<p>mamom – how upsetting and disappointing! What I’m realizing is there’s a huge variation in advising at different schools. You think your kid is going to a “good school” but if it’s nearly impossible to get into classes, or they’re taught with a sink or swim approach, or if it’s hard to get feedback until it’s too late – where is that info on the common data set? How do you find that out before you choose to attend?</p>
<p>Yes, our kids are technically adults, and yes, they have to learn to navigate this on their own, but it’s a real bummer when a smart kid does poorly (often, for the first time).</p>
<p>blue and AvonDad- the deadlines for D1’s school is in March. Last year, we had to file both the FAFSA and CSS. This year, we only have to do the FAFSA and a unique ‘upperclass financial aid application’, which seems pretty painless.</p>
<p>gsmomma - I can only hope we don’t have to repeat the profile, or at least most of it is just updating information we already gave them…profile-lite maybe? I’ll check into it. Thanks.</p>
<p>Avon my son started to shave with a razor and shaving cream-he told me he finds it “relaxing”-so maybe your son should give that a try. Glad your wife is feeling better good for your son getting into that class! My HS freshman daughter has already gotten mail from schools-ridiculous.</p>
<p>mamom sorry to hear about the advising not being what you had hoped. </p>
<p>Congrats of the MA shaw-love to hear that.</p>
<p>My son is applying for housing next year and even though he likes his roommate they have very different sleeping patterns-my son prefers to go to bed and get up earlier. He has chosen who he wants to live with next year-it is apartment style with double bedrooms-I am not sure how many-but the group he is applying with are earlier to bed types-and he says they are clean! I think the horror of him cleaning the bathroom he shares with three other boys left an indelible mark on him! :)</p>
<p>Mamom–sorry you aren’t getting the answers needed and that your DS doesn’t seem to be getting the guidance needed. Tell him to keep at it until he knows what he needs.</p>
<p>Shaw–Congrats! Sounds like the transfer was easy and beneficial and just what your DS is looking for–I love it when a plan comes together so beautifully! And with that MA it sounds like happy hour is on you tonight! ;)</p>
<p>GSMomma–I’m guessing that your DD’s experience at camps will be a bonus in the interview process for RA. Good luck to her!</p>
<p>Avon–welcome to the post office mailing club! My DS asks for packages then neglects to pick them up in a timely manner. Sigh. I’m not holding my breath waiting for him to mail back his brothers gloves he accidently took with him. I’m more inclined to think they will come home with him at the end of the month for intersession. </p>
<p>BI–a little snow would be nice, but I don’t want snowmegeddon again!</p>
<p>It’s funny because I mentioned the same thought to my DS who has been a camp counselor the past 2 summers, but he thought it would in some ways be a negative for him because he has always worked with the youngest campers, and would end up being too condescending as an RA with adult charges. </p>
<p>I don’t think he is considering applying to be an RA. I also don’t think he has thought about housing or who he wants to room with much yet. I don’t think he and his roommate will stay together, though they might surprise me. They aren’t really friends, and don’t have that much in common, but they are compatible roommates (same degree of messiness, similar schedules, considerate of one another’s needs for quiet to sleep or study) so who knows. </p>
<p>BI, wintry mix isn’t “boring” it’s gross! (We’ve been having a lot of that this winter too – ugh!)</p>
<p>D1 hopes that the camp counselor is a plus, since she has always worked with the high school girls. She told me the story about a girl who is now her closest friend at school. It was the first week of school, and her friend was crying in the hallway. D1 said she ‘went into camp counselor mode” and started asking the girl if she was okay, if she needed anything, etc. The girl thought that D1 was the RA, since they had just moved in and hadn’t met the RA yet.</p>
<p>I hope she gets the position. She did say that many of the girls are applying because of the free housing and the stipend, and have no experience working with other students. Her own RA also thinks she may have a good chance, since she was able to handle the roommate issues without getting the RA involved in the meeting. One of the disadvantages at her school is that it is only 30% female, and more girls tend to apply than guys. If you are a guy, you have a better shot at getting a position.</p>
<p>She does seem to be okay if she does not get the position, since it appears that she will be able to live in the sorority house.</p>
<p>Gsmomma: Good luck to your daughter with her RA application. It sounds like she’d make a good RA.</p>
<p>Congrats to ShawD. I hope that her transition continues to go smoothly.</p>
