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MerryAtHope

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Everything posted by MerryAtHope

  1. Yes. It was so weird. Dd is independent, so there was no parent portion, only her’s, but it made her fill in 2022 tax info manually and had a tool telling which tax doc lines corresponded to each question. She was independent last year, too, and the questions were definitely different than that and than all the other years we’ve filled it out. Maybe the retrieval tool was down when we did it, but there wasn’t even a box to check that as an option! I talked with someone else who was also prompted to fill in manually!
  2. We did it today. There was no IRS data retrieval tool, so we entered all tax info by hand. Is that one of the changes they made? If so, that seems less complex programming-wise than before, and I don’t understand all the delay in rolling it out if that’s the case. We didn’t have any issues, though.
  3. You can get search Marketplace specifically for plans that work for your dr, hospital, and medicines. I’d see what’s out there that might meet your needs and what your ptc would be. Pre-existing conditions are not an issue for Marketplace plans. www.healthcare.gov/apply-and-enroll/health-insurance-plans-estimator-overview/
  4. The school my dd goes to actually uses this, but we found a couple of gaps that could only be answered directly. It’s only as good and as current as the info put into it…and if it’s not coded by major, there can be more complex questions, too. It’s a good general or baseline tool, though.
  5. Something that was only briefly mentioned but that can significantly affect costs for those doing the 2 + 2 option—even for states and U’s with automatic transfer agreements, you need to look really closely at HOW courses transfer. Make sure courses within majors transfer to the major and not just as electives, and make sure sequences of courses work out. Map out all needed courses at the transfer school and check it with an advisor. It will probably be easiest for those pursuing liberal arts degrees. My oldest did this. His whole associates degree transferred, and his chosen major plus the 4-year school’s required courses equaled another 60 credits—so he was able to graduate in the time we expected. Degrees that have specialized courses, though, may not transfer as well. Engineering is often one where scope and sequence make a huge difference, and the student may end up with gaps and need 3 years at the 4-year school. Science sequences can be hard to meet if kids have all gen-Ed’s out of the way, and that can add on time. (In some cases, kids also end up ina situation where they only have hard courses left right away when they transfer, and that is sometimes challenging, especially if they have gpa requirements to meet for the major or for a scholarship.) My dd was going into teaching, and only one of our state U’s was willing to accept all of her prior coursework toward the degree. The others would transfer some classes only as electives and would make her retake their specific courses (with the same titles!) They just only wanted to give the credit toward the major if their instructor taught it. And having lots of transferable electives is not always useful! Adding on a semester or a full year is costly. I wanted her to go to my son’s school, only 1 hour away, but the better deal was at the school 3 hours away. All that to say, automatic transfer doesn’t mean the coursework applies the way the student needs it to, and either you or the student needs to thoroughly investigate. The community college’s advisors can only help to a point, and the transfer school’s advisors also only help to a point. Plan on being your student’s “transfer school advisor,” and leave no stone unturned as you investigate how courses will transfer and what your student’s remaining sequence of needed coursework will look like. Transferology is a website that can help, and the 4-year school’s website can help. We found it beneficial to also make an appointment and meet with the department head or advisor in person to get more involved questions answered. If they can’t answer, get another opinion or move on (we talked with one school’s advisor who couldn’t give us any more info than was on the school website, couldn’t answer specific questions about requirements, and went digging for a brochure for answers…no thanks! We just couldn’t afford big financial hits due to an advisor’s lack of experience with transfer situations.) Going in person also helped my kids imagine themselves at the school and made the transition a bit easier. Another option to save money that isn’t for everyone is to take classes online while living at home. Online classes are not always the best, and also, some kids don’t learn well that way. My youngest is finishing out that way, though, and it’s working for her. She’s going part time and working at our local library, and loves her job. One year away and a summer mission trip was enough adventure for her, I guess! Both of my kids got transfer scholarships from their U’s (2500/year for up to 3 years), and some smaller scholarships, as well as some from the CC. One was automatic based on ACT scores, and one was based on gpa from the CC. Our state also offers a grant, and then they paid for some and we paid for some. They each have one $5,000 loan. We had estimated them needing 15k in loans, which still seemed reasonable considering everything, but Covid eliminated that need for oldest (forced online courses) and then youngest opting to finish online will save her from further loans. Gap years, if needed, can impact scholarships. Both of mine took gap years. One took one between CC and 4-year, and that was fine. The other took a gap-year mid 4-year school, though, and lost the transfer scholarship that way. One last comment on expenses…consider travel if your kids want to go out of state. How much will it cost to get them and their stuff there, how often will they come home, will you want to visit, what you might need to spend if your child has medical or emotional need mid-semester…make sure the travel is affordable. Location can make travel costs add up quickly, and it’s an important consideration when finances are tight. I hope you can find solutions that will help your kids meet their goals! I know this is overwhelming…but you figured out homeschooling and can figure this out, too!
