That sounds so pleasant :001_wub: ​So easy peasy :001_wub: I can't convince DD to go that route. Honestly, a college application counselor suggested that dd not even consider that route because she is high stats and we aren't high income so she "should" hit some nice merit and need based aid, making entering as a freshman a better option for her personally. Now my other kiddos might be another story :rolleyes: ​ ​

I keep reading that students shouldn't apply to more than 6-8 because it reduces the quality of applications, etc. DD has a list of 12 and we are having a difficult time reducing to 8. Since financial aid is such a big deal, we don't want to reduce her options too much since she desperately needs to compare financial packages. So far she has (categories are defined by running her stats on the parchment website) Reach schools (no plan to get in, haha) ... Harvard, Princeton Slight reach (parchement calls this a match but at only 45% likelihood we are still calling it a bit of a reach) ... Duke Matches Wake, Emory, W&L, Davidson, Chapel Hill Safety Queens, Furman, Elon, NC State *** I know that Davidson is not HS friendly. I am fully aware. We have some ties there though so she might apply anyway - although it isn't her favorite school and it might drop from the list sooner rather than later.

DD is narrowing down her "apply to" list (she is a senior next year) and I'm trying to figure out the financial end of this stuff. I mocked it in turbo tax to see how paying for college would change our return. It gave me a warning that DD would need to pay income tax on any scholarship money that covered room/board. How did this work for you kiddos? Can they designate any loan money to room/board to avoid this? or do their student loans have to go toward tuition?

I completely forgot about the tax credit - happy dance. Serioulsy, that will be the thing that makes this doable for us. I actually simulated it in Turbo tax and it turned our tax bill into a tax credit. When she goes to school we will get money back :party:

We were thinking that NC State would be a good safety school for DD but their NPC is much, much higher for us than any other school. I can't figure out why?

Thanks ya'll :)

DH is not self-employed, but technically I am. I am a sub-contractor. I work part-time and only make about $10,000-$12,000/year. I deduct expenses from that (mileage, office supplies, etc). So what does that look like when it comes time for the fafsa or css? Is it super complicated? Will they consider my "income" what I make before or after the expenses? Thanks for thoughts :)

How do you identify financially "safe" schools? A school your student is sure to get in to AND has great aid/meets full need/etc? I feel as if the schools that are a great financial option for us are also not safety schools per se - DD meets their scores and gpa, etc but these are schools where the admittance rate is rather rocky for anyone. Finances will be a huge barrier for us for DD and college. The EFC calculator for many schools is simply more than we can ever pay as well which is making this process very scary for DD. She may get National Merit which might provide a great financial safety, but we won't know that until fall. As we seek to narrow down her application list, I just wonder...how did YOU determine a school was fairly safe financially? If you have already worked through this with a kid, was your gamble pretty safe? Thanks

I mean I can...I can start this thread. When you all begin to post on it though, I will no longer be able to post anymore. If I quote/reply then it will only post a quote and delete my reply. It is why I haven't been here much. It is frustrating to be locked out like this. It has been going on for months. Any idea what is going on? Would love thoughts. I can sometimes post on other's threads...sometimes. It is frustrating to type out a long reply and then it disappear after I hit post.

nm

This has been going on for months and it is why I have been on the WTM very little. It is quite frustrating and I have no idea how to fix it. I can begin a thread. I can quote someone but then it will only post the quote and not my reply to it. I can't add a post to my thread. :crying: Any thoughts?

nm technical problems

nada. nunca. not a word.

Ok so we aren't alone. The deductible keeps climbing too :( It just seems like a crazy amount. As far as bad lifestyles .... I remember when we never went to the doctor. I have always been extremely careful about my family's food choices (all natural, healthy, real foods) and we always got plenty of sunshine and exercise. I thought that this lifestyle was the magic ticket to health. In the last 4 years not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 of us have been diagnosed with tough autoimmune diseases that involve specialists, etc. Cherish your health. I did all imaginable to make sure we kept ours but unfortunately good choices aren't always a guarantee.

Did anyone else's rates increase dramatically this year? It looks like we will now be paying about $450 more a month for less coverage :/

I know, right? The first thing one my kids said when they saw how large the jackpot had gotten, "how many compassion kids could we support on that!?!?"

I became good friends with someone when her husband was in residency and they were still living fairly poor to pay off school debts. And then he got a high end medical position and the debts were paid. I loved this person to the moon and back but the financial gap became too much. Yes, I was invited to her million dollar house on "that" side of town. The gap between our lives just continued to grow. It didn't take long before we (both homeschooling moms) had nothing in common. :/

Lottery fever everywhere over this jackpot. I've heard a few people say that winning it brings bad luck. What does the Hive think...is winning the lottery bad luck? Just killing curiosity.

Whoever wins better have an exit strategy already in place before claiming the ticket. No kidding...they need to go ahead and have their house vacated and an alternative place to go where their name is not on the record. Normal would not happen. A new normal would be necessary.

Are these tables posted anywhere? Thanks

Wake is dd's number one choice so far but I am afraid the aid simply won't be there. We will see. They do sometimes offer great aid but it is not guaranteed need based aid like some of the more selective schools. I am 99% sure she would turn down any Ivy school if she was offered a great financial package from Wake.

I wish I could say there was a legitimate reason she is interested in Rice but there isn't :lol: It is a good school, with a good rep, great aid, she's attracted to the idea of being in TX, and her bestfriend has been planting this idea in her head for a while. That being said, DD doesn't need a Science heavy university but her bestfriend is a brilliant science girl who loves Rice for the right reasons, haha.