<p>momofsongbird: My understanding is that March 1 FAFSA with final numbers from the 2010 return is the best way to go to get the most consideration. You don’t have to file until April 15 (if you want to want to pay if necessary) but you should have the correct numbers.</p>
<p>If any of your schools require the CSS Profile and the IDOC service, you have to send the completed, signed 2010 tax return (all of it) by March 1. So, we’re all done with taxes!</p>
<p>^ OWM,
is that an IDOC date or per school date? I have something from IDOC telling me we have til 3/14…
our stuff just was sent to the tax accts…and I will be calling them soon to let em know…about the IDOC deadline.
We normally file later- with both personal and bus retrurns etc…this year has pushed that</p>
<p>We will have to amend our Profile/FAFSAs…when those returns are done.</p>
<p>Thanks all for the party ideas, funny Mr. High School stories and senior-mind-snatcher-victim stories. </p>
<p>As background to my story, you should know that my daughter declared me a “mean mommy” when she was three, and I am truly the strictest mom here.</p>
<p>So it came as quite a surprise the other day when my senior D said:
“I don’t have a curfew on the weekends, right?”</p>
<p>Ha. No, I’m still a mean mommy, and we’ll see you at 11.</p>
<p>MOSB: I know the deadline is 3/1 but considering the forms were not avaiable until 2/15, I’m hoping that our accountant can get them done - personal and business. Part of me thinks that the FA offices have to be aware of the delay of the IRS and would take that into account. Am I dreaming??</p>
<p>My accountant says maybe…just maybe…she can get everything done (personal and corporate returns) and back to me next Friday 2/25. That leaves next weekend for me to do Profile and FAFSA.</p>
<p>I own a small biz, and almost every single facet of it (and my finances) is an anomoly. This is by far the worst financial thing I’ve ever had to go through. </p>
<p>Many thanks for your quick replies and clarification.</p>
<p>Novelisto: I know you’ve heard this enough by now, but you are going to love Istanbul! Having spent considerable time in both Egypt and Turkey (used to live in Lebanon), I can tell you that Turkey and its beauty and history will distract you (hopefully!) from the inability to visit Egypt on this holiday. We too are taking a cruise for graduation - for our HS daughter and our middle-school graduating daughter (Class of 2019 thread, I’ll have to visit!). We are taking it over spring break, and heading to the Panama Canal, and that part of the world. Our HS daughter will be a Div. 1 athlete in college next year, and I was informed by her coach that she will basically never have another spring break - her team stays on campus and trains throughout the whole break. So, this is it! I am really looking forward to the time together just as a family.</p>
<p>For her graduation present, we are giving her a family ring - a piece of jewelery that she can wear every day for the rest of her life, if she so chooses. It is something she really wants, and will last forever. Laptops and smart phones are very pertinent and useful too, but those have already been necessary for her at this point.</p>
<p>My '09 son is an Eagle Scout, and one of his grad gifts was a lifetime membership in the Eagle Scout Association.</p>
<p>fogfog: This is the first time that we have done the IDOC process. So I only know what we had to do. Only one school required it. They wanted FAFSA and CSS by 2/15 and 2010 returns via IDOC. When I got the IDOC notification e-mail, it said to send by 2/15. So I think IDOC automatically prints out the date for the schools–or maybe the earliest date? I don’t know since we only had one school.</p>
<p>And you have to send the return and forms to IDOC by mail only, no UPS or FedEx. I used priority mail, two-day guarantee.</p>
<p>OWM,
thanks…as soon as the returns are done, we will copy and send.
The FAFSA leaves so much out. otoh, kiddo’s school to be does some funky adding back in…with Profile.
sigh.</p>
<p>My guess is it will be April/May when we know numbers if the stuff has to be in mid March. Especially when the first numbers went in Oct…we had soft numbers and package in 2 weeks. Then package came with acceptance Dec 15…nothing sure till full submittal and the fin offices check every line 100%.
