@fretfulmother I’m paying a bunch of big bills before I click send on the FAFSA and CSS plus I’m printing statements of each account to prove it was accurate that day. It really should be an average bank balance thing though because ours can fluctuate a huge amount depending on the day of the month plus December was a 3 paycheck month so we have that extra now that will count against us unless I start shopping…definitely buying some plane tickets for spring visits!
I thought estimating for the FAFSA and CSS would be easy but in looking at the last pay stub for last year and last years W2 I realized there were days of pay for 2014 not reflected in that last check of the year so the final total was off plus I needed to subtract 1 pension plan contribution–I believe it was the involuntary portion-- which is reflected somewhere else. I think I’m just going to have to do a fake return on my tax software using my estimates on income and last years numbers for deductions and such since they haven’t changed much.
@eh1234 I hear you. We are in California. D has schools in Louisiana, Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Washington DC. I’m thankful that she does have a handful of in state options on her list. In the beginning, I suggested nearby states, but they were all ruled out. On one hand, I’d love for her to experience living somewhere different, but at the same time I’d love to have her just a few hours drive or a short flight away.
I hear you, @eh1234. My D has not applied to a single school in our state. The closest is a 7-hour drive. After that, it’s plane tickets to East or West coast.
I’ve convinced DH to take ownership of the FAFSA and CSS. Can someone tell me specifically what documents he needs before he sits down and if DS16 needs to establish his pin first?
with the talk of scholarship availability I thought I would mention that some time ago I was perusing these threads and came across a student poster who was talking about her application results to Northwestern. She mentioned in passing that she had received very generous scholarship benefits through the yellow ribbon program that apparently is availabe to vets and their families. I figured perhaps some of you/your DCs would be eligible? It seemed to be a GI bill type program that could be used by the dependents of those who had served.
The 3rd application is not happening after all. Missed the scholarship deadline. Oops. :((
Thanks, @lvmjac1, for voicing the other side of the prejudice!! I do not believe everyone should go to an Ivy–there are lots of great schools out there, including our state flagship (which is not one of the public ivies) and a charming very academic local college down the street. But sometimes we get, “Well, nothing around here is good enough for you!” which can be equally disconcerting. Just what @carolinamom2boys said!
I feel the pain of having kids far away–not only do I miss them, but there is also the pain of having to pay for it!. I try to use my frequent flyer miles for my kids’ trips, because they travel during busy seasons. Plus, I like having the miles on my account!
Clever planning, @dcplanner!! Your name suits you.
Oh no, @Undercovermom1! Bummer.
I am reading the posts and am so impressed by how parents want to do right by their kids. Getting them appropriate services, finding good education fits from preschool through grad school, and etc. Good job, folks!
Now that the kids are back from winter break, I’m getting more worried about my S16’s first semester HS grades, which will be wrapping in up another few weeks. Back last spring, he got overambitious and signed up for 3 AP classes, including AP Calculus AB, which I thought was probably going to be too hard for him. He got a C in it first semester, but now is hovering between a C and a D. His senior GPA will also be impacted, since he’s only in 5 HS classes this year (he’s taking two dual enrollment classes/semester, which of course he got A’s in so far, in but they won’t impact his HS GPA).
He’s already been accepted to two schools, and I’m really concerned if he gets a D that they will rescind his acceptance. Neither school requires a mid-year transcript, and both letters only say his acceptance is contingent on “attainment of a HS diploma” or on “receipt of a final HS transcript with a recorded graduation date (and maintaining a 2.0 in any college classes he might take before he enrolls)”.
I’m worried if he gets a D (or even a C) in the class they might rescind his acceptance (especially since he might end up with a C in a 2nd AP course). He’s never gotten a D in HS before, but has gotten some semester grades of C in 9th and 10th grade. It’s starting to put me in a panic, especially since I was always super-motivated by grades and he is not at all. I have told him to meet with his teacher every morning to get some help before the last few tests of the semester, but I’m not sure if he’ll do it (or if it’s too late for this semester). The two schools that accepted him tend to accept students with ACT scores around 23-25, so I’m hoping that really all they need is confirmation that he graduated.
Do any of you know if less competitive schools rescind acceptance offers for a grade of a D or a senior GPA less than 3.0 if the student’s prior unweighted GPA and ACT/SAT scores were about average?
My son is a III , do we put that on the FAFSA ?
I don’t know @lifegarding I’m worrying about my math grade for the same reason (and it’s not even AP- its trigonometry but it’s rough). I would be crushed if I got rescinded.
Thanks for the heads up for yellow ribbon program . Unfortunately , the service member had to have served post 9/11. My husband retired in 1998 . Hopefully , someone else may benefit.
@mommdc Thanks. As I mentioned earlier on my second post, I meant the income after 401K, FSA, and other things deducted (shown on box 1 of W2). I did use the wrong term “net”. I still had to calculate all the numbers using my last pay stub.
Thanks for letting me know about question 94a. I was sure I added my untaxed income (401K and IRA), but I forgot!!! Now I have to wait for them to process the whole thing before I can make any changes. Ugh!! In addition, D16 applied to 13 schools, so the first set had only 10 schools, now I have to do this one more time! Oh well. It is our first time.
Does anyone know how to make changes on the CSS? I am pretty sure I did those correctly, but I would like to finalize it after we get our 2015 W2 and do our taxes.
@lifegarding, our son got accepted with scholarship offers with 3 D’s on his transcript, so I wouldn’t worry too much. One caveat: he does have a high SAT.
@carolinamom2boys my S too is a III and yes I did indicate that on his forms although the social security number and birth dates should be fine for them to distinguish between.
@lonetreegrad - I need to know that too! (How to finalize CSS.) To my simultaneous joy and annoyance it turns out MIL opened an UTMA for DS16 years ago that is now worth $6000. Good thing I now know to include it, but not sure exactly how to modify the application, and if I’ll look like a bozo for not knowing it before. I guess plausibly it could have been a winter gift to him that I didn’t have before, if they wonder…
Thanks also @sseamom re: WVU!
@lifegarding From my poking around in threads here on CC, it sounds like you’d have to fail a class, get arrested or not graduate to have an acceptance rescinded. Do they require a transcript only at the end of the school year? Perhaps he can pull it up by the end of the year with some tutoring?
@fretfulmother Nice MIL! That should help with his books for all 4 years. I think colleges know that these forms are not easy to complete and mistakes happen, so they shouldn’t make them hard to update. It is funny that they think our kids have to complete these when it is hard for most adults. I am a STEM person (3 degrees including an advance degree), so financial documents (because of financial terminology) are very confusing to me. I asked DH to review FAFSA before submitting and he missed it too!
I went to a college financial planning session offered at our high school a few years ago. The best piece of advice I got out of it was that custodial accounts (UTMA) count as assets and if possible, that these assets should be transferred to a 529 account before the spring of junior year. Doesn’t help the 2016 class, but might help for future children.
@lonetreegrad @2files - Yes I know… 
But MIL didn’t go to our session heh heh. So would the smartest thing be, to use that whole fund the first year? I hate to do it because it’s that Janus 20 fund that doesn’t take new investments and has done really well, like 6% year over year instead of all our other money in the 529s that has done 4% yearly at best.
ETA - someone mathier than me could figure out based on that which is more helpful to keep! I don’t exactly know how the assets are calculated relatively.