@MACmiracle@LMHS73@chippedtoof My Toyota Land Cruiser has 266,000 miles and still running strong. I plan to sell it though and get a hybrid or plug in to replace.
@melvin123 I think our D’s choices are very similar. If my D doesn’t get accepted to her REA school, then we’ll be SUPER bummed and maybe add a few to the RD list. Not shrink it. I think we should cast a wide net. REA probably doesn’t get her much of a boost, since athletes, legacies and prodigies boost the REA acceptance rate over RD. And REA could be a disadvantage, there’s just no way to know, but this school ticks every box for her.
Looks like Class of 2021 REA decisions for my D’s choice were released 12/14/16. [-O<
@mommdc , I agree with @melvin123 My oldest D actually has a pretty nice car, but her front bumper and side mirror are held on with duct tape. The car is white and the duct tape is white. Very classy. But really, H did the bumper underneath so it doesn’t show.
The repair would have been painfully expensive so we decided to try duct tape first and it works without being very noticeable.
Last time she was home, I noticed that some had come loose so I recommended she get another roll of while duct traps and keep it in the car.
This started when D was coming home from college one night and got stuck in the PA turnpike after she stopped to see what was dragging (her bumper!) and her key broke when she tried to restart the car. Thankfully, H knew where the extra key was and had duct tape in his tool box when we went to get her.
One benefit of having kids go to college not too far from home: Easy duct tape deliveries.
@sushiritto Wow! You are the winner at 266K! Does everything work? Any rust or duct tape?
I have to get back to being a mom now. I had a tough morning fighting with my younger two and felt like I was recovering from it all day. Thanks to everyone for keeping me occupied here and cheering me up. :x
A bit belated but: Congrats @glido!!! <:-P Big State U FTW!!
I totally agree with you @melvin123 and @pantha33m on the essays. My D is still dragging on hers and I kind of just want to say to her: write some words, try not to sound like an idiot, it will be fine. But I won’t. She’s on draft 3 of her common app essay, and so help me this will be the final draft. If she can get it under the word count this time. This girl needs to move past this one and start cracking on those supplements! As far as what her “descriptor” will be? Based on my reading of her essay/app - “The girl with the injured foot who loves high heels” :)) Her ECs can best be described as “well-rounded”, not a point to be found among them.
My car has just over 120k miles on it, and will probably get passed on to D at some point, but I just had it in for new brakes, timing belt, etc $$$, it’s like a brand new car. When I walked out they told me it was good for another 100k miles! I hope so. I love my car, it has been through a lot of great and not so great experiences with me. :x
I have to admit, for everything I know and have learned about colleges over the past few years, I know nothing about the FAFSA. We won’t qualify for aid anywhere, and right now I don’t believe any of D’s schools require it for merit consideration, so I’m playing a waiting game to see if we end up needing to fill it out or not. I understand it’s not as daunting as the profile, but I find it so intimidating still. I’m learning from you guys! @-) :-SS
@MACmiracle I’m fanatical about maintenance (only has needed tires, brakes occasionally, starter and alternator) and it’s always been serviced by our local dealer. Everything works and it’s still my DD. I’m sure it’ll be good thru 500,000+ miles. No duct tape and no rust. BTW, rust is very rare in CA. I can’t say enough about how well Toyota’s are built.
I am having such a great time reading these stories about the cars with all the mileage! DD’18 is our 3rd to apply to colleges. (She is driving the '98 truck I got when my mom passed away almost 8 years ago.) When the first 2 kiddos were applying to college I drove a very old minivan with 127K miles for DD’12’s FAFSA and 164K miles for DS’14’s FAFSA. Last year that minivan died, so I got a NEW one. We are going to have to list a 2016 minivan with fewer that 30K miles on DD’18’s FAFSA! The Pain! :-t
Our “kid” car, a 2005 Honda Pilot, has 188,000 on it. The car I was driving is a 2012 Honda CRV that just went over 100,000. Somehow, the Pilot has become my car and the kids are driving the CRV. Actually I know why I am driving the Pilot. My commute to work is 3 miles, roundtrip, and I am the one too cheap to buy a new car!
I had a 2002 Saturn that I bought new & maintained myself, so I know that thing would have run forever. When you take care of a car like that you do become attached to it.
I gave it to S15 as a HS graduation present, knowing that it would get him through his college years and well beyond. There is an old saying that “Saturns never die - people kill them.” And, it’s been painful for me to watch my son slowly kill that car through lack of maintenance and rough handling. He brought it over the house one time & said it sounded funny; I checked this and that & finally checked the oil dipstick & there was no oil in the car!!!
Believe it or not, that car is still running - although he doesn’t deserve it !!!
