Anybody emancipated their 18 yr old so he can afford the bill?

[creekland]

Hands off, ladies. I have my match making eye on creekland's DS for my DD...hopefully he can also someday cure her epilepsy! LOL

 

 

LOL, well, I tell him he'll need to specialize in geriatrics for us in our old age. My mom has said osteopedics or opthamology (and geriatrics), youngest agrees with you on the epilepsy, hubby says as long as he can write prescriptions and keep him (hubby) feeling happy he doesn't care which. ;)

 

No pressure on the lad...

 

(Though more seriously, we do tell him to go where he feels he wants to go - just in case anyone thought I was serious above. We joke about it, but he definitely knows we're joking and jokes back with us telling us he's going to be a pediatrician to avoid people like us!)

 

He'll probably end up researching the brain and trying to figure out why we're all "crazy."

 

But he'll still be a catch... He cleans (voluntarily), he cooks, he's considerate of all, he's intelligent, he's decent at pick up sports, he loves animals and isn't afraid to clean up after them, he loves cultural things, he's been great academically - after 1st grade anyway - he did start off in the low reading group and needing speech, but by 2nd grade he was on a roll - he's good at art, he has great people skills... like I said, "I'M" jealous of him and would love to keep him. If you want a physical fault, he does wear glasses... but otherwise, he's tall and handsome (I may be biased on that last part).

 

It's actually a good thing God gave us two other boys (more on the normal scale behaviorally) so we don't think it was "us" who "made" him. Sometimes I think those who "know" everything about parenting just lucked out with an "easy-to-parent" child and assume it was their parenting. I know that's not the case. Any one of you would have loved this guy too and he'd have been the same guy. We just won the birth lottery getting to raise him. I hope the girl he ends up with appreciates him and I apologize in advance for my other two. They are great, wise, fun to talk to boys, but they do need more "handling/cleaning" etc. And honestly, it's not that we didn't try for social graces as well as "smarts." All boys were brought up similarly...

[Serenade]

 

 

That's great, if you have trustworthy family, who will treat this like a sacred responsibility.

 

Unfortunately, family is the first to financially stick it to family, in many instances. This is why people are advised not to mix business and family, ever. So long as it is a gift, fine. Or a loan to a highly responsible party.

 

My FIL had a trust to manage after he sold his business to care for his dying wife -- thus he had funds that he "had" to invest; he was only supposed to live off the interest, and invest the principle. So he chose to invest some of that in his grandson, our nephew. Unfortunately for my sons, that trust has now been largely depleted and FIL is in assisted living. My nephew is 25 years or so older than my sons, and a state college was much cheaper back then, too.

 

I think the trick when making loans to family is to make sure to have legal paperwork drawn up that is enforceable. FIL had also loaned us some money for our house -- it was a legal loan, just a private loan, and we paid interest, and he could not call it in early or anything. We both benefited -- FIL had a secure investment, and we saved a small amount on the interest for a time.

[Serenade]

Yes I am really in NC. I also have experience as an instructor in both the UNC system and at one of the CCs.

 

Is it fairly easy in NC to get CC credits to transfer to one of the state universities? I know high school kids are more limited now than in the past as to what they can take at CCs via dual enrollment, but I'd be willing to pay for extra courses if the credits were easily transferable. I'm in Hillsborough, and we have a branch of Durham Tech, so it would be possible to take some CC courses in high school, and possibly for a year or two afterwards before transferring. My husband did this in Florida, back in the late 70s/80s. He went to community college for 2 years, then transferred to the University of Florida where he got his engineering degree. It never held him back. I believe he still graduated in a total of 4 years, and for a lot less money, too. Are state schools in NC required to except transfer credits from community colleges?

[Janice in NJ]

 

Is it fairly easy in NC to get CC credits to transfer to one of the state universities? I know high school kids are more limited now than in the past as to what they can take at CCs via dual enrollment, but I'd be willing to pay for extra courses if the credits were easily transferable. I'm in Hillsborough, and we have a branch of Durham Tech, so it would be possible to take some CC courses in high school, and possibly for a year or two afterwards before transferring. My husband did this in Florida, back in the late 70s/80s. He went to community college for 2 years, then transferred to the University of Florida where he got his engineering degree. It never held him back. I believe he still graduated in a total of 4 years, and for a lot less money, too. Are state schools in NC required to except transfer credits from community colleges?

 

We aren't in NC, but I did a Google search on NC transfer cc and found this. It's a starting point:

 

http://www.northcarolina.edu/aa/articulation/CAA_Brochure_Final_03.2006-1.pdf

 

Call your local cc and ask questions.

