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<p>Same at our house. D’s being realistic and mature, but Commencement Week is going to be bittersweet.</p>
<p>^^My daughter spent her entire final semester often taking a longer than necessary route between points so that she could walk through Harvard Yard “one more time.”</p>
<p>I’m going to miss walking through Harvard Yard too!</p>
<p>We did not receive a 1098 T this year. I tried the link mentioned several pages back but it only showed 2006, 2007, 2008, not 2009. Any idea of how I can obtain it?
Thanks.</p>
<p>Twinmom, If you do not see a 1098-T at the Student Receivables link (<a href=“http://www.ECSI.NET/HARVARD1098T[/url].”>www.ECSI.NET/HARVARD1098T.</a>), I think it is safe to assume your son/daughter does not qualify this time round. </p>
<p>We were in a similar position: our son logged in at that link and there was a 1098-T for 2008, but not for 2009. I emailed student billing and this was the response: </p>
<p>“____ will not receive a 1098T his scholarship amount exceeded his QUALIFIED TUITION AND FEES Harvard reports on tuition charged not tuition paid.” </p>
<p>The absence of punctuation notwithstanding, I think the short answer is he simply did not qualify because the amount he received in scholarship exceeded the cost of tuition. And the reason for that is described by ‘healthy99’ in post # 2173: </p>
<p>“2009 total scholarship includes 3 semesters”</p>
<p>The 3 semesters in question are Spring2009, Fall 2009 and Spring 2010.</p>
<p>The response we got from student billing included ‘Education credit information for terms Spring2009, Fall 2009 and Spring 2010 billed from 01-01-09 thru 12-31-09’ where figures were given for qualified tuition and fees vs the amount given in scholarships/ grants. If you want such a breakdown of the numbers, I suggest you contact Student Billing or the Receivables Office (I am not sure if they are one and the same).</p>
<p>I also found this: Questions regarding the 1098T form, please contact ECSI at 1-888-549-3274.</p>
<p>I hope all this gobblydeegook helps answer your question!</p>
<p>Hi,</p>
<p>We would appreciate any advice. Our D is a current Harvard Sophomore. We were very blessed, our S just got accepted by HYP and MIT. With two kids in college we are qualified for FA. </p>
<p>We just received H’s FA package and were very much disappointed. Among the 4 schools, MIT is worst, gave us $500, but Y and P are much more generous than H. Here is the deal with HYP:</p>
<p>H gave us $14 K
Y gave us $24 K
P gave us $19 K</p>
<p>We were always told that the grants from HYP are comparable to each other but this does not seem the case. Does any one know if it is possible to negotiate with H?</p>
<p>Nikiwe: Thank you! I think I’ll try to call on Monday just to double check.</p>
<p>Mushmouse: I have no doubt that Harvard will meet the numbers of Y and P. They easily matched Columbia’s package when my daughter was accepted a few years ago. Call the financial aid office and have the other offers handy and ready to fax in if necessary. The financial aid officers are generally quite pleasant and do everything possible to help admitted students to attend if possible. Also, keep in mind that your daughter should not qualify for financial aid (or increased aid if she was already receiving aid.)</p>
<p>One more thing: Do not use the word “negotiate” when you call. Simply politely tell the financial aid officer how much your son wants to attend. Being humble and polite (but firm) goes a long way!</p>
<p>Twinmom, thank you so much for the advice. We will try on Monday, any further advice would be very much appreciated. Our S very much wants to join his sister. BTW, do you know how do they calculate the FA? Why do you think our D would not qualify for more FA now that we will have two in college? Thank you again for the help!</p>
<p>Can anyone recommend a good off-campus storage company for the summer? The house basement was like the black hole last fall. It took weeks to get all their stuff.</p>
<p>Mushmouse: I am SO sorry - major typo!!! Your daughter should qualify for much more aid. PM me if you have any other questions regarding Harvard financial aid.</p>
<p>Mushmouse - When D2 was weighing Harvard vs. Yale two years ago, her package from Harvard exceeded Yale’s by $12,000. I’m really surprised at the numbers you report.</p>
<p>Twinmom - If you did not receive a 1098-T from Harvard it is probably because the amount of scholarship exceeded the amount of tuition (not tuition plus room and board). If that is the case, your S/D may owe taxes on the difference. This seems to be more likely this year because Harvard calculated three semesters of scholarship and only two semesters of tuition.</p>