<p>Mamom: I understand your concerns. It seens wierd that your son can’t get clear guidance on whether he needs to repeat those classes. Hoping for a better semester.</p>
<p>My D2 is stressed about housing for next year. She has friends that she would like to live with, but it’s a lottery and sophomores get last choice. Her campus is very long, and she and her roomates would like to stay at the end near their classes, but housing at that end is limited. She wound’t mind moving off campus, but then they wouldn’t be able to get on-campus housing junior year, when they all plan to go abroad for a semester. </p>
<p>Like the others in the mid-atlantic (BI, EAO, VAMOM) I’d like to see some snow this winter. At least I don’t have school age children complaining about the lack of snow days.</p>
<p>gsmomma, it sounds like your D would be a great RA – and I think that the fact that she wants it for the “right reasons” will shine through in her interviews. good luck to her!</p>
<p>I am with you Blue, I want a snowstorm although Saturday is a stupid day to have it especially since our school system has Monday and Tuesday off school. I like a snow day where they shut everything down, seem unfair if you already have it off!</p>
<p>@ Mamom. Oh, no! That sounds spectacularly unhelpful. I guess there’s nothing to do except wait out 2d semester and see if he turns it around. If it’s any comfort, my nephew (college sophomore) got low B’s - including in a class he got special permission to take - and a D (didn’t like the freshman seminar professor so didn’t bother to do the work) in his first term last year, but is now doing well. There are other social issues for this which probably don’t apply to you, but it is nice to see.</p>
<p>@EAO, yes, they are hoping the couch sleeper will transfer colleges. They may lose one of the current suite mates, but it doesn’t really matter as the sophomore suites include 5’s, 6’s, and 7’s so they can get everybody into two suites. Don’t know how that will self-divide, but D seems to think it will work out. And she is looking forward to living in her college next year (it’s small, so only houses sophomores and seniors).</p>
<p>Congratulations to Shaw D on the merit scholarship!</p>
<p>D is still looking into summer jobs, but has found a 6 hr/wk term job with a professor in her likely major. Not quite sure what she will be doing, but the prof has a grant for special machinery to smash diamonds (!) and needs a lab assistant. D went to see her for an informational interview (she wasn’t able to take any classes in the dept 1st semester due to pre-reqs and wanted to make sure that they knew about her) and was immediately offered this job. So excited and proud of her! I just hope all of her time commitments work out: 5 classes + job + a capella (15 hrs/wk) = stress. We’ll see. She doesn’t want to give up any of it, but she also needs to sleep.</p>
<p>Congrats to ShawD on the merit scholarship? Where did she end up?</p>
<p>Mamom - how irritating that the advisor was so unhelpful! I hope this is a better semester for your DS.</p>
<p>Bless her soul, my younger DD called the other day to tell me that she and her best friend @ school have decided to live in the sophomore dorm next year instead of the on-campus (very nice) apartments since the dorms + meal plan are several thousand dollars cheaper than the apartment + food or a meal plan. </p>
<p>GSMom - good luck to your DD on her RA application! It sounds like the job would be a great fit.</p>
<p>I will have to look at the FAFSA deadline for younger DD’s school this weekend but I have a question for anyone who has older kids. My older DD is graduating and (hopefully) going on to grad school. Will I still file a FAFSA for that school or will she be the only one to file? If anyone knows, I’d appreciate you saving me the trouble of researching this.</p>
<p>We are right in the middle of a winter storm but it’s going to be more ice than snow. I wouldn’t be concerned but older DD came home this weekend and is down on the OSU campus with some friends. Just texted her and told her to stay there because the roads are icing up… she agreed but is stubborn enough to change her mind and come home anyway so I will not sleep well tonight. Lots of accidents already all over town so I can’t help but worry…</p>
<p>Blue - I am not sure if the schools prefer the FA info by 2/1 or if there are different dates for returning students. I have a feeling based on several posted comments that it may be school specific this time around. I will have to investigate the web site this weekend as it appears the snow will help keep me inside all day tomorrow.</p>
<p>Pepper - he started with a razor and shaving creme several years ago and wanted to try the electric because he thinks it is faster and less messy. I personally think its a trade off.</p>
<p>Now if the colleges would limit their marketing to emailed and web marketing materials and take the money saved from not printing and mailing and put it into more FA or lower fees …</p>