 

Peace,

Janice

[Jane in NC]

Is it fairly easy in NC to get CC credits to transfer to one of the state universities? I know high school kids are more limited now than in the past as to what they can take at CCs via dual enrollment, but I'd be willing to pay for extra courses if the credits were easily transferable. I'm in Hillsborough, and we have a branch of Durham Tech, so it would be possible to take some CC courses in high school, and possibly for a year or two afterwards before transferring. My husband did this in Florida, back in the late 70s/80s. He went to community college for 2 years, then transferred to the University of Florida where he got his engineering degree. It never held him back. I believe he still graduated in a total of 4 years, and for a lot less money, too. Are state schools in NC required to except transfer credits from community colleges?

 

Yes. The community college system has an articulation agreement with the UNC system. Of course, not every course transfers. Also, students need to look ahead to the degree program in which they wish to transfer. For example, certain math courses may not count toward certain degrees.

 

I have lost track of where things stand now for dual enrollment. When my son was a junior in high school, he could take a limited number of credits at the CC for free (nominal technology fee only). The legislature changed the rules so that high school students could enroll in science, math and tech courses for free; we paid regular tuition for humanities his senior year.

 

But beware..articulation agreements state that courses are equal on paper. For example, the Calculus courses at engineering schools tend to be quite different than those at CCs. Some engineering Calc courses have students do project using Maple, for example. Formally, NCSU moved the first three or four weeks of the Differential Equations class to Calc II. They used to offer two versions of Differential Equations, one for students who had gone through their Calc sequence, another for CC transfers. Here is a case where students at NCSU were getting just a bit more information earlier in the program to help them succeed in other course work. (I say formerly because I don't know where things stand now.)

 

We were very careful about picking instructors at our local CC. Even so, my son found a world of difference between expectations at the CC and at his LAC. One of my friends who taught history at a UNC system school was disappointed in the lack of writing skills of CC transfers in general. My son had a good basic composition instructor but a stinking one for the next class in the sequence. His college does not except dual enrollment credits, but if they had I would not have allowed them to give him credit for that useless English class!

 

One thing that perhaps is different between CCs and some of the four year schools is the writing expectation. My son has been expected to write papers across the curriculum. Like many colleges these days, students at his college do not take "basic comp" but some sort of first year seminar in the discipline of their choice. Writing and research skills are stressed in these courses. My son, the archaeology major, did his freshman seminar in the music department.

 

For us, the community college was a bridge between high school and college. I don't discourage it, but I do wave some cautionary flags on choosing coursework and instructors carefully.

[Serenade]

First off, thank you so much for taking the time to write this up. I'm going to print it out and keep it, so I won't lose it in any future forum changes! My oldest son is in 7th grade, so I have some time yet, but I don't think I can keep burying my head in the sand, either.

 

Yes. The community college system has an articulation agreement with the UNC system. Of course, not every course transfers. Also, students need to look ahead to the degree program in which they wish to transfer. For example, certain math courses may not count toward certain degrees.

Good to know.

 

I have lost track of where things stand now for dual enrollment. When my son was a junior in high school, he could take a limited number of credits at the CC for free (nominal technology fee only). The legislature changed the rules so that high school students could enroll in science, math and tech courses for free; we paid regular tuition for humanities his senior year.

 

This is what I've heard, that the courses available for "free" tuition have been limited. I wasn't sure that one could pay and take other courses, though, so that is good to know.

 

But beware..articulation agreements state that courses are equal on paper. For example, the Calculus courses at engineering schools tend to be quite different than those at CCs. Some engineering Calc courses have students do project using Maple, for example. Formally, NCSU moved the first three or four weeks of the Differential Equations class to Calc II. They used to offer two versions of Differential Equations, one for students who had gone through their Calc sequence, another for CC transfers. Here is a case where students at NCSU were getting just a bit more information earlier in the program to help them succeed in other course work. (I say formerly because I don't know where things stand now.)

 

This is especially useful to know. My younger son more than likely will go into engineering, and the most likely option for him is NCSU.

 

We were very careful about picking instructors at our local CC.

 

How do you learn about the different instructors? Just word of mouth, or are course reviews publicly available?

 

Even so, my son found a world of difference between expectations at the CC and at his LAC. One of my friends who taught history at a UNC system school was disappointed in the lack of writing skills of CC transfers in general. My son had a good basic composition instructor but a stinking one for the next class in the sequence. His college does not except dual enrollment credits, but if they had I would not have allowed them to give him credit for that useless English class!

 

 

One thing that perhaps is different between CCs and some of the four year schools is the writing expectation. My son has been expected to write papers across the curriculum. Like many colleges these days, students at his college do not take "basic comp" but some sort of first year seminar in the discipline of their choice. Writing and research skills are stressed in these courses. My son, the archaeology major, did his freshman seminar in the music department.

