Parents of the HS Class of 2014

Parents of HS Class of 20xx
13381

<p>Don’t forget that in addition to out of pocket expenses, you can withdraw funds from a 529 without penalty for the same amount as any scholarships your child received. This is so that you don’t end up with excess funds once you’re done paying for school and then have to face the penalty at that time. I’m not a tax expert so consult a professional for details, but that is the basic premise.</p>

<p>Of course, you can also designate another beneficiary if you have another kid coming up later.</p>

13382

<p>With S11 I deposited 529 into my checking, put tuition on credit card (no fee) and paid the credit bill in full while getting points. S14’s school has a fee for credit card. Too bad!</p>

<p>@novamom- I need to look into 529/ scholarship policy. It’s looking like we may not spend all our 529 due to S14’s merit awards. Happy problem to have and I am not going to put all my eggs in that basket as things change. But will definitely ask! </p>

13383

<p>We held off on a HS grad party for S and are now planning a Send Off party for early August. I made invitations yesterday and will decorate with college colors- Bruin blue and yellow. Party supply store has college themed paper goods. Should be fun to decorate. </p>

<p>I think we will have around 40 guests- H will grill wings and tri tip. I will make 3 types of salad- pasta, veggie, and fruit. I love to start with Costco bagged/ bowled items and spruce them up. Have chips, salsa, guacamole, sheet cake. Simple and summery.</p>

<p>Beer, wine, lemonade to drink.</p>

<p>We go to orientation next week. Then will have party 2 weeks after that. S doesn’t go to school til mid September so we need something to focus on!</p>

13384

<p>@stacynell does American express charge you a ‘convenience’ fee. I checked at our school , they said it charges 2%. That works out to a lot for our payments. </p>

13385

<p>Well I just did another shopping trip for dorm stuff - this time to Target. Thank goodness we’re almost done! Just some Tide pods and razor blades and that should be it. I bought some medicine and while I knew you had to give id for sudafed, you now have to show it for mucinex and dayquil. The legal age is 19 where she’s going to school so I’d hate to see her hanging outside cvs trying to ask someone of age to hook her up with cold medicine! </p>

13386

<p>@overtheedge Well, turns out you don’t need to be jealous. I was wrong: there IS a substantial fee to pay the tuition with my credit card. I’m so disappointed!</p>

13387

<p>Thank you @4beardolls!</p>

13388

<p>@staceyneil‌ - sorry to hear that :(. I heard that the company D’s school uses for the payment plan accepted credit cards. I got really excited thinking I was going to “game” the system by setting up auto drafts of the monthly payments from the credit card. Make interest free payments AND collect cash back (at least some victory in the face of these huge bills, right?!) but then I found out they charge a whopping 2.99% fee to draft a credit card. I guess if the school is absorbing the interest they don’t want to absorb AMEX fees too. But it would be nice. I use my credit card for everything and then use the cash back for my Christmas shopping. With college costs, my Christmas budget could use all the help it can get. </p>

13389

<p>Hahaha Christmas budget. I don’t think we’re going to have one of those this year! @Ovrseasmom i don’t think Ames charges anything, but it turns out the school does :frowning: It was around 3% or a bit under. Too much! I’ll be sending a check…</p>

13390

<p>I tried hard to work the numbers but no way…I did get excited there for a bit :frowning:
oh well…</p>

13391

<p>DS will have full meal plan. However, I was thinking that he would need to drink water or iced tea throughout the day. Do college students make iced tea in their dorm room? If so, what is the best iced tea maker for dorm use? </p>

13392

<p>My son1 just makes tea by boiling water in his dorm’s kitchen, lets it cool, and then refrigerates it. he could microwave the water but I’m a traditionalist at home and he must have picked up on my using the tea pot exclusively. ;:wink: </p>

13393

<p>I’ve been out of town for the past several days at my sorority convention. I had a great time and managed to forget about college stuff for a bit </p>

<p>Michigan has gone to all unlimited meal plans with the only differences being how much you add in “blue bucks”. My son went with the lowest amount because there was no discount or anything for buying them with the meal plan and he can add them any time. Michigan adjusted our financial aid package to account for the increases in tuition and housing. The adjustments they made seem odd to me, but we don’t have to pay or borrow any more than we did originally so I’m fine with them. </p>

