DS is expected to work and save a bit this summer but the summer is quite chopped up with 3 trips so he likely will not be earning a lot. He will also have a 10-15 hour a week campus job for spending money. He does have a small savings account started already.
We have a large family and it is my understanding from my SIL that has a college freshman, that grad gifts likely will cover at least some spending money for first semester. 
@Booajo @Waiting2exhale Thank you!
Why āno to P and Hā? It can be a silly reason; Iām in the mood for a light-hearted thought or two.
Oddly, going to one school per year seems like a worse idea than any of the four.
So hereās one worry of mine - does MIT have enough social justice presence/discussion on campus? Issues, speakers, deep conversations? One of the big selling points of Princeton (to DS) is that kind of focus. I googled and didnāt exactly know what to look for. There do seem to be some cool classes along those lines in the course catalog.
And hereās another - does Princeton have a friendly-nerd kind of subgroup of kids, those who would rather play Settlers than drink or go to a football game?
My D was older and always had summer paying jobs so she provided her own spending money in college but we did pay her initial sorority dues. My S is younger and did volunteer work last summer. I was fine with this given the way his schedule was and the fact that he was only eligible to get his driverās license in late July. I know heād like to work this summer but is still so bogged down with school work (yes graduation is in 8 weeks and he only has 3.5 more weeks of actual class time but these teachers wonāt let go), his spring sport and going back to visit colleges, he has not had time to look for a job. Iāve mentioned that once things calm down, he should start looking. So there is a chance he might have to do volunteer work this summer. He does have some personal savings from birthday gifts (thanks Grandma!) over the years and that will be part of his spending money.
My D had a part time job during college - about 6 hours a week starting her sophomore year and we will suggest something similar for S after his freshmen year. I think a budget of $25 a week is reasonable given that freshmen are usually on a generous meal plan and activities on campus donāt usually cost very much. My son rarely spends money even when I want him to - when he was on a trip in another country two summers ago I kept telling him to buy himself some T shirts and other souvenirs and he bought one T shirt the last day - probably to appease me. LOL So I donāt think heāll need too big a budget.
MIT has too many webpages to look through to find just what you need to know when you need to know it. Iām still discovering the next exciting thing that happened last October.
I think this student, fret, sounds like heāll be headed to Princeton.
@fretfulmother because I went to Y. I like blue more than red or orange (double yuck).
I havenāt researched P recently ( ātoo preppyā said d). But they wear those horrific tiger coats to alumni parties. We thought they were the snobbiest of all many moons ago. Plus those eating clubs (do those even still exist?) seemed so elitist, and not in a good way.
And Hāhonestly I have several adult friends who went there and regret it. I also donāt like the āchoose a house and applyā set up. Much prefer the auto-assignment at Yale.
I was researching something for my son this afternoon and we came across some you-tube videos about the residential colleges at Yale. Each video started by a student saying āwelcome to Yaleā, followed by āand more importantly, welcome to Saybrook/Branford/Trumbell/Stiles/JE etc, the BEST residential college.ā They all say their college is the best. But they believe it! The college system is just so amazing.
Take this all with a GIGANTIC grain of salt please. Bola boola!
DD will teach SAT this summer to earn some money. It feels weird while she took the exam last year and teach other kids this year.
S is still getting emails from schools. He never opened any of the emails he got in the last year or so- and now has 4300 unopened emails. SMH.
My middle schooler just told next daughter out of the door, '17, that if she doesnāt start opening some of the hard mail which comes for her, he will. āLetās see who gets accepted to that school first,ā he egged her on this afternoon.
@ReminiscingDad How sweet of you, remembering my ālittle one.ā
Now, answering your Q ā¦ Not there yet; however, S does look determined to making Cambridge, MA his home for the next 4 years. Which side of the river? Donāt know yet 8-}
This past weekend, S visited one of the schools and of course had a blast. We expected it. This weekend heāll be again flying to Boston, now for the other school.