<p>Hat: I am totally confused! Why were three semesters of scholarship and two semesters of tuition calculated this time? And aren’t only two semesters considered for a tax year?</p>
<p>What is accepted students weekend like for parents? The letter states “there are very few programs which may be of interest to parents although you are welcome to attend.” I am not concerned about needing planned activities. Since I have never seen the campus or Boston, I am sure I will not be bored. I just wanted to find out if many parents attend? What was your experience like if you did?</p>
<p>What is accepted students weekend like for parents? The letter states “there are very few programs which may be of interest to parents although you are welcome to attend.” I am not concerned about needing planned activities. Since I have never seen the campus or Boston, I am sure I will not be bored. I just wanted to find out if many parents attend? What was your experience like if you did?</p>
<p>Almostforgot: Lots of parents attend though many don’t. Unless a lot has changed in the past four years, there were many activities for parents. You will not be bored. Be sure to mention that you have a “Harvard rate” when you book a hotel - which may or may not be better than AAA etc.</p>
<p>My experience was great. I loved seeing Annenberg, a freshman dorm, going to presentations for parents about health and safety as well as academics. Most of all, I loved walking around Harvard Yard and then venturing over to peek at the residential houses … not to mention walking around Harvard Square and seeing all the new admits walking around too!</p>
<p>I would, however, have your child stay on campus while you stay elsewhere.</p>
<p>Enjoy every moment!</p>
<p>Almost—</p>
<p>Our approach last year was to not attend Prefrosh weekend. We thought it would be best for S to have an immersion experience (albeit a short one) without mom and dad in the wings.</p>
<p>In the end, I think it was the best approach and helped him better evaluate Harvard against the other very attractive choices he was considering. In addition, the cost for parents to visit Cambridge for a weekend is not insignificant as well. We were, however, very familiar with the Harvard environs. </p>
<p>There will be many activities, concerts, and sessions to attend over the 3 days which cumulatively is much to take in. My advice would be to have your son (or daughter) attend the open houses of the academic departments that he is most interested in at this stage, pick out as many classes to attend as time will permit, and check out the extracurricular activities that he thinks he will pursue. </p>
<p>If our experience is any guide, your son will have much to tell you after the weekend, and he will have a new clarity and certainty in his thoughts about Harvard. For our son, the Prefrosh weekend experience sealed the deal to attend, a decision that a year later he is exceptionally happy he made.</p>
<p>One last thing, I think it would be a big mistake for an accepted student not to stay physically on campus with a Prefrosh host student for the duration of the weekend, since that is the best way to take advantage of the wonderful opportunity to talk to and get to know current students.</p>
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<p>Bear in mind that a prospective college student’s primary concern for this weekend is “will the rest of them think I’m a geek?” Accordingly, there would be a normal concern that bringing a parent to Prefrosh may strike prospective peers as the epitome of geekdom. I’d assure my student that we might both be on campus “at the same time” but would not be on campus “together.”</p>
<p>Our approach was a mix. We fortunately live about 30 minutes from Harvard and have more flexibility than most. We came with our daughter on Saturday and left in the afternoon. She stayed overnight with a host. To be honest the host was really only a room to sleep in. Her host was a busy pre-med and my daughter barely saw her. We returned for part of Sunday and were to take her home that night. D elected to leave late afternoon instead. Monday morning she had a significant test at her high school. After the exam, she and I return to campus for some academic presentations.</p>
<p>To be honest, before Monday, she was still not sure that she would attend Harvard. She liked the people but was not sure that the academics were a match for her. Monday convinced her. As she an I left campus we stopped by the Coop for some Harvard gear.</p>