We found Fairfield and Santa Clara were both very generous with merit.
6 Likes
Absolutely. In fact I think there is a lot of overlap in virtues with SLACs, but then I see people looking for SLACs but in urban locations, and/or with the sorts of majors that are more typically at universities, and then I am likeāJesuit colleges!
I guess part of the issue is that many are so strongly identified with a given city or perhaps region. But I actually believe based on talking to people that alums of one Jesuit college are often more than happy to help out graduates of a different Jesuit college looking to locate in a different city/region. Again, much like SLACs in fact.
6 Likes
You can look on redbubble. They may have something. Otherwise just color print something and cut it out?
We found a retro tie for S24s school that he is so happy with for a little college swag at graduation.
1 Like
YAY!!! Congrats! Thatās great!
2 Likes
D24 has a checking account w/a debit card already. In terms of a credit card, she doesnāt have one yet and Iām not in favor of having her use our credit card as an authorized user. So we are going āold schoolā and going to make her get her own. She can start with something like a Discover Card or a $$-secured credit cardā¦I saw a Harlan Cohen reel on Instagram the other day which talked about the Ambition Card. We are going to look up some additional about that and have D24 decide for herself which route she wants to take. But sheās not 18 yet for another month, so thereās still time.
2 Likes
AcpurpleāWelcome to the room-and-board-plus-personal-expenses club! Iām so delighted to have become a member! Maybe there will be a vacation during the next four years, after all. 
4 Likes
And both of those are on the list, thanks for sharing your experience with merit! As we have two class ā25 kiddos, Iāll take anything they throw at us 
3 Likes
My S23 had a job year-before-last where he made over $20,000, and he almost never spends anything. He applied online for a student CC through Chase (where he has his bank account with all his money) after he turned 19 (last summer) and they turned him down immediately. He called them back and asked why they turned him down when he has so much money, and they approved it. 
It has gone okay. Despite us telling him to pay the card off in full every month he somehow put the setting on his account to only make the minimum payment every month. 
This weekend he mentioned that did didnāt like that he was carrying debt and he didnāt know how he was ever going to pay it off at only $40/month. We showed him how to pay off the balance and change the setting.
Not sure what weāll do with S24. His income isnāt as high and he is a more prolific spender.
5 Likes
Our kids have been on our family credit card as authorized users since their early teen years; we wanted them to have something they could use in an emergency, and itās also been convenient in terms of sending them on errands, having them shop for themselves, etc.
In terms of their own money, both kids also have checking accounts with debit cards, and S24 was just approved for a Chase Freedom card, which is Chaseās low-limit card for students/first-time credit card holders. We walked through the terms with him and encouraged him to use it for a couple of regular expenses and to pay it off every month.
2 Likes
S24 is done with the Math placement test and most of the other checklist items that need to be done before Orientation.
They also had senior ditch day yesterday and they all went to the beach and which was a lot of fun per S24. This was S24ās first full day absence at high school and he was happy to do it for ditch day instead of a sick day 
Senior prom is this weekend and he is looking forward to it. He was never a big party guy but as schools year comes to an end he is getting more into all these events to remember his high school. As we get close to the school year and all these events to celebrate it I am feeling more and more emotional. Its going to take me some time to get used to him being across the country from us.
In regards to credit card S24 has had a debit card and has been using it the last two years. We have talked about getting a CC and have though about getting aa card that has good travel benefits and also covers TSA Pre. Since he will be taking flight frequently fell that TSA Pre will be a worth it.
11 Likes
I added them to my AMEX gold card (no cost) as it allows them to build credit without paying for/managing another card (must be 18+ to build credit). Each also has a debit/bank card linked to their own checking accounts. So far that has been sufficient. S22 knows only to use the AMEX for school related expenses/medical/emergencies.
2 Likes
My d got $24 and $30 a year I think. Test optional, 4.2 w. Being from a less represented state probably helped for Fairfield.
1 Like
Both my kids, D24 and D21, are authorized users on my Alaska card (B of A). D21 and I have an agreement that she can use it for transportation - booking flights, Ubers to/from airport, as well as groceries. She pays for all other personal expenses, from her own checking account which has a debit card connected. She uses the cc wisely and I was told having her name on the account would help her build credit. I recently gave D24 a card authorized on this account too, she used it on her recent trip to the UK and hasnāt used it since. She has had a summer job throughout high school and has always used a debit card for her regular purchases. Same rules will apply to her for the cc when she goes off to college.
1 Like
We also worried about the security risk of debit cards. Our college age kid has a savings account which holds basically all of his money and a checking account with debit card. When he needs to use the debit card, he first transfers money from savings to checking, then makes his purchase. The checking account never holds a balance over say $50. That way if his card is ever breached, the bulk of his money is not compromised. It takes a little more planning, but works for him.
9 Likes
This is us, but she keeps a couple hundred in the checking account and the rest in an investment account at Fidelity where she can transfer $$. Not a large sum, but not a huge risk of loss due to fraud.
She just turned 18 a couple months ago and has been an authorized user since she was 16 or so on our no fee for authorized user cards, but has never used them without permission.
When she studies abroad, Iāll probably bite the bullet on an authorized user card for my Chase Sapphire Reserve, which doesnāt have foreign exchange fees, and let her use that.
2 Likes
Forgive me if this has already been discussed, S24 asked to withold one of his ap scores from the free report to his college (one he took last week). How do we know if this was received? Gotta love that the college board has you fax a piece of paper with your credit card on it and hope for the best.
D24 finally took the online French placement exam. Sheesh, kiddo, all of the drama was not necessary. LOL.
There is still hope for The Child. 
She listened to her mother today when yours truly proposed that rather than bring her laptop with her on the choir trip to NYC, that instead, she write down her preference list ahead of time for what class she wants for her required First Year Seminar class for the fall semesterā¦and give El Madre the login ID & password and allow the mom to sign her up for the First Year Seminar class instead. Therefore, no lugging said computer and all that to the other side of the country for the seminar course sign up thatās on 6/1.
Shockingly, The Child looked at me and said, āHuh, thatās a good idea. Iāll do that.ā
Titles of the courses which one can take for the First Year Seminar:
- Biotechnology and You
- Chance/Conjecture; Payoff/āProofā: Probability in History and in Practice
- eXtreme Phys10logy
- Fitting Into the Hierarchy: Child and Adolescent Peer Relationships
- Hoaxes, Cons, and Scams
- Homes, Domes and Yurts: Sustainable, Innovative and Alternative Architecture
- Life Lessons from Japanese Culture
- Living in the Nuclear Age
- Lying with Data and the Myth of the Amoral Algorithm
- Nip, Tuck, Ink, and Scar: Explorations in Embodied Culture
- Public Healthās Most Wanted: Americaās Top 5 Killers
- Science Fact and Science Fiction
- The Crusades
- The Mindful Workplace
- We Didnāt Start the Fire: Songs About Us
- Why Poverty Persists?
- Will, Wellness, and Success
5 Likes
Which seminar(s) are most enticing to your daughter?
she wonāt tell me yet!
Interesting topics. I would have a tough time choosing one.
Glad she agreed to share the class details before she leaves so you can register. Hate lugging around laptop everywhere.
1 Like