 

 

It seems to me that writing isn't emphasized much anymore, at least from what I read on these forums.

 

For us, the community college was a bridge between high school and college. I don't discourage it, but I do wave some cautionary flags on choosing coursework and instructors carefully.

 

I really appreciate your input. You've given me a lot to think about as I start planning for this journey of higher education. I think our family is going to have to consider an alternative pathway to getting a traditional 4 year degree.

[Serenade]

We aren't in NC, but I did a Google search on NC transfer cc and found this. It's a starting point:

 

http://www.northcaro...l_03.2006-1.pdf

 

Call your local cc and ask questions.

 

Peace,

Janice

 

 

Thank you for the link! I appreciate it. You and Jane have given me some good places to start.

 

Just wondering, when my son is a few years older, is it worth it to sit down with a community college advisor and discuss dual enrollment options? Do they even do that for a high school student, or is one completely on one's own?

[Gwen in VA]

We have to deal with a CC advisor every enrollment period since our state does not allow dual-enrolled students to select classes online.

 

The quality of comments from our various CC advisors has varied tremendously -- from barely understanding the idea that my kids ARE literatre to recommending a relevant college night to promoting a neat program available to residents.

 

While you may get information from the CC advisors, I would not rely on them for much of anything. At least at my CC they are not used to dealing with motivated bright students.

[Jane in NC]

First off, thank you so much for taking the time to write this up. I'm going to print it out and keep it, so I won't lose it in any future forum changes!

You are welcome.

This is what I've heard, that the courses available for "free" tuition have been limited. I wasn't sure that one could pay and take other courses, though, so that is good to know.

When the change from free dual enrollment to limited occurred a few years ago, it was up to individual CCs to determine their policies. I remember one formerly regularly poster (whose girls have now graduated) reporting that her over extended CC system was not letting in any high school students at that time. Some CCs put dual enrollment students at the end of the line. Another cautionary note that I would like to extend is that we often see parents and posters assuming that what worked for them will work for someone else. Requirements and regulations are in flux. Be prepared!

How do you learn about the different instructors? Just word of mouth, or are course reviews publicly available?

Rate my professor is one online service that can be viewed to learn about professors. Shrug. One thing to remember is that sometimes "hard" instructors have bad ratings. Yet some of those "hard" professors often offer the best academic experiences for the motivated. Take it all with a grain of salt.

 

I taught at my local CC so I knew people personally or knew their reputations. In the case of the stinking English prof, my son had no choice. The only section that worked with his schedule was one with that wackadoodle.

It seems to me that writing isn't emphasized much anymore, at least from what I read on these forums.

 

Again, your mileage will vary. My son attends a writing oriented LAC. Every student writes a senior thesis. One of the boys who stopped over during this holiday break attends a UNC school. He is in the Honors College and is doing a Capstone project. Not every student at his school does this.

 

My husband is a computer engineer. Writing skills are mandatory in his field since everything is done by groups. Every action and decision is documented. Proposals and reports are written by the engineers not clerical staff. Engineers who think they don't have to write are mistaken--at least in my world..

 

Thank you for the link! I appreciate it. You and Jane have given me some good places to start. Just wondering, when my son is a few years older, is it worth it to sit down with a community college advisor and discuss dual enrollment options? Do they even do that for a high school student, or is one completely on one's own?

 

Our CC has a person whose salary is paid by both the college and the public school system. He is the advisor for all dual enrollment students (from the public schools or homeschooled) and was very helpful.

[NCMom]

Thank you for the link! I appreciate it. You and Jane have given me some good places to start.

 

Just wondering, when my son is a few years older, is it worth it to sit down with a community college advisor and discuss dual enrollment options? Do they even do that for a high school student, or is one completely on one's own?

 

Most CC's here have a person/persons who deal with all dual enrollments, so yes it is worth it to talk with them.

 

Right now (and this could and probably will change; it's changed multiple times in the 8 years we have been here, lol) there are two dual enrollment options that your student may be interested in. They can be found here http://www.durhamtec...cp/pathways.htm (the first two options)

 

hth,

Georgia

[creekland]

Engineers who think they don't have to write are mistaken--at least in my world..

 

 

:iagree: My engineering hubby has had to write many reports. They aren't needed for every job, but some of them require it. He's a Civil & Environmental Engineer. He's had to write wearing both hats.

[Kareni]

It seems to me that writing isn't emphasized much anymore, at least from what I read on these forums. I really appreciate your input.

 

 

My son attends a writing oriented LAC. Every student writes a senior thesis.