So we wait…cue The Rolling Stones…</p>
<p>missypie- congrats, my S is an Eagle scout also. Goes to show regional differences, my S is inviting none of his friends to his Eagle scout party, never mind a lifetimetime membership in anything to let folks know he is an Eagle. </p>
<p>I like the jewlery idea except S has no interest in jewlery. He is big into his Irish heritage, and I tried to get him a Claddagh Ring last year but he balked. So maybe I will just get it this year and if he doesn’t wear it right away, he will always have it. </p>
<p>S did get a class ring,…that he wore once for about 5 minutes, in the house. He said no one wears them. (and to be honest I think they look goofy on adults beyond college) But, I would not have allowed him to order the expensive ring he did if I had know it would sit in its box forever. </p>
<p>So I am still looking for ideas on graduation present. I might look at a quilt made of his high school emblem and other things he likes (sport teams, etc). </p>
<p>I will not do a video, just don’t have the time or inclination. Probably will do a collage and maybe scan the college to use on thank you notes.</p>
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<p>LOL, Son not only didn’t have an Eagle Scout party, he didn’t have a ceremony. After his review, he had nothing more to do with Scouts (for a good reason.) But it was something I thought he would appreciate in the future.</p>
<p>I’m hopefully going to earn my Eagle Scout rank in the future, but I don’t think I would ever have a party for it. Most Eagle Scouts in my council just have a ceremony and a reception.</p>
<p>Mamom - I love the idea of doing a quilt. I’ve thought about it as a way to save the dozens (probably not hundreds, but it seems like it) t-shirts that D has collected throughout high school from various activities. I’ve heard that there are companies that will take a pile of t-shirts and patch them into a quilt. Anyone have any experience with this?</p>
<p>[Today’s</a> Zits Comic Strip - ArcaMax Publishing](<a href=“Zits | Comics | ArcaMax Publishing”>Zits | Comics | ArcaMax Publishing)</p>
<p>a good reason for them to learn to do laundrey befoe hitting the dorms</p>
<p>Mayhew – Thank you. I think we will love it unconditionally once we do a little more reading up. I think a trip is a wonderful present. Studies say that people who ‘do’ are happier than people who ‘have’. Besides, it won’t be long before they are working, dating, living lives that don’t necessarily include taking trips with the p’units. </p>
<p>The class ring my D bought/designed is very discreet…unless you have a magnifying glass it looks like a regular ring. Still <em>much</em> more expensive than I would have liked. She paid 1/2.</p>
<p>I like the conversation we are having about gifts/vacations. I, too, need some ideas. Son is very hard to shop for. We had to buy him a laptop just 2 months ago; he wouldnt want a smart phone We will try our hardest to plan a vacation in the summer, but still have to finalize other summer plans. </p>
<p>The custom quilt sounds very original. Here is one company, I found on the web [Campus</a> Quilt: T-Shirt Quilt Pictures & Ideas](<a href=“http://www.campusquilt.com/ideas/index.html]Campus”>T-Shirt Quilt Gallery of Examples | Campus Quilt Co.) Google search found several others, so I might look into it. Thanks for the idea, OneGirlsMom.</p>
<p>Fogfog- If you submit all paperwork by the deadline, I am sure you will get the finaid offer by March 30. Thats when RD students get them, and its an important piece of the puzzle to decide where to matriculate by May 1st. You might even get it sooner on their website.</p>
<p>Well, even though our household doesn’t know anything about admissions results–and is weeks away from even thinking about graduation gifts and events–my son has had a nice run of news/milestones of late. He spent 3 days last week on a finalist visit to his top choice program (you can’t be admitted w/out the visit) and he still REALLY wants to go there. He got NMF finalist news just as he left for that trip. There is a statewide scholarship competition that is more about status than money; yesterday he advanced to finalist which is doubly nice because his school has not had a finalist in his category in about 8 years. He has just about gotten his Presidential Scholar essays done, and that will be THE END OF ESSAYS. The local newspaper even published a big feature article on a classmate and him, who are the only Presidential Scholar candidates in the county.</p>
<p>And I mailed off the IDOC packet today. Yippee!</p>
<p>Now if we can only get schools to say “ok, we want you to come here.”</p>
<p>
I have looked onto it for a close neice. I will see if I can find the info.</p>
<p>Sorry to hear about some of the angst parents are going thru b/c of grade disappointments, personality shifts in their kids or FAFSA/Profile/IRS/IDOCS woes. </p>
<p>I have one teeny-weeny piece missing before I can put all our financial stuff to bed - a Form K-1. I emailed the company today with my sob story. They said they will email it to me as soon as it is available so I don’t have to wait for the mail. That should save a few days. I’m not sure I’ll make the 3/1 IDOCS deadline, but it should be close. I wish we could submit it electronically. Certainly seems like it would be a timesaver for them - download a file or feed in 50 sheets of paper per student. No brainer to me. I must be missing something.</p>
<p>IB students in son’s grade have their own senior dinner with parents, students, all their teachers and staff. I’m on the committee. We are giving kid’s IB tee-shirts with all the students names on the back. Also giving them a group picture. Copy of PowerPoint presentation shown at dinner (EACH KID GETS ONE SLIDE TO REPRESENT HIM/HER). Want to get them one more thing. Can anyone think of something for <$5/student?</p>
<p>Idea for grad gift for those taking a trip - Make a memory book/scrapbook of the trip or big collage to hang in dorm. Walgreen’s does both. Can also do a collage of his/her life, friends, family.</p>
<p>The quilt idea is so clever!</p>