not. worse than a rejection letter is a borderling insulting scholarship offer. and I say borderline because it's only slightly better than nothing.

make no mistake, I don't believe my child is some sort of special snowflake ... I consider myself to be pretty realistic when it comes to his chances for significant scholarships. evidently, at this particular school ... you either qualify for a full ride or $1500. nothing in between. I was not prepared for that at all.

what a letdown. (not to mention a lot of work for DS)

 

[bittybabygrower]

Seems a lot of colleges are going that route now. Sad that the kids work so hard and get near nothing. Private schools offer more, but the state schools, at least here, suck at giving money. One I the reasons my DD is thinking of joining the Air Force ROTC, most of her schooling is paid, she will have a job in the field she wants.

 

[scrapquitler]

and all this time I thought rejection letters were the worst .... well, they're not. worse than a rejection letter is a borderling insulting scholarship offer. and I say borderline because it's only slightly better than nothing.

make no mistake, I don't believe my child is some sort of special snowflake ... I consider myself to be pretty realistic when it comes to his chances for significant scholarships. evidently, at this particular school ... you either qualify for a full ride or $1500. nothing in between. I was not prepared for that at all.

what a letdown. (not to mention a lot of work for DS)

I know exactly what you mean. My DD was admitted to her first choice school's honors program. With no merit scholarship. Zero. When I called, they told me everyone in the top 10% of their class admitted to the honors program gets a scholarship. My DD is ranked 26 of 230. No scholarship for her. If she were in a less competitive high school, she'd have gotten a scholarship. As a result, she's not going to that University.

 

[tajz90]

It's extremely sad that merit scholarships are getting less and less.