<p>I did decide to get a parent plus loan to cover things this year because I have a few other debts I’m working very hard to get rid of and they have higher interest rates. Those will be paid by November and then I’ll start paying off the plus loans immediately to keep the interest at a minimum. I also want the leeway provided by having those loans instead of stressing about making the tuition payment plan payment if there is a financial emergency. </p>

<p>On the plus side, my S14 is so frugal he amazes me. He is working as a busboy so he gets paid minimum wage and the waitresses tip him out about 10% of their tips. He’s using the tip money to “live on” and is banking his pay checks. I’m proud of him. He has a virtual wallet account through PNC and has set up all kinds of alerts and budgeting allowances for himself. He has used his brand new debit card only to make deposits so far. He says he would rather use cash because it seems more real and reminds him how much he is spending. I left him $50 and a fridge full of food when I went to my convention. He handed me the $50 back when I got home “I just ate what was here”. My BarnardGirl would NEVER have done that. Even if she didn’t use it for food, she’d have spent it on something else… free money! They are SO different. </p>

<p>It’s time for us to figure out the dorm shopping list I think- probably this weekend. </p>

13394

<p>I am way behind! I am trying to keep things together working in CT during the week and home in Maine on the weekend . Plus I am looking for a new job! I hate that the the summer is flying by!
I am not sure what S really needs for college? Well I know the basics- sheets, comforter, clothes, bathroom catty ( are there different ones for guys?) ,snacks but what else? I think I saw a list at one time - would someone re- publisher for me? I feel like such a slacker! </p>

13395

<p>Does anybody else have savings bonds that were intended for college? I have to figure out how this works – one bond we have was a gift from my grandmother. It matures on 8/15, our first tuition payment due date. Of course we’ll consult the broker who is holding it, but any thoughts would be welcome. I’m assuming that college savings in our son’s name should probably be used first for tuition payments?</p>

<p>@onlyonemom Don’t feel like a slacker, think of it as compartmentalizing and practicing just-in-time parenting.</p>

13396

<p>All of you who’ve already done your pre-college shopping have totally unnerved my wife and me.
Would echo @onlyonemom’s request for a list. Thanks in advance. </p>

13397

<p>I copied and saved this when it was posted a while back, I believe it was @mathmomvt that originally posted it…</p>

<p>Our master packing list (not meant to intimidate – most of it was stuff we had and wanted to remember to pack, not stuff we had to buy. As I’ve said, we didn’t buy much new for school.)</p>

<p>Personal
wallet
passport
cell phone/charger
water bottle
mini-fan</p>

<p>Computer Supplies
Laptop
Mouse
flash drive
headset
printer paper
printer/ink/cable
laptop sleeve? (did not get)
ethernet cable? (bought one but then he did not need - but UVM recommends to bring one so we’ll pass it on to DS14)
powerstrip (2?) - bought there
external hard drive for backups? - did not get this, I think he backs up online</p>

<p>School Supplies – most of this was stuff we had in the house that he grabbed
pens (uniball rollers + multitude of stick pens - black)
Pencils
highlighters
colored pencils?
post its
index cards
glue sticks
Lined paper
notebooks/binders (buy there once he knows what he wants)
hard plastic 2-pocket folders
ruler
3-hole punch
stapler/staples
paper clips? Binder clips?
book ends?
lap desk? (no)
backpack
2 calculators (graphing/scientific)
electronic dictionary
summer reading / response
student handbook (into go to box?)</p>

<p>Entertainment
D&D Books / dice
playing cards
gameboy?
frisbee?
whatever else he wants</p>

<p>Dorm Room
minifridge (coordinate with roommate – ship to local walmart)
floor lamp (coordinate with roommate? Ship to local walmart) - we returned this to Walmart, the room did not need it
back of door towel hooks/rack - got some large command hooks
clothes hangers
alarm clock
storage - buy there
bowls & spoons for breakfast
small amount of other dishes?
dishwashing soap & 2 dish towels
mini safe
plastic drawers
book light or clip-on bed lamp? - he took a desk lamp to use by his bed, the dorm room came with a desk lamp for his desk
shelf paper for dresser drawers? - don’t think we bothered
clip-on fan? - he lucked out with an a/c dorm, so we didn’t bother</p>

