<p>Terrific4-- how do you appeal and get more money</p>
<p>Coral, what a great ending to this chapter!</p>
<p>Coral - so happy for you!!</p>
<p>Thank you HeavyLidded-- I think education is important and as parents we have that obligation towards our Children to make them successful</p>
<p>Thank you HeavyLidded-- as parents I feel like its our obligation to help our children be successful.</p>
<p>My personal feeling is that 10k per year is extremely reasonable, you should feel lucky. </p>
<p>Sent from my Nexus S 4G using CC</p>
<p>Congrats, Coralbrook to your D and to you, too!</p>
<p>I’m afraid to admit that I have come down with senioritis. I haven’t checked my son’s grades in months. I asked him last night how he was doing in his classes. He responded that he isn’t sure but he has been at least doing the work. I then asked if he needed to sign up to retake any quizzes and he told me the grade book closes this Friday. “Hey! You didn’t get an interim report! I guess you ARE doing ok!”</p>
<p>reeinaz - me too with the senioritis. I feel as if I’m playing hooky, not checking the grades, not even opening the email notifications I’ve set for daily updates 
I do remind my son to check his grades about once a week, and ask him to tell me any headlines, up or down. I’ve explained that this is a pre-transition to college…he’s having waaay too much fun with it, opens with “well the good news is I’m not failing anything…”</p>
<p>Coral that is great news… I think the going to a State college just for the sake of transferring leaves her hanging, and she would have to <em>again</em> go through the dreadful waiting for acceptance as a transfer. Small schools are the best, mine was accepted to all State Universities she applied, rejected to USC but accepted to Chapman. If we had to choose a state school it would have been Channel Islands. Two of my former law professors teach there and the class size is as small as a private school campus, plus it is supposedly a dry campus. I think personally it is one of he most beautiful State school campuses around (its the setting inspired for the Eagles Song “Hotel California”. (back when it was the Camarillo Mental Institution). </p>
<p>Update @ CalGrant. It looks like a minor error caused it, they inputted the wrong SS# (but on time) and I have to send the late CalGrant form explaining this. </p>
<p>@ Mom1006 what you will get hit with tax-wise and penalty-wise for cashing out your 401(k) will be throwing money away so, that could be why he doesn’t think its a good idea. The money used for investment property (my guess, is community property?) then my suggestion, you BOTH sign the Parent Loan application for your twins and have it as a community debt the both of you to be responsible for. </p>
<p>Mommaduck you can add my daughter to the list for Chapman.<br>
GPA–3.04 UW There is hope for B students :-)</p>
<p>Coralbrook-- congrats to you and D. Well my D is going to SFSU… In her third year. We felt on pain paying her tuition ( instate) and had money put aside for her. As we had for the boys-- but my H used that money to buy investment properties. So what is the average people pay per year for college???</p>
<p>Mom1006, have you looked at borrowing from your 401K? Interest rate not bad, and you are paying yourself back.</p>
<p>Borrowing against a 401K may seem like a good deal when only the low interest rate is considered. However, you must also consider the compounded lost investment growth on the money that is “borrowed.” Then it is not the good deal that it seems to be.</p>
<p>I could be wrong, but if you have an IRA you can take out college tuition without the 10% penalty, but you have to pay income taxes on the withdrawal.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info on Channel Islands, I never could really figure out what that Cal State was. But it didn’t have D’s major. We did look at Monterey Bay which looked interesting. But I think the school is pretty ugly, old army barracks.</p>
<p>Sent from my Nexus S 4G using CC</p>
<p>If you are applying for financial aid, withdrawals from retirement accounts count as income.
It shows up on your federal tax return, so that makes your EFC (expected family contribution) higher.</p>
<p>MOM1006 - re. appealing our FA decision, I emailed DD’s admissions rep and asked if the school would consider certain financial issues that we have, but that are not reflected on the FAFSA. He simply asked for a letter detailing the issues (didn’t even ask for documentation, which we were prepared to send) and presented the appeal to the Financial Aid office. Within hours, he actually called our house with the good news. </p>
<p>I have appealed other financial aid awards, with varying success, but they all just started with an email to the admissions rep. Hope this helps!</p>
<p>That’s excellent on your FA appeal. We struck out at one school where we sent a fully documented appeal showing expenses not reflected on FAFSA. Never even got a courtesy response. Another school I just had a phone call with FA Dir before they issued and was pleasantly surprised when the award arrived. No need to appeal.</p>
<p>I think it all boils down to whether the school wants your kid,their stats and/or their special talents.</p>
<p>ree and oneson, I am totally with you on the senioritis ward! I find myself <em>so</em> ready to move on from h.s. My DD actually had to remind me that quarter 3 ended this week and that she can’t really afford to think too much about next year just yet. I’ve already booked the flights and hotels for move-in next August! And it’s not that I’m happy about having an empty nest for the first time in 20+ yrs–just the opposite, I’ll be missing her terribly as soon as we drop her off. What I <em>won’t</em> miss is all the angst about her h.s. years (grades, homework, exams, college apps, stress, stress, stress).</p>
<p>get ready for all of your new “angst” that is coming as part of her college years. The big difference is that you will have even less influence as she begins to make her own way.</p>
<p>Well, I’ve already put one through college and the angst was much less when his everyday ups and downs weren’t taking place under my nose! But D is less independent but going farther away, so it may prove to be a very different experience…</p>