<p>Thanks twinmom! I appreciate it very much.</p>
<p>The economy must be awful. Student counsellors watching alumni kids over the past few days for graduation ceremonies were told not to expect much in the way of tips because of the economy. Seems to be pretty bogus to me!</p>
<p>Guitars, there is this from the FAO website, so I guess we will hear towards the end of this month.</p>
<p>âCurrent Harvard students who applied for financial aid in the prior year will automatically be e-mailed renewal aid application instructions in February for the following academic year. The applications are due on April 17, 2009. Students whose aid applications are complete by the deadline will receive their award letters in late June. In early May, students with incomplete aid applications will be sent an email to notify them of which materials are missing from their application. Subsequent incomplete letters will be emailed in June and July. Once the aid application is complete, the financial aid decision will be mailed out on a rolling basis during the summer. Aid applications must be completed before September 1, 2009 to be eligible for financial aid for 2009-10.â</p>
<p>Nikiwe, Thanks.</p>
<p>DocT, what do you mean about it being bogus?</p>
<p>Nikiwe - They said late June last year too, but it was earlier. Of course that doesnât necessarily mean that it will be earlier this year as well.</p>
<p>They use the economy as an excuse for not tipping students who are running all over Cambridge and Boston with their kids who are sometimes brats?</p>
<p>Does anyone know when sophomoreâs will be receiving their rooming info? My son already knows heâll be in Quincy (yeah Penguins :)) but not what room exactly or when they can officially move in. </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>It varies by the House. My daughter did not find out her rooming info last year until August.</p>
<p>My daughter found out before she came home for summer, has room number and new mailing address, it must be house by house.</p>
<p>interesting about how it depends on the house. thanks</p>
<p>Late July through mid-August is when most rising sophomores find out about their housing. A couple houses (Leverett and another that I canât remember at the moment) actually give their rising sophomores some control over their future rooming and have a lottery for them in May of their freshman year.</p>
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<p>Your S and my D1 are apparently âpolarâ opposites - sheâs a Polar Bear (Pfoho). :)</p>
<p>D2 is a Tree. No kidding (Currier). How does one dress up like a Tree?</p>
<p>Calling expert parents: I am confused about the health insurance. Must the student pay for the basic plan, even though he is fully covered under the parentâs plan? Thanks.</p>
<p>Yes, they must pay for the basic plan. That is to support the student health center, where they may go for anything from sore throats, strep tests, and sports injuries to birth control and STD testing (yikes). </p>
<p>If your student is an athlete, Iâd suggest puchasing the extra BC/BS of Mass. plan. It can pay for itself very quickly with trips to local specialists.</p>
<p>My daughter is attending in the fall.</p>
<p>We have Cigna ppo health insurance? Can she use Harvard health clinic doctors? Do we apply for basic Harvard health insurance even if we have insurance?</p>
<p>My daughter lives in southern California. How is the best way to get her belongings to Harvard: shipping? having our family fly out with her with several suitcases? How big are the dorm closets? Is there some list available with what she needs?</p>
<p>Anyone know about details on the Harvard ballet? </p>
<p>How much spending money is appropriate for the year?</p>
<p>About how much do books cost?</p>
<p>Thanksâ</p>
<p>Hi treeta,</p>
<p>I donât know the answer to your insurance question or anything about the ballet.</p>
<p>I would suggest that the best way to get your Dâs belongings (that she does not take with her on the plane) to H is by U.S. mail. It is cheapest and reliable. We took several large suitcases filled with Dâs belongings to move-in day, emptied them in her room, and took the empties back with us on the plane. Most of Dâs things are stored in boxes in her house over the summers.</p>
<p>Dâs dorm closet was very small, but this may vary depending on the room. We learned that she took too many clothes with her, for the amount of closet and drawer space alloted.</p>
<p>Linens and a lamp are the only 2 items I can think of that no student can live without. Everything else is optional.</p>
<p>We give her $100/month, which is plenty.</p>
<p>Cost of books varies; hers were about $300 per semester.</p>
<p>Others will have different opinions/experiences to share with you. Good luck to you and your D!</p>
<p>Treeta- All Harvard students are required to pay for the basic student health fee (around $700.) This allows them to use the HUHS- Harvard Univ. Health Services- the clinic at Holyoke Center in the middle of the campus area, between the Yard area and the River Houses. </p>
<p>Your personal insurance might allow you to waive the second portion of the health fee- for extended coverage. If you look on the website or in the paperwork, there is an online process to seek the waiver (and save the second 700.00 fee.) As mentioned previously, if your child is an athlete, or has health issues, the extended coverage (Mass. BC/BS) is worth the fee, and allows her to get referrals to area specialists. Last year the total for both plans was around 1400.00, per year, I believe.</p>
<p>Thanks for answering my question. It is a great help.</p>
<p>Treeta, hello and welcome to Harvard! We were in the same situation last year (freshman last year) and we are also from Southern California (Orange County). We shipped my sonâs things to him. I used Overstock.com ($2.95 for all his shipping!) for towels, sheets, pillowcases etc. and also used Staples.com for office supplies (we were surprised how much he needed and it was cheaper than us bringing it). We also took some things in suitcases when we helped him move in. He kept one large suitcase with him to use at the end of the year when he came home for the summer. </p>
<p>If youâd like to PM me I can give you more info. </p>
<p>Itâs an exciting time for them and for us 
- </p>
<p>Insurance - yes, we also have a PPO but purchased the basic plan. My son had to use the Harvard medical center 2 different times, one was for the flu and the other was for a sore shoulder and neck (turns out it was from sitting in front of his computer too long). Anyway, all was covered and we never even saw a bill. No copay.</p>
<p>Just for fun, here are the 2009 <em>U.S. News & World Report</em> rankings of The Worldâs Best Colleges and Universities.
[Worldâs</a> Best Colleges and Universities](<a href=âhttp://www.usnews.com/sections/education/worlds-best-colleges/index.html]Worldâsâ>http://www.usnews.com/sections/education/worlds-best-colleges/index.html)</p>
<p>These rankings are based on <em>The Times</em> of London list for 2008.
[QS</a> Top Universities: Top 100 universities in the THE - QS World University Rankings 2007](<a href=âhttp://www.topuniversities.com/university_rankings/results/2008/overall_rankings/top_100_universities/]QSâ>http://www.topuniversities.com/university_rankings/results/2008/overall_rankings/top_100_universities/)</p>