  6. Congratulations! LOVE this picture--such joy!!
  7. Ah, that makes more sense to me! I’m not at all against people having big expensive weddings if they can afford it. I just couldn’t imagine that it could be the national average!
  8. I’m in the cake and punch crowd! Or park pavilion and do sandwiches etc… But if I was invited to a wedding like that, I’d probably go and skip the reception unless I knew a lot of people and the reception venue was not too expensive. What I find more shocking is that the “national average” is $30,000. How can this be the national average? Like truly, of ALL weddings? That blows my mind. I guess I don’t live where most people have that kind of money. Maybe many go in debt over a wedding? That’s crazy too.
  9. I’m so sorry, what a shock. Praying for your sister and how she’s dealing with things and for you and your family.
  10. That’s interesting. We never ended up needing to use the common app, but I thought the whole point of it was so that you could fill out one application for more than one school. What’s the point of having a common app if you can only use it once?
  11. I would go with the close-by school if he’s willing. With mental health issues, closer gives you more flexibility for going and getting him for a weekend, meeting for a lunch or dinner, using familiar doctors or counselors, and so on.
  12. I’m so glad she’s going to talk to the prof! Let us know how it goes!
  13. One possible con—If your student is eligible for financial aid, enrolling at multiple institutions in the same semester will mess that up. My dd needed classes at two different schools one semester, and you can only accept the Pell Grant at one school, and it will only apply to the hours your student takes at that school.
  14. We had the exact same thing happen. Spent so much time on the phone with PayPal, and they said to contact the Post Office and turn in proof of where the package was actually delivered, we did all that and still nothing.
  15. I’m floored, appalled, horrified that anyone would hand out flyers or buttons, specifically talk about their campaign, or in any way work to advertise their campaign at a funeral! Unbelievable! That would be the fastest way to get me to NOT vote for somebody! I have just never heard of such insensitive behavior. Wow! With that said, if somebody had a shirt or jacket on with a campaign message or personality on it, I would probably just assume it’s what they always wear and not think too much about it. I don’t really think it’s appropriate, but I get that some people don’t follow dress conventions while at the same time not meaning to offend. If that person started trying to advocate for a politician though, I would be offended and think that was very out of place.
  16. Lol, you should have kept the fountain on the forbidden counter! Beautiful cat! Our cat also loves faucet water and asks for it, but she enjoys her fountain too. And she loves bathtub faucet water…that one drips occasionally, and she nuzzles it to try to make it drip more.
  17. Yes…I wasn’t saying it shouldn’t be. My point was to expect that and not to think summer courses are an easy way to add credits. Expect to work hard and possibly to not have enough time to “sit” with the material mentally (the way you can over 16 weeks) to really absorb it well. Summer classes can be a good fit for some students and a very poor fit for others.
  18. Definitely harder. Here they are 4-8 weeks instead of the usual 16 weeks. My son took a 3 hour course in a 4-week slot and it was like a full-time job! Most of them are double-time or a little faster (sometimes a 16 week class is condensed to 6 weeks). I would think about your student and how he or she functions. Then also see if you can find out anything about the reputation of the summer classes or even the school to help you decide. Here, 6 hours is considered full time and 9 is generally not recommended. (at best, 9 hours would be like 18, not 15, if they are all double-time). It may also depend on the type of class.
  19. Wow, that’s a real shock! I’m sorry. I hope the change will end up being a good one for you.
  20. Wonderful! That sounds really comprehensive! I leaned a lot on the site Transferology. It’s a helpful tool, but only as good as whoever puts in the info! Sometimes things don’t get updated right away, so it’s good to still check with the school—but helpful for planning and exploring.
  21. Here it’s also ACT, and they were used to determine math and English placement. Here the classes are still required, but placement determines they are “college-ready” vs. needing remedial math or English.
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