<p>SteveMA - good luck to your DD tomorrow with her surgery…please let us know how it goes. I know a lot of us are thinking about you guys :)</p>
<p>I didn’t think about our EFC compared to our take-home pay…that is even more depressing!</p>
<p>my3g8—Thanks for the kick! didnt get it till now, but, tomorrow is another day.
I had a friend who’s son was looking to get some of the local scholarships----they didnt fill out the FAFSA because they didnt think they’d need to…but, he was elligible and asked by some local places to apply for their scholarships anyway…but ended up he couldn’t because he had not filled out the FAFSA that year…so, I’d fill out the FAFSA.</p>
<p>Hi guys! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! </p>
<p>Not panicking anymore … LOL!! Took your advice and called around. Problem was finally solved, thank goodness!! I’m sure for most schools it’s not a huge deal, but I didn’t want to take any chances. Overnighting wasn’t an option. It would’ve been over $150. Yipes!</p>
<p>Every single post office was closed. I called the central post office by our airport and after three calls someone picked up the phone. I informed him of our situation and he told me to come to the side entrance ring the bell, then call him. He personally met us and ensured they were postmarked. YAY!!! Sooo happy. </p>
<p>D still has 3 apps in the works and just got back from dinner with her BF & his family since S16 is in town for the week. She is now working in them and is intent to finish them off tonight!! Yay! I’ll be soooo happy when she does.</p>
<p>Landslide … One of my fave songs ever. I used to watch Stevie Nicks on MTV as a kid (video where she’s spinning around in a white dress wish candles everywhere) … It was magical! LOL! Love her version and the Dixie Chicks’ also. D performed the song at her school talent show last year w/ her BFF who is now away at college. I can never listen to it without tears involuntarily streaming down my face. </p>
<p>Now you wanna lose it? Try John Mayer’s “Stop this Train”. I dare you to listen without crying. I’m convinced it’s impossible.</p>
<ol>
<li> Still seems so futuristic. Can’t believe graduation is a few months away. SMH … I’m so not ready for this.</li>
</ol>
<p>P and S apps in. Right on the deadline. Don’t judge. 
Cornell tomorrow, and I’m doooooooooone! I put off all three of these because I convinced myself I was going to stop, and then I freaked out at the last minute and decided to finish all of them. Not a winning strategy; I would not recommend it.</p>
<p>P.S. hit my puff please and thank you <3</p>
<p>OK, I now really empathize with my D trying to write all those introspective college essays. I have just finished an essay of my own for my 25th college reunion - I have been procrastinating for weeks. It was already due but I just sent the e-mail a few minutes ago knowing that the recipient is on vacation until tomorrow…ridiculous the amount of pressure I put on myself to write something “meaningful.” In the end, I just reviewed the basic outlines of family, jobs, etc… I am interested to read about classmates’ kids, jobs, etc. even if they haven’t won a Nobel prize or discovered a cure for cancer…sheesh, I’m an adult and can’t even be confident in my own life choices!</p>
<p>DD got her 1/1 and 1/2 apps in, thank heavens. Has six I believe due 1/15, but has a major paper due before then. DS has four due 1/15, but at least school doesn’t start for him until next Monday, and even then it’s just rehearsals for the musical. Still trying to get him to finish them before Monday, though.</p>
<p>carimama - great story about the post office - nice guy! Again - I feel for all of you going through the crunch of apps. My dd has 3 scholarship apps to do in the next 2 weeks but that’s it.</p>
<p>Talking about 2013 seeming real. On facebook if your child put that they graduate in 2013 - their status has now changed to “graduated from xyz high school” - come on facebook - give us a couple more months. </p>
<p>Ordered my daughters graduation dress over break - she goes to an all girls school and they wear long white dresses for graduation - the one she tried on was gray so I kept myself from crying - if it was white I would have been all tears I think.</p>
<p>Pkdof13 can you explain why your kids (twins?) have different schedules? I’m confused.
Cari, so glad the post office came through for you!
Ahsmuoh, yikes about FB.
And SteveMa- gggggoooooooooddddd luck today! Hope the surgery happens, is a complete success, and you can put this out of your mind after a day or two of recovery.
Kids are back to school. Complaining about break being over. No sympathy here. My next day off is Memorial Day! 
