<p>My kids both got the 3 in 1 printers. If we had to do it all over again, I’d probably suggest the b&w laser too. Unlike in HS, where they were constantly printing in color for projects, it’s not really necessary to print in color in college.</p>
<p>I would STRONGLY recommend that anyone who is purchasing a Mac buy AppleCare. You actually have one year from the date of purchase to buy it. My kids have used it over and over again … to replace batteries and fix sundry other problems. Most recently one had a hard drive and CD burner replaced and both had new operating systems installed. AppleCare has paid for itself over and over again. </p>
<p>I’d also suggest some sort of external hard drive to back up your files. Get in the habit of backing up each evening. There’s nothing worse than losing a paper when you’re 7/8 done and your computer crashes. Not to mention all the fun photos you’ll have.</p>
<p>Ds had about $500 left over and did Apple Care and a printer. If you don’t need a printer, that could afford a lot of ink cartridges. D1 got the 15" MacBook Pro and then was sorry because of the extra weight. She got a new computer this summer and I’m typing this on her MacBook Pro (which, by the way, had its hard drive go out three months shy of the three-year AppleCare deadline, so I also have a new hard drive :)). D2 got the regular 13" MacBook and used the $ she saved to buy a 20" monitor which stays on her desk.</p>
<p>Guitars, the outside scholarship should be deleting the student contribution and summer earnings expectation. It’s not $6000, but if that’s still in the award package, contact S’s financial aid officer and see if it can be corrected.</p>
<p>^^^ Yup - it seems like the plan if you want to have it both ways - big display + portability.</p>
<p>Guitars, here’s what my D’s aid letter says at the end. If your S’s doesn’t say the same thing, definitely ask about it.:</p>
<p>“PLEASE NOTE: We have reduced your summer savings expectation by the amount of your outside awards exceeding your term-time job expectation. Please visit our website for a further description of our outside award policy.”</p>
<p>gadad, Thank you so much! I think what happened is that my son only had a student contribution of $1500 since he was a freshman, so when the $6,000 came in they reduced our portion by $4,500. This year the student contribution is much higher so they still may adjust our total by a little. It was just a little bit of a surprise when we saw that we had to pay $6,000 more this year than last year. You’re right Gadad, my son’s student and work contributions are zero.</p>
<p>I must be missing something. What are you speaking about with a $2,500 allowance for computers and related expenses. Is this part of just some FA packages and not others?</p>
<p>Also, does the student contribution increase after Freshman year? What is the reasoning behind this?</p>
<p>yes, the student contribution does go up each year. They told me the reason is that they give freshman a chance to get use to college life away from home etc. and so the following years the students usually find jobs over the summer and during the school year to help contribute to their education. My son’s scholarship awards were enough that he won’t have to work during the school year or the summer (unless he wants to of course)</p>
<p>The computer allowance is offered the freshman year because many kids come in with scholarships that exceed the amount that they have to contribute ($1500 for freshman)so they are able to receive a credit for a qualified computer purchase of no more than $2500.</p>
<p>I can speak to (2): The financial aid office says that the student budget upon which they base aid does not include the supplemental insurance cost. We also were told that the amount by which outside scholarships exceed the student contribution is used to reduce the amount of aid Harvard gives (so the parent contribution is not lessened by the excess outside scholarships).
As to (1): My notes from my discussion with financial aid indicate a $4000 student contribution freshman year and $5000 junior year. I do not know what it is for years 2 and 4. These amounts are the total of expected summer earnings and expected term earnings.
But I am a newbie so perhaps the experienced parents have further information on your questions.</p>
<p>If a freshman’s outside scholarships exceed the amount of the expected student contribution, then up to $2500 of the extra outside scholarship dollars can be used toward a computer, software, necessary peripherals and supplies on a one-time basis.</p>
<p>We recently received info about purchasing my D’s dorm supplies (bedding, laundry pop-up, etc.) through the Harvard Student Agencies.
Can any of you tell me about your experiences with purchasing from HSA? How is the quality?</p>
<p>Also, was pick-up for these supplies tedious or time-consuming on move-in day - long lines at the Science Center for instance?</p>
<p>The quality of sheets and comforter fabric is not great (think Wal-mart), but the price for everything isn’t bad. If your student is not picky, they should be fine. If they’re used to fine thread count, they may not like the roughness. Sorry, I don’t know about the pick-up.</p>
<p>We did not use HSA for bedding, etc. Used Bed, Bath & Beyond but you will need a car to pick up items from local BB&B. Guitars suggested Overstock.com because they will ship directly to dorm. That might be a good option if you are carless.</p>
<p>We did use the laundry service, not because son is incapable of doing laundry (although close to it), but because we wanted it done in a more timely manner than he would if left to his own devices. Because it was paid for already he felt an obligation to use it. I’m sure his roommates (and dormmates) appreciated the service.</p>
<p>Southbaymom, IMHO, you would be much better off buying the bedding supplies at a discount store - Marshalls, T.J. Maxx, etc. You will find that the quality/thread count will be higher, and the prices are going to be the same or slightly lower. You can find these stores either where you live (in the South Bay you can find both in San Jose/Milpitas/Mountain View) or in the Boston area. We found the HSA products to be expensive and not of the best quality. As it relates to laundry, my DD’s frosh dorm (Weld) had machines in the basement and she was able to do laundry when she wanted to.</p>
<p>Are the local stores near Harvard barren by the time freshman move in day comes around? With so many colleges in the area, I was wondering if it would be wise to bring/ship the bedding rather than buying locally. When we moved in my older son in California, the local Target and BBB were bought out of XL stuff and even cheap bikes!</p>
<p>I just received my first term bill for D (incoming Sophomore) and when I linked over to Health Services to begin the process of applying for the supplemental health insurance waiver I saw this:</p>
<p>“Returning Students: The benefits structure of HUSHP is changing. Effective 8/1/09, the Medco Prescription Drug benefit and all lab services (including those performed at HUHS) will be covered under the HUSHP Supplemental portion of the Plan”</p>
<p>I don’t know if this affects many of you but we relied on Medco from the basic plan to cover all of D prescriptions for the $10 co-pay. Now we will have to use our family PPO which requires meeting a calendar deductible.</p>
<p>^ ^ I saw this as well. I suppose you have to consider the cost of the plan vs. the cost of your deductible on your own plan and the amount of perscriptions that your daughter will need. We opted to continue to waive.</p>
<p>For those who are not aware … students can easily waive the Undergraduate Council Fee if it is a financial hardship. No documentation is required; they can just call Account Receivable and it will be taken off the bill.</p>