<p>We weren’t at all sure what S would get for FA with older D graduating. </p>
<p>It would have been nice if it was more, but at least he did receive grants rather than loans for next year. We’ll be tightening our belt for the next 3 years.</p>
<p>geogirl,</p>
<p>Remind us of what school it is.</p>
<p>Also, for you and others, absolutely file an appeal! My friend and former f. aid officer says schools expect it. I have filed an appeal each year for my MIT son and expect to do it for the remaining years.</p>
<p>Things they take into account: change in income, increase in medical costs, increase of tuition or school costs of children still at home, and any other changes.</p>
<p>Geogirl, since income didn’t change and there’s now another in college, that’s a perfect thing to say in the appeal. It makes no sense that the grant would go away given those two facts alone.</p>
<p>I got the package before I could let them know about the change in job status for my ex. I can manage the package. I need to ask my ex what he put for his estimated income for 2013. His contract was originally supposed to end in March but it didn’t, so he may have accurately predicted his income for this year. </p>
<p>He did tell me he had a second interview for a full time non-contract position so maybe he’ll get that and it will all be ok. We’ll see what happens. </p>
<p>We didn’t get to talk about it much because I’ve been in the hospital since Monday evening. I went to ER with severe abdominal pains and ended up admitted. I have Crohn’s Disease, an inflammatory disease of the digestive system, and had been in remission for 6 years but am no longer in remission. The good news is, I’m doing better, the inflammation is subsiding, I’m eating soft foods now and have been told if all is ok overnight, I can go home tomorrow.</p>
<p>I hope you are feeling better soon, BarnardMom.</p>
<p>^^^ Ditto with hoping you are feeling better.</p>
<p>We’re enjoying a week with middle son this week. He flies back to Roc Sunday.</p>
<p>Thanks. I’m already feeling pretty good. Just waiting to get the word on when discharge is happening. I’m really quite ready to head out. Really ready.</p>
<p>DS hasn’t made it to FA office yet, as he was on a field trip with his camp kids,and then it was the holiday. He will go Monday. This is U of Miami. I should say, that this is not a huge fluctuation in FA. Just not what we expected, at all given DD is going to college this year. We were pretty much counting on a small bump in FA. He did receive merit aid of 20K, so that is still good. Last year he received no work study (ok, he got a job himself on campus) and $1400 in FA. It was a small amount, but we thought they would add a bit this year when DD was starting college. DS took no loans last year. We are the kind of family that saved 25K/year for each kid and that is what we have. Last year we added 6K to DS’s tuition, so he wouldn’t take out loans for the year DD wasn’t in school, assumming he would take out loans the 6.5K in loans for 3 years. We think ~20K in loans is reasonable. He makes up the difference in work over the summer and the year. So with 20K in merit, 25K from us, 6.5K in loans he is still 8k or 9K shy. 3K in work study and 2.5K over the summer doesn’t quite do it. I am hoping that they will give him the 3K in grant money and he will find his own job (he has several potentials already). </p>
<p>For those of you considering U of Miami, I have to say it has been a fantastic experience for DS. He is so HAPPY. He is working hard and playing hard. He has so much fun and is involved in many activities, some that don’t include vodka. 
He has been able to make connections in his department and has some wonderful opportunities coming up. So, I can’t honestly say to discount the school. I’ll let you all kno how it turns out.</p>
<p>Forgot to add: Feel better Barnardmom, get out soon and resume that remmission status. :} Creekland, it would be great if your youngest went to UM. DD is going to UR, so we could just quietly spy on each other’s kids when we visited each school. :)</p>
<p>The FA office at DD’s school (an Arts school) is a total joke. Her FA advisor also does Bursar duties. DD lost about $4000 this year in institutional grants. I had inquired as to why and the FA officer told me they changed the criteria of the grants to only give to students with a 0 EFC. Her merit scholarship did remain the same. The appeal process at her school is non-existent. Basically the only thing you can do is email, ask for more, and be turned down. However, DD reports that some of her classmates got more money from the department simply by not paying their bill. She said that they owed the school and the head of the department came up with money to help them. I don’t think I could go that route.</p>
<p>What is irritating is that DD moved into an apartment for this year because all told, it would save about $6000 (even with paying year round rent and utilities). Dorm residency at this school requires you take the highest meal plan (running close to $5000/year - DD does not eat that much) and the dining services there are awful (only one full time cafeteria). Her dorm apartment last year had a full kitchen. What a waste of $$$. </p>
<p>Anyway, I suppose we will still save some. And like the above poster, our bill is also due a month earlier than last year (I am currently trying to get the meal plan removed from mine as they just auto added it).</p>
<p>Hi all. Just dropping in. Had a roller coaster w son last year during his first semester. In hindsight, as the adored and spoiled youngest son, I don’t think he was really ready to go to college. He went from being top of the food chain at our small high school to being middle of the pack at tufts. His first B- came as quite a shock! Anyway, second semester went much more smoothly and he managed to get an internship at a multi- national, ( helping in the office and the warehouses) so, I see a gradual improvement in terms of maturity and taking on responsibilities. I’m keeping my fingers crossed, however, he still asks me to make his lunch everyday… Says my sandwiches taste better than his.</p>
<p>Thank you for all the well wishes. I was discharged on the 4th on a very limited diet but I’m doing alright and getting some strength back. </p>
<p>I can’t believe we’ve already started to discuss the logistics of getting Barnardgirl back to school.</p>