In all honesty, we are hoping and praying that S picks the cheapest of the two ā the difference in fin aid is quite significant, but at the same time donāt want to pressure him into deciding what we want. It has to come from him. Maybe a week from now? I hope
@PhilaSkiMom, that is wonderful that she can attend her school of choice!! Hooray!
@Dragonflygarden, I will be interested to see if Cornell ends up being the one. And whew, pressure off to put in more scholarship applications!!
@Highbury, I thought we would be the last ones, with an accepted student visit ending on the 21st. Hang in there!!
@HappyDad2112, I have been wondering about your daughter! Welcome back!
@happymochi, sorry you are missing out on your college tour trip 
Seriously though, so great that he is settled on The One!
@LKnomad, the UCs did not deserve him after all their shenanigans! And I agree that $4000 is worth an appeal.
@palm715, you do indeed have some amazing research skills. Iām sorry to hear that there is no simple obvious answer to the āWhere?ā question.
As for our update, two more schools off the list as of today. D16 got the Stamps scholarship at Ga Tech, so UK and OU are off the table.
We are in the middle of our mega college tour trip. A re-visit to the small Christian school that offered full tuition, lots of personal warmth, and a place in their cross country team is next. Dartmouth and Princeton accepted student events follow.
Congratulations @GoodGrief16
@GoodGrief16 stamps scholarship at GaTech is full ride, right? Congrats!!!
@fretfulmother I think you should just set up a poll for us and we will decide for your son
We donāt give our S14 an allowance at college. Outside of tuition, room & board, we cover his transportation costs to come home, summer storage, books, supplies, and occasionally we offer to pay for fun things. But mostly heās responsible for his own pocket money. He doesnāt need much.
I mentioned my S16ās choice last week, but now it is officially official as we made the deposit! Heāll be going to UMass Amherst. He got into his second choice major, psychology, but seems likely he will apply to double major with computer science. Itās pretty clear to me that heās off and running and likely to succeed (or struggle) nearly anywhere he goes. Heās so ready for advanced study thereās a possibility heāll be disappointed he canāt just jump right to grad school. After all the stress heās definitely still got his love of learning. Yay!
Congrats on the Stamp scholarship, @GoodGrief16 !
4300 unopened emails, @psychmomma ? Wow! We are almost ready to weigh the box of unopened snail mail. With S14 it was about 27 lbs if I recall.
Congrats to @undercovermom1 @madredos and @AnxietyAttack77 . Weāve been so exhausted here with everything it is hard to keep up.
@fretfulmother, I canāt imagine more social justice involvement than Victor Weisskopf (founder of the Union of Concerned Scientists and ex-President of MIT) opposing atomic weapons, Jerry Lettvin brokering anti-war protests or debating Timothy Leary, or Noam Chomskyās current ongoing and very public stances on social issues. Where else is there deeper and more meaningful social justice involvement (maybe Berkeley)?
I doubt it. They are all trying to invent stuff and not into handwringing.
Itās there at MIT, for sure, but not to the extent of a Yale or Princeton. MIT is #1 on Niche for being open minded.
Oldest son chose MIT over Princeton, Penn, Mudd and caltech. Didnāt apply to other Ivies or Stanford. Heās a people person, and the people and energy of MIT sold him.
Well, I can say that Iāve narrowed down my list to two choices. Yale vs. Harvard, a classic rivalry, ironically. Decision will be especially tough since Iāve formed bonds with students admitted at both schools. Harvard did send a very nice, VERY personal handwritten note from an admissions officerā¦
Also, I received an interesting package from Sarah Lawrence. Apparently this is the first year they are trying this new thing, where they send a sheet with some of the unedited notes that the two applications readers made on your app before it is sent to the adcom. It doesnāt include all comments and if you waived your right to see recommendations, those are not included, but it does do quite a nice job at showing why you were accepted. I think itās very helpful, and makes it so that curious students need not go through FERPA stuff to see why they were admitted. It includes comments on essays, activities, academics, and additional, personal comments.