And one final thought. This whole Kardashian thing? Some people should not procreate. That is all.</p>
<p>Good morning and Happy Happy 2013 to all. I have nothing to report but was off the grid for a few days and had fun catching up on all the news, although I was concerned a few pages ago that with all of the “puffing” chatter maybe you all had moved to Colorado??</p>
<p>I’m happy to have all of my kids still home and not even the high schooler back to school yet for a few more days. It does feel like back to work for me (literally as well as around the house) after a super-lazy few weeks, and that’s kind of good.</p>
<p>Re: my '13-er, I had a moment of clarity last night. While he’s still waiting to hear from a number of schools, has not made a single visit, and has no idea where he’d like to go, even of the couple of schools he’s already been accepted to, there are several that are affordable and where I could see him having a great experience. For some reason that felt like a huge exhale for me. Even if he gets no more good news and not a penny more of merit or financial aid (although either/both would be welcome!), we’ll do a few visits over the next month or two and at some point he will have a preference and then we can do a check-and-done on this whole process. It feels kind of peaceful.</p>
<p>P.S. Could not agree more re: the whole Kardashian thing. ;)</p>
<p>Thanks everyone. DD is “excited” for the surgery because she knows it will help her feel better in the long run. She also got to drop her college Spanish class because she would miss too much school to keep up–or that’s the excuse we gave them. I was more concerned about her grade dropping in that class and it affecting her college transcript down the road. Life is good there–she got a medical w/d from the college so it is like she never had the class. Last time she had the surgery it took 2 1/2 hours. I don’t think this one will be as involved but I’ll probably be surfing the net from the waiting room while she is in surgery :D.</p>
<p>Good luck on the final applications. Has anyone noticed a drop off in the mail volume lately? Not much coming here anymore—THANKFULLY. I started collecting all the college mail they got after they took the ACT as sophomores. After I filled up one box I just stopped because it was too much. I bet if I had kept it all, it would have filled up our entire 1/2 bathroom or more. It’s just CRAZY the amount of paper that is wasted.</p>
<p>As for the Kardashian thing–I don’t watch tv so I could care even less then most :D. Why is that stuff “news”?</p>
<p>Good luck to your DD SteveMA, I’m glad they were able to keep it on the schedule for today. :)</p>
<p>Wishing Steve’s D a successful surgery! Hope she is on the mend quickly!</p>
<p>Best wishes to Steve’s D for quick healing from her surgery!</p>
<p>Steve, I hope your DD’s surgery goes well and the recovery is quick!</p>
<p>carimama, I’m so impressed by the guy at the post office! I’m glad it all worked out!</p>
<p>89wahoo - my guess is that pkdo13 has her kids in single sex high schools. My S15’s school starts back tomorrow and my dd13’s school started back today. They both go to single sex high schools.</p>
<p>Wishing for the best for your DD, SteveMA! We’ve noticed a college mailings cliff here too, although a few emails still trickle in.</p>
<p>Good luck to everyone finishing apps, FAFSA’s, and waiting on decisions in the next week or two!</p>
<p>DD, DS, and I are flying to Nebraska today to visit my parents. They don’t go back to school until next Tuesday. My Mom has been fighting cancer for the last year but the chemo has not been going well and she is in the hospital. I will probably be reading from my IPad but I hate typing on that thing!</p>
<p>Good morning all and Happy New Year. Today’s my baby’s 18th birthday. Is it sad that I took the day off to make a cake? Lol. I’m trying a strawberry cake and I’m waiting for the strawberries to finish thawing. He’s back at school today but it’s their early dismissal day. I gave him a few presents before he went to school and the My Little Pony tshirt I got him was a huge hit. Yeah my son’s a brony 
The only other gifts I think he’ll get excited about are a Tetris game that’s kind of like Connect Four and the sound isolating earbuds. I saved those and the rest for when he gets home.</p>
<p>Hope your D’s surgery goes well SteveMA.</p>
<p>Happy 2d day of 2013!</p>
<p>Ree, happy birthday to your S!
I took the day off too - I had a dr appt for DS this morning and one with DD this afternoon, but DS is now rescheduled to tomorrow.</p>
<p>STEM, sending good thoughts for your mom, and hugs for you.</p>
<p>I hope that 2013 brings us all lots of good news, good health, and good moments that will turn into good memories.</p>
<p>Happy New Year to everyone. Just getting back into CC. </p>
<p>Congrats to all who’ve successfully guided their kids so far! Best wishes to the rest for much luck and progress in the next several months. </p>
<p>Couple of quick questions regarding parents’ willingness to contribute on the CSS profile form that I’d like to cross-post here and the Financial Aid board:</p>
<p>If we are looking for merit awards and the CSS asks how much parents are willing to contribute towards the student’s total costs, are we supposed to lowball the number in hopes of receiving any those merit awards? </p>
<p>If the FAFSA EFC is quite high, do we still put that number in the CSS forms “willing to contribute” amount? What if there is a potential job situation on the horizon? Do we explain somewhere?</p>
<p>How about if we want student to build credit history and “have skin in the game” so to speak? Do we still indicate that we are willing to pay full costs since we are “able to do so?”</p>
<p>Can we change the amount we are willing to pay for different institutions, i.e., report a different number to each school on the list depending on percentage of cost we are willing to pay?</p>
<p>Thanks for any clarification on this question on the Profile.</p>