<p>Geogirl - thanks for the specifics with UM. It would be interesting if our kids ended up at the same places, but I really don’t think youngest has the scores for UM to get in… He’s very good at what he does (flora/fauna stuff), but SAT/ACT studying is not on that list. He’d be in the midrange 50%, but close to the bottom of it for CR/M. He’d be near the high end of the midrange with W, but most schools don’t count that heavily.</p>
<p>I do think we’ll try to visit it when we do our FL trip this fall - esp since we’ll be doing Palm Beach Atlantic fairly close by.</p>
<p>Cheekymonkey - it sounds like your guy is doing quite well. It’s generally good (life lesson-wise) when they get a wake-up call and persevere through it!</p>
<p>Barnardmom - glad you’re feeling better!</p>
<p>Momof3stars - that FA policy seems really strange… and not a good type of strange. I wonder if she actually lost the grant due to their knowing she would be saving $$ by living off campus.</p>
<p>We put middle son on a plane for URoc last night, so he’s back there working today. We’re all getting back into the work groove today. Youngest has a job interview this afternoon at a newly opening Chick Fil A. If he gets a job there it would be great as he’d always have Sundays off (he tends to do a lot of activities - and any last minute school projects - on Sundays). Then he’s off to the movies with friends…</p>
<p>Creekland, that is a good point about the off campus living. I am tempted to ask DD’s roommates’ parents if they have the same situation but that is one of those things that is personal so I probably would not. I do recall a friend of DD’s from home (that goes to the same school) telling me that her mother used to constantly go back and forth with the FA office there with no success. </p>
<p>Thankfully this is her last year at this school. She is doing their 2 year Certificate program (because the school is so expensive) and then possibly finishing out her BFA or BA in Dance at one of our State schools. Even if it takes her an extra year or semester at our State school we will still save a lot of money and she will have a piece of paper from both.</p>
<p>Hello all-slightly stressing here…S got his housing assignment on Monday. All is well with that. It is exactly where he wanted to be and will have only one RM. The problem is they have not assigned him a RM yet. It’s really not so bad in fact he may get lucky and have the place all to himself for a bit. He should expect if he is alone in there that he can get a RM at any time.</p>
<p>But I started thinking…since a lot of people live off campus after their first year and the bldg he is in does house a scholars program (can only get into as a freshman), there is a possibility he will be paired up with a freshman. We never really talked about that so I’m not sure how he will feel about it. Don’t really want to bring it up either. Just want to let things play out as they will.</p>
<p>Personally he was just a freshman LAST year so it should not be that big of a deal. As long as they get all expectations out on the table right away and have respect for each other-all should be fine. Just like with any other RM.</p>
<p>He should know by August 1st which I think is pushing it. I know he wants to find out who it is so they can figure out who is bringing what. I just really hope he has a much better experience than last year in the living arrangements.</p>
<p>Hello all I am so far behind couldn’t find our thread, then had a couple of trips out of town… Hope summer has gone well so far for all of you and your kids.</p>
<p>D took a couple of classes at local juco and has been working this summer. I think she enjoyed being home at first but overall is miserable, misses being at college and her friends. Not many of her HS friend came home for the summer and the ones that did have been busy with work. I think she will want to stay at school next summer… </p>
<p>Barnardmom hope you continue to improve… </p>
<p>And that all seeking financial aid get the funds they need</p>
<p>NervousNellie1 – I cannot help thinking that if your S gets paired with a freshman, that kid’s mom will probably be even more nervous about her S being paired with an “experienced” sophomore who might lead her precious boy astray down G*d only knows what dastardly paths. LOL!</p>
<p>^^^^ funny.</p>
<p>mihcal1-oh, I never thought of it that way! It would be even funnier if you knew my son! He is no angel, but he is definitely not one to corrupt today’s youth. The only addiction they may get lead into is the world of video games, but then again, they are probably there already.</p>
<p>I actually did bring the subject up and he would rather have a freshman than someone ahead of him who would act like a know it all in a cocky sort of way. Oh what fun we live in.</p>
<p>I said I would follow up on the UM FA issue. DS went into FA office and talked to a jr. guy there who basically told him unless there was a change to our FASFA then that was that. If you remember, DS had a small grant (in addition to the stable merit aid) that was taken away this year even though his sister is going to college next year. They did give him Work Study options. So, I called and asked to speak to the head of the department. He was not available, but I did speak to a senior FA person. She heard my story, put me on hold and was able to “shift things around” so we at least got back the grant. So no additional FA, other than Work Study, which isn’t really aid, but at least no cuts. Yeah!</p>
<p>Well we got the tuition insurance letter in the mail today so the invoice for next semester can’t be too far behind!</p>
<p>S has friends over and is making dinner for them tonight! London broil - seasoned and grilled, little potatoes with rosemary, salt, olive oil and a bagged salad. </p>
<p>He also wound up with an ulcer, so he’s working with someone on stress/anxiety management, which hopefully also helps with migraines. He’s a neighbor and agreed to do house calls for 3 sessions. He’s still working for me and I’ve been having him work on some projects for me to get an inside look of where the money has been coming from all these years. </p>
<p>barnardmom - how’s the tummy doing now? </p>
<p>nervous nellie - I have a feeling whoever rooms with your son will be lucky to get him. Whenever my d tells me stories of some of the wilder kids in her hs I just think - that kid or one like it - could be with my daughter! eeeeek</p>