:iagree: Our state colleges want to see at least 2 years of foreign language in high school and many majors then require at least 2 semesters of intermediate foreign language in college. We had DD take 4 semesters (2 beginning and 2 intermediate) as dual enrollment at the CC so her language requirement was DONE.

Woo-hoo! I love it when a plan comes together. Congrats to your DS.

Thank you for sharing your experience with this. I'm sure it will be helpful to many other parents in a similar situation. This is a great strategy, whether the student is granted extended time or not.

Do you mean an online software program like TurboTax, but free? Take a look at FreeTaxUSA and see if it would work for you. There's always FreeFileFillableForms (PDF forms from IRS - fill out the forms online and submit to IRS efile). Personally, I'm a big fan of TurboTax and willing to pay for it, but I always look for a discount. This year, I went through the Fidelity website which offered a good discount. I'm not a client of Fidelity, the discount is open to anyone.

This! Simply withdraw the applications, rest, relax, and heal. Finish the final course subjects in her own time. Apply to college anew in the fall for Fall 2017 entry. College will still be there and, important for scholarships, she will still be considered an entering freshman. Even if she started feeling better, I think it is a mistake to pile on the stress/work to rush through her coursework in an effort to finish "on time."

I have two very similar students and I would absolutely recommend the two programs you already have. We did both programs here. They sound like perfect fits for your students. For future writing programs for the younger more creative writer, also take a look at One Year Adventure Novel and their middle school program Cover Story. My creative writer has thoroughly enjoyed both of these.

Woo-hoo! Congrats! My students have still only come up with a list of things they do NOT want to do. It's great when they discover something that they get excited about.

I recommend Conceptual Chemistry by Suchocki: http://conceptualchemistry.com/ Lots of helpful online material, worksheets, and video lectures. This is a high school chemistry course that teaches the concepts of chemistry without delving deeply into the math.

Since you already have the notification of the merit awards, you will not be paying more than the full cost of attendance minus the merit aid. You MAY or MAY NOT receive additional aid based on financial need. This is dependent on your own financial need and the policies of the school. Many many schools will determine your financial need and subtract the merit award since that is covering part/all of your financial need before deciding to provide need-based financial aid. A few generous schools will stack the awards. You CAN still get the direct student loans, as long as your merit is less than the full COA, so you can count on those as well. Sorry, but you need to check with each individual school for how it is handled and when you can expect notification (often through the online portal so pester your student to check student portal and email frequently).

You report the full 529 balance as a parent asset. I would provide a reference link for you but am on a small tablet and do not know how to copy the link. Edited later to add: Because, if you are like me, you like to read the official information (instructions from the FAFSA application: https://fafsa.ed.gov/fotw1617/pdf/PdfFafsa16-17.pdf).Emphasis is mine: Investments also include qualified educational benefits or education savings accounts (e.g., Coverdell savings accounts, 529 college savings plans and the refund value of 529 prepaid tuition plans). For a student who does not report parental information, the accounts owned by the student (and/or the student’s spouse) are reported as student investments in question 42. For a student who must report parental information, the accounts are reported as parental investments in question 91, including all accounts owned by the student and all accounts owned by the parents for any member of the household.

Blood Sugar 101 - http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/ Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt - Diet Doctor - http://www.dietdoctor.com/ Dr. Jason Fung - https://intensivedietarymanagement.com/ The first link provides a lot of excellent information about diabetes. The second two are medical doctors (one in Sweden, one in Canada) who are proponents of lifestyle changes to treat diabetes. They are not anti-meds but believe that "meds first' is a mistake when Type 2 diabetes can often be much more successfully treated with lifestyle changes.

If you can swing the cost of ONE night at a Universal premium onsite hotel (Hard Rock,Portofino, or Royal Pacific), you can get TWO days (check in day and check out day) of benefits that will make your park ventures much more enjoyable: SKIP THE REGULAR LINES with Universal Express SM Unlimited ride access* in both theme parks - a FREE benefit worth up to $89 per person, per day^(valid theme park admission required) Early Park Admission to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™, one hour before the theme park opens†(valid theme park admission required)N Note that you would still need to purchase your admission tickets. I'm quite the pennypincher but I wouldn't do Universal without these benefits.

It doesn't have to be 5 months and a day, exactly. It is a full-time student (as defined by the school, typically about 12 college credit hours) during 5 calendar months (not full months, so starting in mid-Aug and ending in mid-Dec is ok). The parent would also have to provide "more than half" of the student's support. This is pretty easy if the student only made a few thousand dollars and they lived with you. If the student is bringing in tens of thousands, it would be more difficult to document! Play around with the link provided above. It leads you through all the questions/qualifications in order to claim someone your dependent.

One option is to simply re-do the high school Latin courses that she has already done, starting in 9th grade. It will not be time consuming since she will be very familiar with the material and there will be no doubts from colleges about the timing and content of the course. This will also keep her Latin skills sharp in case she does decide later to continue with Latin study.

If you provided more than half of DDs financial support and she attended school full-time during at least 5 calendar months, you can probably claim her as a dependent. I just ran this scenario here and recommend you do the same: https://www.irs.gov/uac/Who-Can-I-Claim-as-a-Dependent%3F Edited to add: Oops. I just noticed that you said "less than 5 months." Yikes. That is disappointing. Too bad the school didn't start up in August!

