QOTD:
D will need to maintain her scholarships. She will also need to apply for all study abroad funding such as CLS, Boren if sure about Gov’t work, etc.
(“Skin in the game” is one of those phrases that makes me twitch.)
@soxmom So with you on the waiting game, We have heard from 5 schools (3 likely letters, 2 early acceptance to honors) but still have no notification on cost factor, so really like waiting on all the schools. believe our first official results are on the 13th and go until 30th. I just try to pass the time…
We will try to keep UG loans to a minimum for my D, her scholarship covers tuition for 4 years, but for the last two years of pharmacy school she will need to take out grad loans, unless she is able to get scholarships for those as well. This year she is taking out the subsidized loan and will for the next two years, because interest rates are lower than those of grad loans. She is saving them.
What I did, I added up all charges for the semester and subtracted all but the loan amount. Then I paid that amount when the bill was due. Then she got refunded exactly the loan amount and it was direct deposited into an account we just put this money in to keep it separate.
When my D is a college senior, her brother will start college, so they will all end up with some loans. And we have another, younger child.
That is super smart @mommdc to take out the UG loans and save them toward grad school.
@socalmom007 Yes, I got that idea from @Madison85
Skin in the game/Loans
We expect our D to cover her student contribution by working part time during the school year and summers. I’m not sure exactly what expenses FA aid offices expect the student contribution to cover, but to us it means spending money (no allowance) including clothing beyond the basics. I get annoyed when I buy an article of clothing or shoes and it is only worn once, so letting her take this on.
Also trying to get some outside scholarships to supplement income from work.
We are not opposed to federal loans, but don’t think we’ll need them. I like the idea of taking them to save for graduate school or investing them. This would only work with subsidized loans, right? Unfortunately, we only qualify for unsubsidized loans.
@nw2this Technically, you could use this method with unsubsidized loans, but you would be paying interest during the whole borrowing time, which wouldn’t make sense. With subsidized, its free money until you are done with school and ready to pay, so you might as well use it.
QOTD: Speaking of outside scholarships, anyone have luck with these?
** QOTD: ** S has applied for a few, with a few in the works. No word yet. I think they tend to announce winners later in the year.
My S’s least favorite words from me…“I found another one!”
QOTD My D is in the process of applying to some local scholarships. She’s not going to kill herself, but there are a few that are worth putting in a little effort over. She hasn’t applied to any of the big national ones, though. The odds are just too long.
My S’s least favorite words from me…“I found another one!”
Lol @STEM2017
** QOTD follow up:** By the way, I subscribe to Fastweb, and 99.9% of the scholarship leads they send us are total garbage. Usually national level and nearly impossible to win. Mostly stuff that would pop up by typing “scholarships” in Google.
Seriously, co-dependent here and feeling the pain of those waiting & waiting. I’m in the camp of, we’ve waited this long, let’s get all the options on the table and then decide. We can do 3 more weeks. :D/
Time to Reflect
Best parenting “tips” to share with others:
DH & I emphasized 8+ hrs. sleep/nutrition/homework/time management. By the end of middle school DS assumed ownership for his being- didn’t need to ask if he “did his homework” anymore. As for EC’s, they grew naturally out of DS’s interests. Early on DS participated in soccer, baseball, basketball, swimming but opted for robotics, quiz bowl and BS of A. Our value of education was apparent, but we never requested or required DS do well in school; learned to be competitive on his own. Never “paid for grades”. Although we made it known we were happy with his results.
Nature vs. Nurture - DH & I think DS would have been the same person no matter who raised him. Certainly, parenting does counts for something. Deep down DS is a happy person, so I guess we didn’t mess him up too much 
“By the end of middle school DS assumed ownership for his being- didn’t need to ask if he “did his homework” anymore.”
I think it depends on the child… for DS13 that worked…I do ask the other two. Same parenting different kids.
Re: Scholarships
The only scholarship son has tried to get is a DECA scholarship that is offered by one of the schools he has applied to. He had to write an essay and get a letter of recommendation. It would be worth $5k off the COA of $69k, and is probably they only money he might be awarded there.
We have not looked into outside scholarships, I would imagine they are pretty competitive in out area. If there was a Super Smash Bros or Pickle Ball scholarship available son17 might have a legit chance.
Good luck to those of you seeking $$, I hope your kids get it!
QOTD:
@Fishnlines29 No outside scholarships applied for here. Most we’ve come crossed are need based, which DS does not qualify for.
@MichiganGeorgia Absolutely agree! DC specific. I had that comment in, edited it out.
@STEM2017, I think my S hates that from me too. And I will be telling him that again for the weekend because there is a school-specific one that ties to his robotics. Still not sure if that will be the chosen school, but since he is still undecided, we will leave no essay unwritten! (This seems to be the cry of the season.)
Son17 got another text by a coach trying to get him to make up his mind. Son not ready to make any decisions though without seeing the rest of his results. Coach still being patient, surprisingly. My wife even tried to entice son with the possibility of getting him a new car if he just commits to the school and accepts the nice scholarship that goes along with it. He has been borrowing our cars and not complaining about it, even though it’s been a little bit of nuisance. He didn’t budge. Still not ready to decide.
I’m not liking this whole " wait for results from schools". process. The schools make a big deal about getting your apps in on time, and then they don’t all release results in a timely manner. There’s no stress on them, just us as we wait. It’s kind of bull. So now, we’ll wait another 10 days or so so to get some results, and I’m certain that not all of those schools will have released their financial packages to us, so we have to wait some more.
I’m impressed with the schools that we have applied to that have conducted themselves in a timely and professional manner. Some of the schools on son17’s list are not as appealing anymore, falling further to the bottom the longer they wait on releasing a decision.
QOTD: D17 did apply for a scholarship offered by H’s employer, a national firm. We’re crossing our fingers but in no way counting on it.
A frustration for me is that a few of the schools my DS is waiting to hear from are his reaches and they are called that for a reason but he is enamored by them. If he is waitlisted anywhere more waiting unless he just lets them go. We are also waiting for some targets/matches. Luckily he has some good options and we are excited about visiting UMD has he hasn’t seen it yet and I know they have a good CS program.
Good Article in the WSJ about the waiting:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/whats-worse-than-waiting-to-hear-from-colleges-getting-interrogated-about-it-1488987872