I want to brag too…but I am only in the >than 100k but < than 150k category. We drive a 2007 Lexus with 101k miles, a 2005 Camry with 132k and a 2009 Venza with 127k. We have driven all of these cars since new, so several for 10+ years. I am really, really beginning to get tired of them. The Camry has multiple “love taps” from my husband and kids who can’t seem to park to save their lives and most of the plastic parts, like rear speaker covers, have sun rot and are crumbling from the Texas sun/heat. I just noticed the dashboard on the Lexus is getting a weird tacky feeling and melting in places…someone backed into the front end of my Venza last week at the football game and drove off without leaving a note leaving a huge dent and cracked head light assembly, nice!
I had the Camry in for inspection last week and I was sitting there silently praying to the car god…please don’t pass, please don’t pass (Hubby claims we can replace it as soon as it doesn’t pass inspection or repair is more than $2000). Alas the Car Gods just laughed at me and it passed with flying colors only to have a tire develop a slow leak later in the week (tire guy repaired it for free but reminded me that the wear bars indicate I need new tires in about 5k more miles) and just to prove their point the Car Gods decided to play a game with me because on Sunday the Lexus has multiple check engine lights go off. It has been in the shop all week, had to take it back twice because the lights kept reappearing after we thought it was fixed. In the end…it was a simple $500 spark plugs and coil repair, not enough to scrap it, but enough to make it hurt the wallet.
With child #2 entering college, there is no new car on the horizon for us next year and we will see how long we can keep these ones running. Of course child #1 will be getting a new car probably next fall when she moves off campus and starts clincals for her major in the spring. Meanwhile, back at home we will be limping along in a 13 year old Camry.
So I can’t tell you how many miles are on DS’ car. It’s a 1972 VW Beetle. It was my first car so its been in our family for a long time.
Our other 2 cars are both > 100k miles but not as much as others. This summer both cars have been needy and jealous of each other when the other gets attention.
I just got off the phone with UNM. No gap year. I suppose that’s not technically true. S can take a gap year if he wants to, BUT…
He would no longer be eligible for the NMF scholarship.
He would have to re-apply for admission, which would be pro-forma since he’s auto admit.
He would be eligible to apply for their Regents scholarship, also a full ride, but it’s competitive and only 10% of applicants get it.
This has been a rough week for S. He and his GF broke up on Weds, so I’m dreading piling this on top of that.
We can’t afford to lose the NMF scholarship, so he has to go next fall. Frankly, this is a shock to me, too. I’ve been telling myself that I don’t have to worry about him leaving because it’s almost two years away. Except that now it’s not. Ack! :(( sniffle
Just checking in for a moment. Work has been super busy and the college applications are really dragging s18 down. He just wants to be done.
He has just about polished his main essay, and only has two more supplemental essays to write (out of over 30 - one school has over 10!).
Scores have been sent, transcripts have been requested, long questionnaire for the guidance office filled out (he had six typewritten pages of responses to their questions!), etc.
It will be such a relief for everyone to just have this whole applying process done!
On a side note, I volunteer with a group of community members helping advise kids at the high school on their essays. We have only had two sessions so far this fall and the quality of essays is far higher than what I saw last year. Strong group of writers this year!
We are also driving old cars because we like having no car payments… S18 drives H’s old 2002 Honda Accord with 220k miles. It makes the most awful screech when he turns the ignition, and he has to constantly add oil to it. He is not allowed to drive it outside the local beltway. We are hoping that car limps along well enough to get S20 through high school.
I drive a 2010 Toyota Highlander with 160k miles on it. We’ve had to make some big repairs lately, but overall it’s in pretty good mechanical shape. There are more dents and scratches on it than I can count. It will be another 6 years before I can afford to get another one, but as soon as S20 graduates college, I’m going to get a new one.
H drives a 2011 Honda Accord that only has about 70k miles on it. We still refer to it as our “new” car.
My hubby drove a Toyota truck for years with over 200k on it. One day the engine finally started gasping for breath so we limped it into the Toyota dealer to get the official pronouncement of death from the garage. Of course as we waited we strolled through the gleaming new cars and met a salesman. Just as we were narrowing down to a model to test drive the mechanic emerged triumphant. He’d found a loose part and fixed the whole thing for $25. Hubby was gleeful. The salesman and I were very disappointed.
@sushiritto He’s pumped about attending, but he’s been planning to take a gap year for a long time now. He’ll be getting his EMT certification this summer, and he wanted to spend a year running with an ambulance crew or as an ER tech before heading off to college.
If the breakup with the GF sticks, not taking the gap year might work out for best, but either way it’s going to be a sucky week while he adjusts. I’m debating not telling him for a few days,
@DiotimaDM - I’m sorry to here that news. The way you dot your I’s and cross your t’s, I’d have thought you had all of that worked out with the school already. Were they dragging their heels on that decision?
But I won’t. She’s on draft 3 of her common app essay, and so help me this will be the final draft. If she can get it under the word count this time. This girl needs to move past this one and start cracking on those supplements! As far as what her “descriptor” will be? Based on my reading of her essay/app - “The girl with the injured foot who loves high heels” :)) Her ECs can best be described as “well-rounded”, not a point to be found among them.
Envious!