:iagree: Lifetime learning education credit can be used for dual enrollment high school students. Not as generous as the AOTC but better than nothing.

Thank you for the responses! I'd given up hope that someone would have some insider opinion to share. :laugh: I wouldn't even hesitate if it was within commuting distance. That would be awesome! It's a two-day drive for us. Going to try to make it happen for DD. She's discussing it with other students on the OYAN message boards.

Just agreeing with everyone else. Girls only here but same thing. It does get better. The younger DD just turned 16 and it is SO much better than just a year or two ago. She is almost back to the same sweet and considerate youngster she was before her pre-teens. Meanwhile, DD19 is absolutely wonderful company. Hang in there. Try not to kill them. :laugh:

Did he work for the new employer for at least 39 weeks? If not, moving expenses are not deductible per IRS pub 521. Were the moving expense reimbursement included as income in 2014. If not, paying them back would not be a deductible expense. If yes to both of the above, I recommend studying pub 521 (I didn't find clear guidance on this situation upon a quick check) and then asking the IRS directly or a tax professional that you trust.

This is an urgent situation. Can he get something to eat/drink right away? He needs to bring that number up a bit. If it is still dropping, this will quickly be an emergency. Is he somewhere alone? He may need assistance. Longer term and not as urgent, "usually in the 200s" is serious and needs to be brought under control. If he is wanting to get off meds, he needs to get his blood sugar under control FIRST. I wouldn't recommend dropping the meds for supplements until his blood sugar is already well controlled.

When I travel for my job, I have a small cooler that I use as one of my carry-ons. Yes, I cook specifically to bring as much food with me as possible. I eat low-carb-high-fat and it is a combination of difficult, time-consuming, and expensive to get appropriate food while traveling. I will cook an entire flank steak, slice it thinly, and then freeze it before packing. Low carb cheesecakes or pumpkin custards would be considered liquids/gels but I've had these examined by security and allowed to go through because I've frozen them. The frozen foods then help keep the rest of the food cold. Cheese is great to pack; the wax covered Babybels are especially convenient because they can be tossed in any ol' carryon and easily stay good for a day or so without chilling. Raw veggies are also packed. Boiled eggs always go with me, but those are for quick breakfasts at the hotel. I've been stranded in airports with travel delays enough times, once even overnight, to not count on always being able to buy food. Those places CLOSE at a certain hour, even if I could find appropriate food and was willing to pay.

Move some of her stuff that she wants to keep but not needing immediate access to to the cloud and free up space on her Kindle.

Both DDs had orthodontics as teens and I had ortho treatment as an adult. We had different orthodontists but the cost for each of us was in the ballpark of $5,000. Eldest DD also had some needed oral surgery as part of the treatment and that was extra. No insurance but was able to use the health savings account tied to our HDHP.

IRS Publication 970 covers educational credits (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p970.pdf). Here is what it states on page 28 regarding the lifetime learning credit: Who Is an Eligible Student? For purposes of the lifetime learning credit, an eligible student is a student who is enrolled in one or more courses at an eligible educational institution. There is also an interactive tax assistant on the IRS website that leads you through several questions and lets you know if you are eligible for the various education credits (https://apps.irs.gov/app/IPAR/investigate/IPAR_1/en-US/Attribute~EDCR_interview_complete~global~global/qs%24s2%40TLC_EducationCredits_Development_Screens_EDCRLanding_xint%24global%24global?user=guest) I just went through it for a high school student taking part-time (less than half-time) college courses (so at an eligible school and as part of a post-secondary degree program but NOT towards a degree). Here's my results: Can I claim the American Opportunity Credit, the Lifetime Learning Credit, or the Tuition and Fees Deduction? You are not eligible to claim the American opportunity credit. The student was not enrolled at least half-time in a program leading to a degree, certificate, or other recognized educational credential for at least one academic period beginning during 2015. You are eligible to claim the lifetime learning credit. You can claim qualified education expenses which are: Tuition, Expenses for course-related books, supplies, and equipment that must be paid to the institution as a condition of enrollment or attendance, and Student-activity fees related to an academic course of instruction You are eligible to claim the tuition and fees deduction. You can claim qualified education expenses which are: Tuition, Expenses for course-related books, supplies, and equipment that must be paid to the institution as a condition of enrollment or attendance, and Student-activity fees related to an academic course of instruction How do I claim the credit or deduction? Complete Form 8863, Education Credits, to calculate the education credit and attach it to your tax return. As you qualify to claim more than one education benefit, you must choose which education benefit to claim. If you choose to claim the tuition and fees deduction rather than a credit, complete Form 8917, Tuition and Fees Deduction, to calculate your tuition and fees deduction and attach it to your tax return. Enter the deduction on your Form 1040 or 1040A on the line labeled, "Tuition and Fees Deduction".

It's important to differentiate between scholarships that MUST be applied to tuition and ones that CAN be applied to tuition. It is often more advantageous to apply some of the scholarship money (if allowed by the scholarship) to non-QEE and then use the QEE expenses to claim AOTC. Here's a document straight from the IRS that discusses this strategy. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-utl/Pell%20AOTC%204%20pager.pdf