 

This is my daughter's experience, too. She is a senior heading back to her final semester of college and the writing of her senior thesis. She is a Classics major, but the thesis is required of students from all majors at her college.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[shawthorne44]

I looked at the link provided by a PP with the conditions where the parent's aren't needed for the FAFSA. One of them was, "As determined by a court in your state of legal residence, are you or were you an emancipated minor?" So, it looks like that would work

 

Although a sham marriage sounds easier. I can just see it. A subgrouping on the same level as the ForSale and Wanted sections. For parents to match their kids up.

 

My father flat refused to do anything regarding financial aid forms, so I spent a lot of college hungry.

[Kareni]

I looked at the link provided by a PP with the conditions where the parent's aren't needed for the FAFSA. One of them was, "As determined by a court in your state of legal residence, are you or were you an emancipated minor?" So, it looks like that would work

 

Although a sham marriage sounds easier. I can just see it. A subgrouping on the same level as the ForSale and Wanted sections. For parents to match their kids up.

 

 

But for the original poster, the child would have had to have been emancipated as a minor not as an 18 year old.

 

I do like the matchmaking section of the For Sale board. Perhaps we could suggest that to the moderators!

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Halftime Hope]

<<Sorry this happened. I wanted to pass along a tip I got from my roofing company owner just a few months ago. He had THREE kids in college last year. He called up his daughter's top choice and said, "We can't do it, but she really wants to come to your school. You will need to increase her financial aid (not loans), or we will have to go with our other offer." They negotiated a bit. He told them sorry, they were going to have to go elsewhere." In a few hours, he got a return call, meeting his requests. He said it was like buying a car at a dealer and don't forget to negotiate hard. I'm not there yet, but I thought it was an interesting piece of information and I would totally do this.>>

 

My kid is right there with Janice's. She wanted to go to a Christian LAC, and she had the grades, the dual credit (21 hours at the state university, not CC), the SAT scores, and is a stellar individual (IOW, she has glowing recs and experience) and scholar. The top three schools in the category she was interested in were not feasible, even with School A offering their highest possible scholarship plus some sweetener $. She would have graduated from it with at least $35K in debt. The other two schools (B and C) in that category offered a pittance, and her debt graduating from them would have been upwards of $60K. I am a fourth gen. alumna of School B, and it didn't matter a whit. She had taken online distance courses from School C for two years and interviewed with the dean of their Honors College and was invited to join on the spot, something they said they never do. Didn't make a bit of difference for her in $s offered.

 

I tried the negotiation route mentioned above with the school that seemed to want her the most, but it didn't produce any results.

 

So, she is at a decent regional school, one which has done its best to provide good opportunities to challenge her. Yet I regret the connections she is missing out on; two of the LACs mentioned above would have been stellar given the fact that she is interested in international non-profits. I have to trust that God will provide for her, since we are doing our level best to make wise decisions with her that will not render her unable to be available if she were saddled with a mountain of debt.

 

Note, please, that dd was offered great scholarships, just not at the kind of school that one would think given her stats and those of the schools.

[Storm Bay]

But for the original poster, the child would have had to have been emancipated as a minor not as an 18 year old. I do like the matchmaking section of the For Sale board. Perhaps we could suggest that to the moderators! Regards, Kareni

:rofl: :rofl: My dc would have my head were I to even joke about this here.

[FaithManor]

:rofl: :rofl: My dc would have my head were I to even joke about this here.

 

:smilielol5: :smilielol5: :smilielol5: My middle one would die of shame. He's determined to be a bachelor forever and live with lizards, however, despite his unhealthy view of reptiles (my own worldview on this being along the lines of mass extermination of the beasts!!!!), I think he'd be a good catch. He's handsome, funny, caring, compassionate, generous, loving, and quite brilliant. Alas, he thinks girls and romance are nothing but an albatross around his neck in the pursuit of all things reptillian. I told him he can't bring his work home with him!

 

Back to the other topic. When I was in college, there was some negotiation to be done. The music department at three different colleges wanted me and frankly, none of them were bad choices. I did have one I preferred over the other two. However, the most generous package came from my non-preferred school. I told my top choice I needed more money or I'd choose their competition and they matched the competition's offer.

 

BUT, I don't think my boys would be so lucky today. The "game" has become very different from when I played it. There are just so many kids available to fill freshman classes that schools do not compete with other schools for students. Plenty to go around. That makes the negotiation practically non-existent.

 

Faith

[unsinkable]

I researched what gpa my DS needed to keep his merit scholarships that have been offered...one school said there is no minimum as long as you're making progress. The other is 2.0.

 

DS knows tho' that grad school would be out of the question with those kind of grades.