But I can understand why people get sensitive when they have dealt with people using an innocent question in an aggresive way. When you have to deal with something all the time it gets old. Of course, to all get along at some point you take things at face value and work to get along but it is good to think about the manner you ask people stuff too.

A lot of people have mentioned very rude ways of asking things and I can understand how that would be annoying and this thread showed me how tired people get of that since I haven't experienced it. I can understand that but what if someone actually wanted to know where you were from, you answered Pennsylvania, and they then they threw out, "Oh yeah my grandparents came up here from Pennsylvania." In other words, they were just trying to get to know you, would you still find it annoying? This is the question everyone, even white Americans with no particular accent gets where I live because unless you are an Alaskan Native then it is highly unlikely that you were born here. There just weren't that many people here 40 years ago. I can see how many of the aforementioned attitudes are a problem but if someone is just trying to be friendly and make small talk at a social event do you still think it an inappropriate question? Genuinely curious.

Thank you

So the Chemistry test has questions with 3 parts. You have to mark true or false for 2 different statements and then mark if one of them is an explanation for the other statement. I don't see how those are scored. If you get just one part of that wrong does the whole thing just count as wrong? Or can you get them 1/3 correct?

When I attended high school it was not challenging in the least. I only took one AP class. I think only three were available at my school. I did get a 5 on the test but only because I was interested in the subject. My 4th grader knows as much history as I knew in high school. One of the many reasons I decided to homeschool was because I don't understand a system that has to push and rush kindergarten students and spend so much time on pep rallies and dumbed down classes in high school. High school was pure boredom and easy to get straight A's. What I think is happening locally is those who are in public school just go along with the general curriculum and end up needing remedial classes in college (our state University has made official complaints to the public schools up here about this) or you are someone who looks ahead at college admissions and the crazy costs and start stressing about how you will pay or get in and start taking more advanced classes. Sometimes if they hear too many stories of not getting into college or not being able to pay or not get good jobs they start stressing and go overboard. I'm sure many here on the forums that teach a good but solid high school class for various subjects but depending on your local school district those solid regular high school classes may not exist. My son is doing dual enrollment but only for his strengths. We are doing regular old high school classes for English, history, etc.

Wow, that is quite the start. I was completely clueless with weddings and people were generous but if you order something etc, you would think you would know what it cost. It can be overwhelming though.

Ah, well in that case I would say there is probably a big difference in what a professional planner sees versus what people without planners do. If you don't have much to spend then why cut into that little bit with a planner? If you have plenty then it might be nice but if you have $3k then the planner won't take precedence. I moved out at 17 and lived on my own in a different state soon after and never dreamed of asking for money. When I came back for the wedding it was only for family. Because I had multiple families that didn't talk to each other the last thing I wanted to do was have an expensive party in which they both had to come. I have no idea how much my wedding cost because people gifted things for it and called that the wedding gift. Except mom, she gave me a gift and helped. :) She made the cake herself and paid for all the ingredients, bridges, toppers, etc. My dad and step mom paid for the flowers for the wedding party and parents which were basic but flowers add up fast. I paid for my own 99 dollar dress and photographer and the preacher. Venue was my in laws lawn because they take really good care of it and have pretty flowers. I have no idea where all those chairs came from. I'm assuming in laws. One Aunt gave me a huge King Salmon for a gift and another Aunt made a few huge deli trays. A few other people brought food too. I did almost no planning. People offered and I accepted and was grateful and the whole thing got planned in about a week. I had gotten a dress earlier and my bridesmaids picked out $60 dresses at Sears. So I 'm sure if you added everyone's contribution it was a couple thousand but no one person paid that and everyone seemed happy. One member of the wedding party couldn't find a vest that fit so I had 3 guys with vests and one with just a white shirt. I don't think I noticed until I looked at pics. But it didn't bother me in the least because that kind of stuff isn't that important to me. Fun fact- Our wedding night we stayed at a nice bed and breakfast. Then it was time to head down the Al-Can but we ended up sleeping in the back of the pick up in his parents yard before we left. They would have let us sleep inside but he didn't want to wake them. We got up about 2 in the morning to put the canopy on because it was raining. So that's what my honeymoon looked like. :)

This would explain the average. If you looked up the median it might give you a better idea. If 10 people spend $1000 on a wedding and another person spends a million the mathematical average will look nothing like the "average" as in normal wedding.

Hmm, it is hard to generalize. My 17 year old is learning self defense but only because it's a good sport for him rather than a team sport. We seem to be trudging along fine if there is one thing though I would say I wished we would have started doing more community things earlier but our life circumstances were tough for a year or two. We did more when he was little and just survived his middle school years due to family things. I would also have started some kind of outsourced class earlier just to get to get him used to others requirements, perspectives, etc even if I was capable of teaching it. He didn't get an outsourced class until 10th grade. Oh, and I would have stuck with a living language and not Latin. If you have a language lover that can do both great. Latin has benefits but I'm not sure it was worth all those hours in comparison with a living language.