<p>Coffee and tea are on, bagels and fruit are out!</p>
<p>I looked at when Tulane’s fafsa is due and now I forget! I just know it isn’t until March or April, it is not the same as new students, so I don’t have to try to do my taxes, etc before having all of that paperwork.</p>
<p>Thanks for the coffee bajamm! It’s been an early day here, as in 4am. Bluejrjr and Bluedad have an EC competition that involves a county school bus that has been impacted by the sloppy weather. They couldn’t make it easy and cancel things today, just delay so we had to determine at o’dark thirty if we arrived late could our kids still compete. Oy vey! </p>
<p>Thanks also for the responses regarding FAFSA. I did go to the U’s website, copy the link to key filing dates, and email to Bluedad as a reminder. Returning students are the end of March. It does seem this is dictated by the schools. Bluejr’s U released EA results yesterday. I peeked on their forum and was quickly reminded of where we all were a year ago! It is an interesting year as they have just introduced EA after getting rid of ED several years ago. A lot of uncertainty this year. Makes me SO grateful Bluejr is happily tucked in his dorm with his friends, books, and guitar, worried about first-year issues. Life is not perfect (nor should it be), but it is better than the angst and uncertainty of last year.</p>
<p>Bajamm… I went to the Profile to get the new one opened. And will look at Fafsa this afternoon. I need to pull the papers from last year and those login in names/passwords/PINs etc. I just don’t recall what I choose form some of that…
Will be calling the U this week to be sure I understand what they need when–as it appears we have til May for the package to be there–though that includes the I-docs portion of the Profile…which is copies of everything…taxes, SEP statements etc etc. The other wrinkle is our student has to sign alot of this–and so I will likely overnight the package to kiddo (after making copies) and have kiddo sign it all and walk it over to FinAid.
My DH is self employed. I know he was working on getting stuff done for the tax people. I don’t know what level of info gathering is done yet…or if its even gone to the accountants.</p>
<p>HH, like your student our kiddo has a heavy schedule with labs, physics, computers, intensive foreign language, dif equations etc etc…plus 3-4 hrs a day with team commitment 6 days a week. Work-study was part of the aid package yet we didn;t press kiddo to look for a job. The team trains and competes yr round and spring will be intense with a lot of travel from Fri afternoon til Sun.s. If kiddo gets a work-study next year, we will encourage finding something–even if its not for a lot of hours.</p>
<p>Ahhhhh, we slept in! I haven’t slept in for a very long time. I was supposed to work but my library is closed because of snow. It looks like just a few inches but from looking at what just rode in on my dog, I think it’s sort of sleeting now. </p>
<p>Mamom, I feel for you. I agree that not taking care of those classes now, may very well bite your son later. Good idea about a follow up e-mail with a BCC to you.</p>
<p>My son seems to have changed his sleeping and class schedule this semester. I don’t think he has any classes before noon so has taken to staying up really late and sleeping in. I think he’s also become closer friends with his roommates as I hear him consult one or two of them when I’ve texted about clothes opinions. This boy, who his sister and I’ve been dressing for years, has decided that he really wants a pea coat. Not just a standard double breasted (“WE don’t like double breasted”) pea coat, but a car coat length wool pea coat with a single row of buttons. And he’s even being picky about that! I sent him pictures of a couple of coats that were very well priced yesterday and he rejected them both. He suggested I try TJ Maxx as he had heard that they have a good selection. He’s never even been in a TJ Maxx before! I’m smiling and shaking my head as I write this.</p>
<p>Kathie, you might want to try J.Crew or Brooks Brothers for the pea coat. </p>
<p>Snow Day here, but it’s almost over and we only got a whopping 1". I will take it as any excuse to stay in and watch the tennis all day is good.</p>
<p>BI–hope the EC issues worked out. Our school district cancelled all events, so we don’t have to go out and brave the mess.</p>
<p>DS turned in his final paper for one class earlier this week and took his final exam in multivariable calculus last night (exam was at 7:30pm :eek:) He’s glad that’s over, since it was his most difficult class, mostly because of the professor. He’s been watching internet reviews posted by another professor which is what has saved him. Two more exams to go next week, but both are expected to go very well. I know he will be happy to have his first semester over.</p>
I’ll check into it. Thanks.</p>
</p>
(We’ve been having a lot of that this winter too – ugh!)</p>