<p>You will NOT have an internship your freshman year. Leave the car at home until you determine that you REALLY need it. It’s a money pit that a student with financial concerns does not need to have.</p>
<p>I understand what your saying. I could always not have one my first semester and if I deemed I really needed it, I could bring it up.</p>
<p>You don’t need a car. You want a car. And you are trying to convince yourself and others why it is a necessity. It isn’t- its a luxury. And you will discover that many of your classmates will NOT have cars and they will be asking you to drive them here and there to do this and that. It will make you popular if you have a car, but also broke. Its hard to get them to chip in for gas and maintenance. Wear and tear on an old car can be expensive.</p>
<p>Right’O. Save the car to college idea until or IF it becomes necessary. You may find you never need a car while in college.</p>
<p>I know it’s not a necessity. I understand where you guys are coming from, lol. God we’ve already used several pages just about bringing a car to college haha. I don’t even know where I’m going yet. </p>
<p><em>Cross your fingers it’s Harvard</em> ;)</p>
<p>If your dad can afford to purchase a 4th , unneeded car “for freedom” and insure and maintain the 4 vehicles, then it is difficult to understand why there is also not money there to pay for college (unless one of the drivers is driving the reason, LOL)</p>
<p>Can Your fa and mo share a car? Or you and your brother?</p>
<p>There are four drivers. My mother, father, older brother, and myself. Each of us has a car. My dad gave his car to my brother, so he didn’t have one. He could have used my moms car, but he had none when she went out and my older brother was at school. When he first got his car, he tried to sell it but it didn’t work out.The HHR has cheaper gas then the minivan. My brother and I cannot share a car. I go to school when he needs to go to school and vice versa.</p>
<p>I corrected that, ec, but cars can be shared. When my DH had an accident he used Ds’s car and then we carpooled when we could until we had to get another car. They are all do-able. Not always convenient, but do-able.</p>
<p>Right now, the car situation isn’t an issue. I only use my car when I go to school.</p>
<p>Use it to go see the Holcaust exhibit! But if money is as unpredictable or as tight as you say, the it needs to be factored into the budget (IMO factored out).</p>
<p>There really isnt much that you are likely to need to go off campus for, especially freshman year when room and board is all covered.</p>
<p>Did you know Kennesaw State had a summer study abroad program focused just on the Holocaust, they went to Poland/Austria, etc? It doesn’t look like KSU is going this summer, but I would have loved to go. I love Clark because of the awesome Holocaust Studies program.</p>
<p>Kennesaw housed the Ann Frank exhibit for quite a while as well. Perhaps KSU is a better choice than GCS or Valdosta.</p>
<p>The former Executive Director of the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust is a personal friend of mine. If you had shown interest in finding a way to get to the exhibit back when we previously discussed it a few years back (before she retired) I could have gotten you a personal tour.</p>
<p>You need a 950 SAT to get into Kennesaw and a 2.5 GPA. I have the GPA requirement lol, but not the SAT. And GCSU has a good communications program, Kennesaw does not have one. It’s also too close to home. Better off going to GGC then to Kennesaw, lol. Please pray that doesn’t happen. Over 130 kids from last year class went there. </p>
<p>I did consider Armstrong because I thought I’d like Savannah. Really all the state schools except GCSU is too big. GCSU is the biggest school on my list though.</p>
<p>So much of this just doesn’t add up. Can the parents just not set any limits at all with this? Most kids with any financial concerns at all and other siblings involved (that also warrant the parents’s resources) just aren’t going on and on about summer programs,cars,etc. These are LUXURIES.</p>
<p>The France trip was my birthday/x-mas gift and I used money I saved up. It meant a lot to go.</p>
<p>Travel means alot to everyone but is a luxury when money is tight.</p>
<p>I don’t get the summer travel thing either. We make too much money for any kind of financial need yet our kids have worked full time during the summers since the age of about 15. They are expected to make their own money for their own expenses. They are expected to purchase their own college books (expensive), pay for their gas, entertainment, pizza, and personal stuff. They buy their own clothing during the school year, but we do buy them clothes for Christmas and Birthdays. They’ve never gone on a Spring break vacation like many of their friends nor have they been able to intern during summers because they NEED to earn money for the upcoming semester. </p>
<p>OP–If your family needs as much financial aid as you’ve mentioned, you should have been spending your time working during the summers and part time during the school year to earn money towards your college expenses. I know that this is just my opinion on the matter, but it really seems as though finances aren’t being taken seriously. All of the online calculators and such are usually not even close to the reality of what ends up being offered. You also have to remember that scraping enough together to attend the first year shouldn’t be your main concern. Focus on whether or not it will be doable for all 4 years at any particular school, not just the first year.</p>
<p>I mean really–How can someone complaining about scraping together $16 here and there for processing fees even consider the thought of spending another summer traveling rather than working? So many parts of the OP’s college process doesn’t add up right for me. Oh well–this is an online forum. I suppose we need to take everything with a grain of salt.</p>
<p>Good luck OP.</p>
<p>Even if it was a combined birthday-xmas present, $1900 + passport and other expenses is a LOT of money, especially for a family with tight finances My DH’s birthday is tomorrow, and I didnt spend nearly that much on a combined birthday/holiday gift for him. And I am not concerned about finances.</p>
<p>Happy birthday December babies! Son’s was last week, and D’s was yesterday. Folks think we are rich, but as a frame of reference, they share a 96 Acura.</p>