My friend said she would only attend a CFA meeting if she could teach it. 
Yes, Iām not happy with Oct. 16, but the teacher is truly wonderful and emailed to ask me to let the twins maintain the same progress as the class for optimal discussion.
@TwinMom2023, the nearest on my D19ās list had been Western Washington (3Ā½ hour flying plus 1Ā½ hour driving), but that one was a last-minute cut once she firmly decided sheād rather do industrial than manufacturing engineering. The nearest one timewise sheās applying to is Iowa State at 7Ā½ hours, though conceptually (given where extended family is located) some a bit further afield feel closer.
@dfbdfb thatās crazy thinking about the logistics for your kids and their college choices. We are in the exact opposite scenario.
Here is a small sampling of popular schools my kids could get to in a 30 minute drive in either direction: Clark, WPI, UMass Lowell, Wellesley, Babson, Bentley, Brandies, Northeastern, BU, Harvard, Tufts. Thatās the short list, there a bunch of others.
There are a lot of high quality schools near where we live, but one of DSās first elimination criteria was ātoo close to homeā. DS is worried that if heās at school too close to home my husband will be ādropping inā all the time and trying to volunteer at the school.
Husband has been talking about retiring and getting a new place to live in the next couple of years, but keeps saying that heāll wait until kiddo picks a school. Thereās a real danger that no matter where kiddo goes, husband will decide to move to be close.
@dfbdfb Do you think sheāll ever return to live in the state? The coldest Iāve ever experienced w/o wind chill is 0 F. Canāt imagine living in real cold!
Happy Monday fellow CFAs. Today I got a tweet from a college admissions account saying that we should register for FSA IDs now, so we are ready to electronically sign the FAFSA next week. I did mine, will have my D do it later. I guess thereās a checking process that occurs before you are officially legit? Website: fsa.ed.gov.
@dfbdfb That is so crazy! I went to school 6 1/2 hours away from home but I grew up in the same area as @RightCoaster so I did have a ton of options if I had wanted to stay closer. The funny thing is 6 1/2 hours ended up not feeling so far - we got so used to the long drives we didnāt mind them and would even go home just for a weekend a few times a year. Different than having to fly though because it only cost us the gas money!
Whoās gotten confirmation of National Merit Commended Status? How did you get confirmation? My D19ās SI was 215 so it should be high enough. Sheās definitely short on honors/awards so it would be nice to get confirmation of this.
Yes, just applied for FAFSA ID for DS last week. The parent one from DDās last year at Yale (2016-2917) had expired so needed new password.
@ninakatarina I looked at our 2016 CSS from the last year at Yale and the only question specific to them was primary household vehicle - year, make and model. We had log in access to 401K and IRA values so that did not take much time.
I am really glad DS19 is applying to FAFSA only schools. I have also heard not to bother on the first day due to possible glitches.
DS is already accepted to Pitt and a regional state school so it is nice to have options so early. Pitt does not even need a transcript because they have you spend 45 minutes entering all the course information on the SRAR from a copy of your transcript. I donāt know what the lag was for the transcript to the regional state school. Neither one asks for recommendations from the counselor or teacher. They can make quick decisions with test scores and grades only.
Congratulations to everyone with decisions! Good luck to all on applications and financial aid forms!
@TwinMom2023, I strongly suspect D19 wonāt return to live in Alaska, given how much she loathes cold weather.
Of course, cold is relativeāsheās looked at Wikipediaās climate charts for Ames, Iowa (easily the coldest place sheās applying to) and declared it very nicely warm. I mean, it only rarely gets down below the teens, even in mid-winterādownright balmy! :))
(In contrast, my D17 would love to return to Alaska, but there are effectively no jobs here in any field sheās interested ināwhereas if D19 does end up with an IE degree, she could get hired in Alaska in a heartbeat. Go figure.)
@Corinthian Commended students were announced officially at our school last week. Cut off was 212 nationally. I donāt know the procedure for being officially notified though. Maybe ask your principal or GC?
Seems like the last few winters here in Iowa have been light on snow and heavy on 0Āŗ spells!
I have encouraged DD to look to the south which she agreed with until she started considering some schools in Minnesota. She has nixed Nebraska for windiness and boringness. Missouri she is on the fence about. We are actually not considering any Iowa schools because we are looking at publics and we only have 3. 2 are too huge for her and UNI doesnāt offer her major. Iowa State is a good school, just too big for our preference!
Anyone else doing a parentās choice application? Mr. InfiniteWaves was half-joking today about doing so. And then got pretty serious about it. The school in question was S19ās absolute favorite (like telling-his-grandparents-he-wants-to-go-there favorite) before he considered ātrying out ROTC.ā
I get it. S19 is not completely sold on ROTC yet removed a bunch of schools from his list because of it. The former favorite offers everything he wants (including some opportunities that he would not have at the ROTC-offering-favorite state flagship) except ROTC. Mr. InfiniteWaves would still like him to apply anyway as a just-in-case.
Applying is free through the Common App so Iām thinking why not ask S19 to do it. For us/him.
With DD we required one app to a full ride school for NMF. Also required a commuting distance option with her major. I think DS will end up with a state school option in commuting distance. So not specifically adding one for him.
I think itās a good idea to add a parents choice just to have it in the mix in the spring. Lots can change between now and then.
On the distance traveled question. Other than the one local school DD set a requirement of at least 4 hours away. But did put a state U in the mix that was closer. The drive to her chosen college usually took 5 hours one way. We were glad she could take the train because that made a weekend trip home much easier.
If I had a parentās choice it would be one of the colleges that are already on the list. Iām pretty happy with most of the places heās ended up applying. I will be a little sad if he doesnāt get in anywhere else and ends up at the super safety, but it does have its compensations (cheapest option, very close to home)
I absolutely agree with adding the parentās choice, espeically if there is no fee to apply. Kidsā opinions change so much over senior year. Its great to have choices.
We donāt have a singular parentās choice on the list really. Weāve told him he needs to apply to some schools that are a match and have a sure thing safety. Heās done that already, so all set. Other than those, we really donāt know exactly where heāll end up applying to in the next 4 weeks.
@dfbdfb - I donāt know where you live in Alaska but I just thought of you because I saw one of my favorite singers is playing two shows up there next week! Rhett Miller (lead singe of the Old 97ās but also plays on his own sometimes) is playing Anchorage on 9/29 and Palmer on 9/30 - if you have nothing to do and you are close you should go check him out. 
D19 has a dad choice and a mom choice. Poor thing. My gut says neither come into play, but we wonāt know until all the numbers are in.
So, the student needs to set up an FSA ID or the parent? The October 1st date has been drilled into the studentsā heads for Georgia Hope scholarship, but this is the first Iāve heard of needing an ID in advance.
Thanks @momtogkc