Anybody reading any of the comments from the Class of 2017 Parents about the Parents of the Class of 2018 thread? Stuff about jumping onto the 2018 thread and then wanting to puke? Yikes !!!
I just tried to defend our honor, @LMHS73. 
(Missed the reference to this thread, but saw the one about Parents of 2019 kids.)
Thanks @LMHS73 and @suzy100 evidently we make some cc members “puke” ( @itsgettingreal17) some parents of the class of 2017 aren’t too happy with the class of 2020 thread either:-(
I have kids 2016, 2018, 2020 - all different kids and I’m thankful for all the different perspectives I’ve seen on these threads. Very glad my kids are even years! If people have issues they should post them in the threads they have concerns with.
@suzy100; @3scoutsmom - #24404 says the 2018 thread is “too aggravating” and the one with the “makes me want to puke” comment seems to have been taken down. I’m glad a moderator jumped on and reminded the kids to play nice.
I certainly have nothing negative to say about the other 99.99% of the parents on the 2017 thread - it’s a great thread and I’ve learned a ton from those nice folks!
Just popping on to say merry merry to all celebrating all the various holidays. Hope everyone has a wonderful time however you celebrate! I’m celebrating the fact that my girls are up today before noon.
Happy Holidays, All. I’m waiting to be sure the kids are asleep before I put out their gifts, and passing some time reading on the forums here. I just read in a different thread that people began receiving mail from elite colleges after their child scored high on a PSAT (10th and/or 11th grade). Do colleges have access to that? I thought not.
@Kayak3 Just dropping by from the class of 2018 thread. I’m pretty sure when we took the PSAT there was a question that asked if we wanted our information to be given to colleges, just like the ACT.
@Kayak3, my S received some mail after the freshman PSAT and a flood of mail and email after the sophomore PSAT. Some after sophomore PSAT was from the notorious “elite stalkers” like Duke and U Chicago but he also got a lower volume from some other elites as well. Nothing from elites after freshman PSAT, when his score was not NMF range.
I have always been so curious as to how these colleges get your info. We do get a flood of mail from certain places (which run the gamut from not at all selective to very selective). But when you get mail from an elite, I know it’s bulk mail and means nothing but I do wonder if they collect a “list” somehow. For example, D18 received a letter from Stanford this week inviting her to “apply” for their summer programs. That was the first letter we’d ever received from Stanford (we live in PA). I knew full-well that it’s only a solicitation and not something feasible for various reasons but I couldn’t help but be curious about how they got her name and whether they send that invite to every 11th grader. Notre Dame was pretty much the sole college sending regular mail Freshman year but D18 never signed up to receive it. I had assumed they were sending it to her whole (private) school until another mother said they have never received anything from ND. Since then, it has always made me curious to know how students end up on a solicitation list (even though it’s bulk mail and “means nothing.”) My D did not take a freshman PSAT. Disclaimer: I realize that D18 is unlikely to be accepted at any of those places. 
This post is about how those schools gather mailing lists and wondering whether those lists are targeted.
From the College Board’s privacy statement:
Wonder how much colleges pay for a “license fee”? I’ve heard that colleges can request student information for students in a specific score range but I don’t know that for a fact. D16 did get a lot of mail about National Merit scholarships the summer before 12 grade, before the cut off was known.
I read somewhere it was like 45 cents for each email address.
Based on PSAT results, I got an email from Telluride Association inviting S18 to apply for TASP 8-|
Haven’t been around in a bit … DD is stressing over semester exams. School was cancelled one of the exam days so now she gets to think about three of them until January 4. Sigh.
Does anyone have a credit card for their child, or have them on their card? She really has no need for one, in practical terms, but I am thinking ahead to her going to college. Before then, I want to give her a little practice with one.
Back in the go-go 80s, you could get a free t shirt by signing up for a card on campus. I don’t think that happens anymore, but it was the way I got my first credit card, lol.
@bearcatfan , Sorry to hear about the exams. Would have been nice for your DD to have a break!
About the credit card, I called one of my cc companies to inquire about adding my DD when she got her driver’s license because I wanted her to be able to stop at the store for me, maybe put gas in the car when needed, etc. and knew she doesn’t usually have much cash on her. I also saw it as a way to begin to help build her credit history. I was told I can’t add her until she is 18 yrs old, but some companies maybe different.
We also got our daughter a credit card when she got her driver’s license in case of any roadside emergency. While it is under our account, it has her own name on it. She has used it for other things along the way, but our rule is that she has to always ask or let us know before using it.
Even though we got her a debit card once she started college, she still keeps the originial credit card for emergencies. The debit card (w half of her spending money coming from us, and the other half coming from her) has been the most valuable learning tool for spending and budgeting.
We put our kids on our credit card once the start driving too. It’s so much easier than making sure they have cash for gas. DS18 is responsible for driving himself to and from school (45 minutes + each way) and to their EC’s. So many things have to be paid on line with a cc now it’s just easier for him to do it himself (fencing fees, SAT testing, books…) not to mention the convenience of asing to drop by the store on the way home and pick up some groceries! He’s been on our card since the beginning of the school year and has never made an unauthorized charge.
@Kayak3 you might call your CC back and ask if you can add your child as an “authorized user on your account” this is very different that getting them an account. They will not be building their own credit as you are 100% responsible for the bill. The age restriction likely was brought up because you mentioned building credit.
Anyone mind sharing which cc company authorized this? I did ask the rep a lot of questions and did try to add her only as an authorized user but he said she isn’t allowed until age 18. Maybe the rep was mistaken? This was a card issued through Citibank. I guess I could try one of my other cards to see. The “help to build credit” part was based on my having read that somewhere but I also read that not all companies will report authorized users to credit agencies.
The card my kids are on is ATT Universal. I really think your rep was mistaken.
@Kayak3, I added my 13 to my CitiCard CC a few months back as an authorized user. They sent her a credit card with her name on it.
My older D has a separate bank account with a debit card for it. It’s linked to my account so I can put money in for when she needs books, gas, etc. I think we set that up before she turned 18, but when I tried to do it for my D18, they said we had to wait until she was 18. I think I’m going to press them on that and try again, because I hate giving her my card when she needs to buy something. I rarely have cash.