<p>Bed & Bath
1 set twin XL sheets
1-2 extra pillow cases
mattress pad
sleeping bag
light cotton thermal blanket
“cheap” down comforter
2 pillows
small fleece blanket
2 towels</p>

<p>Daily Meds & Toiletries
any meds the student takes daily
toothbrush/toothpaste/cup
dental floss
hair brush
face wash
liquid soap
deodorant
shampoo
electric razor
hand sanitizer
hand cream</p>

<p>Laundry
laundry basket (mesh popup thing)
detergent
stain spray
bounty dryer sheets or bounty liquid (can’t recall which he took)
shout color catcher sheets – allows them to combine whites and colors and with red as a school color I figured it might be needed
febreeze?</p>

<p>Go To Box - Medical
box (used a plastic tote with a lid and handle)
anything specific for the student’s medical needs
sunscreen
bug spray
bandaids/triple antibiotic
tums
bug bite gel
spare toothbrush
acne cream
benadryl
tylenol
ibuprofen
naproxen sodium
sudafed
cough suppressant
allergy eye drops
moleskin
mucinex
cold-eeze
cough drops
thermometer
Q-tips (need a container or just a ziploc to put some in)
kleenex
lip balm
immodium
athlete’s foot spray
reusable heat/cold pack
tea
(I later sent a thermos for brewing/carrying hot tea for him to take to class with him when he had a cold)</p>

<p>Go To Box - Other
box
sewing kit
safety pins
screwdriver
duct tape
zip ties
box cutter
WD-40
sharpie marker
head lamp
hand crank flashlight / USB charger
ear plugs
shoe waterproofing spray
spare lightbulbs for desk lamp
spare lightbulbs for floor lamp
batteries:
(I included a list of everything he was taking that required batteries, and what kinds they needed)</p>

<p>Groceries (buy there - these are just some things to consider)
Cereal - I also shipped an assortment of single-serve boxes from amazon
milk
single serve milk boxes for milk “emergencies”? (or ship via amazon.com $20 for 18)
ramen
easy mac etc.
indian pouches? Bring some from home? (shelf stable meals)
microwave popcorn
soft drinks
food storage containers
honey for tea</p>

<p>Clothing
your kid can probably figure this out<br>
at least 1 swimsuit (Cornell has a swim test they have to take on move-in day – put it where he can find it!)
2 sets dressier clothes (shirt, tie, dress pants, belt, socks)
dress shoes
good rain jacket
long underwear (for outing club opportunities – probably never used it)
mini gloves</p>

<p>Travel
duffel bag (smaller one for weekend trips, plus big ones he moved stuff in with)
toiletry bag</p>

<p>Bring later
Ski equipment (whatever he has that still fits)
winter outerwear
winter weight hiking boots (this is what he wears to class in cold weather)
major winter boots (wears occasionally when the snow is deep, or when spending more time “playing” outside)</p>

<p>Move-in Day items
Cooler with drinks/waters/fruit
granola bars / other snacks
trash bags
cleaning wipes
paper towels
doorstop?
camera</p>

<p>be sure to pack separately (backpack) laptop and anything else valuable or that would be very bad if misplaced (prescription meds) and hand carry to room</p>

13398

<p>Thanks for re-posting! That’s a really good list. The medical kit is especially comprehensive! I tend to forget the little things, like zip ties, that are so useful. I would add more towels/wash cloths, bath caddy, mattress topper, and a hand held vacuum. The girl version of toiletries is a lot longer. :-< </p>

13399

<p>Thanks so much for posting the list, @my2sonsfromca.</p>

13400

<p>I bought a mattress cover, then the topper, then I put a mattress pad on top of that. Not sure if any of you have seen college mattresses lately, but I’m thinking they’ve been using the same ones I used back in the 80s! </p>

<p>Don’t forget command strips, over the door hooks for towels or bathrobes or for the winter coat. </p>