Another thing I've been thinking is that state schools with merit aid won't change the amount of help they give if you get an outside scholarship whereas if you obtain outside scholarships a private school will just lower the amount of aid needed correct? So no matter what you do, you are stuck with whatever debt they think you ought to take on.

That last section will help because he has been trying to save. He already knows that we can't help him a lot though we will try to help some, that the local university doesn't have what he wants to pursue, does have a strong idea of what he does want to do. We don't have a C.C. but the local University if he could live at home would be cheap. Too bad it is not an option due to not having the degrees he wants. He actually would like to stay home. He has no idea what a stereotypical college experience is like and knowing him probably doesn't care so that may be a benefit. So far we have found we are expected to pay between $19 and $30k per year. Ha ha ha Maybe if I moved with his 3 younger siblings into a van down by the river. We have been looking at places like UA-Huntsville where he could get full ride and a number of places in the West that are part of the Western Undergraduate Exchange which will at least get him 150% in state tuition or with merit actual in state tuition so EFC may not be relevant but of course I want to know everything because we really don't know. Some calculators I have run show us paying similar amounts at private schools if he managed to get in but then we don't really know how much he will owe plus the private ones will probably take less of his earned credits from Clep or D.E. He is finishing sophomore year now and could have quite a few credits by graduation. Excepting something like UAH's full tuition it feels like no matter where we go he will pay the same but if he starts with a lot of credits perhaps it will take less time.

This is more general info as we don't really have enough saved up to make much of a difference. He will be a work his way through kid mostly or most likely go to a place with merit aid. The sad part I see is that the kid working to get him or herself through college and saving up seems to get hit worse than if it were handed to him by parents or grandparents.

But thank you. I'm finding this forum really helpful. I should probably just sit down and fill out a FAFSA even though it's early.

Isn't putting the educational savings account in someone else's name a little unethical?. I'm not saying it's illegal I know grandparents can open their own accounts etc but it does seem like hiding something if I give money to someone else to hold in an account for my child. I have no problem saving my own money in my own account until I need it for a huge EFC that I'm expected to pay but if I put money into an account under someone else's name, that seems funny. Sorry, I'm struggling with the college game. Getting credit for "service" hours that we used to do just to help out and trying to look poor because I'm expected to pay something I can't really afford. This isn't my usual way of doing things.

So if you put money in your child's savings account it would raise EFC than if you put that money in your own savings account? Well, it wouldn't be EFC then but student contribution but the point is if you as a parent are saving to help your child go to college then you should keep the money until it is time to pay the bill?.

No problem, I just wasn't sure because I've never been in that area before.

AK Mom 4 Thanks for the heads up. I've looked at the UAF ones but not as closely at the UAA ones but considering the price tag I will look again! For some reason in the past there was nothing I saw that was in his area of interest but it has been a long time, it seemed like mostly structural but now I see the robotics which may be of interest. Mrs. W- So appreciate the insights on the specific camp too. Alaska Air does fly to St. Louis Lambert and we can use miles. The school website says there is a USA Express shuttle from the St. Lois Lambert to the campus. Am I missing something?

Wow, I was thinking of the college within a university bit and that is bigger than I expected.

Well, that counts for learning something. Better to figure it out then than after years of college right? :) Thanks for the insights everybody. Since we live far away he will pretty much have to fly and pay for lodging and everything which is expensive so I'd like to hear that it is worthwhile first. He will probably pay for it himself and kids his age don't make much but we have airline miles and can help with transport there or any extra costs or pay a percentage but it would be nice if something were in driving distance. There isn't too many choices in Alaska though. I'll check out some of the others too. Thanks.

I'm so, so very sorry. :grouphug:

I'm curious if any of you have done summer camps at Universities and if you have, did you find them worthwhile? Someone mentioned Missouri S&T and in looking at the website I see a Nuclear Engineering Camp that involves some science curricula, tours of facilities, discussion of careers, etc for high school juniors and seniors. I can't find much in specifics, reviews, etc. other than what little they state in their brochure. I'm not even sure what I expect them to say. We live in Alaska so this would double as a college tour and a first chance to leave our home state (Alaska)alone. So it could be a good opportunity but I do wish I could hear from parents who have done it or at least something similar.

An example of that in the US might be Barrett Honor College which is part of Arizona State University.

Wow, they have a decent merit scholarships too but it would still be a stretch. We will have to look into this one further. I forgot to add the lack of money as a qualifier. It definitely makes a difference! It is hard to beat University of New Mexico or Arizona State considering money but debt could be worth it. It is so hard to know.

I'm so sorry. My oldest has fought insomnia for such a long time. I feel your pain. It shuts down the rest of life and can be depressing. (((hugs)))

If you find one, let me know. :) My boy doesn't want to use all his mental energy on learning a new language he will likely never be fluent in or similar endeavors. Especially if they only require one class! He is super quiet though and I don't know how he would do in a big university. His world is so small now that it really needs expanded but he is soooooo comfortable in a small world. Right now he is most interested in Nuclear Engineering or Electrical Engineering. The E.E. isn't hard to find but the Nuclear is pretty restrictive.