<p>“And I’m grateful for that. I’m going to get us whatever help I can. I’ll make it work. But I’ll also get my college apps in.”</p>
<p>Nice! I know you can do it. Good luck :). Hang in there; things are going to get so much better.</p>
<p>Nattilee, you are amazing. You and your mom will get through this. Applicantnot, I am so proud of Stanford for admitting you! I hope that Stanford is everything you dreamed of, even now during dead week.</p>
<p>As far as finances go, may I suggest a middle ground? GA2012MOM is exactly right - you and your mom need to think of your situation as a partnership. You should help as much as you can without sacrificing your future, and she needs to support you in your mission to break the cycle of poverty for both of you, and that may mean making some pretty severe sacrifices of her own. </p>
<p>How much money will you need to get yourself to college? There’s plane fare, living necessities (sheets etc.), warm clothing/shoes (if you end up in the Northeast), maybe a new laptop if the computer you have is antiquated or not easily transportable. I would think that $2,500 would be about the minimum you should have available. Make a pact with your mother that you will not deplete your savings account further than that.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, applications are your number 1 priority. As Applicantnot said, apply, apply, apply! Apply to all the schools on your list, and if possible add a few deep pockets schools - Stanford might be a good fit for you, and WUSTL sounds like a good possibility as well. If you are a girl, take a look at a couple of women’s colleges such as Wellesley and Barnard. Don’t even think about increasing your work hours until all applications are submitted. Then you can reassess whether increasing your work schedule makes sense but remember - you can’t change the situation long-term without graduating from high school! As Shrinkwrap said, put on your own facemask first. </p>
<p>We’re all pulling for you. Keep us posted.</p>
<p>Hi, Keep doing what you are doing except,remember nobody can hurt you without your permission.Do not let your family situation be an excuse to keep you from moving forward and do not dwell on them as you seem to focuss more on their shortcomings than what you should be doing instead.Adversity in any form should an incentive to overcome your situation.
Human beings have more potential than we realize.Get a parttime job and go to community college and get your associates and then you will get a clear vision of what you want to be when you grow up.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Much as I see the parallel with applicannot’s situation from last year, and much as I admire applicannot and her accomplishments and her advice on this thread, the quote above suggests to me an important difference between nattilee’s situation and applicannot’s. </p>
<p>nattilee’s relationship with her mom seems more like that between GA2012MOM and her D.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That last sentence is the most important. Give your applications the attention they deserve. Work on the supplements. Aim high…go for colleges that give good financial aid. And don’t neglect to finish high school and keep your grades up. </p>
<p>What you do (or don’t do) with the $7K you have in the bank is less important.</p>
<p>^^^ yes</p>
<p>Just make sure that you have enough in reserve to:
a. get yourself to your excellent college/university (whatever/wherever that may be)
b. pay the minimum necessary to get up and running in your new college situation. Depending on your computer situation, I would estimate that to be in the range of $1000 -$2500.</p>
<p>^ I would add another $1000 to have as a cushion. You should be safe with $3,500 depending on the location of the college you attend. You want to have enough for airfare clothes, dorm essentials, and some cash left over. If you don’t have a computer to take with you than you will need one.</p>
<p>You are amazing! May you be blessed with wonderful opportunities and know the kindness of strangers as you move forward to get your apllications out. Parents always want to take care of their children but at this time of your life it is wonderful to see that your mom needs some help. Just keep in mind what the long term goals are and don’t get sidetracked.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Typical Wallyworld…which is why I won’t shop there if there’s almost any other alternative, even though my kid works there and gets a discount. Go through the appeals process for unemployment and make them PROVE they followed their own company policy and are applying those policies to every employee. Btw, every store has security staff and footage due to the high incidence of theft and other reasons so if your mom can recall any of the dates when she observed other cashiers texting in view of the managers without consequences, this could be a useful thing to bring up.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Time is a great healer and people like me often come to appreciate and remember the time that we had with our parents and siblings - whether we were just playing together or planting a garden or fixing the roof - not the extra things that we didn’t have or the fact that we had to be careful with the resources we had. But there was also a sense of community and people being willing to reach out and help other people and share what they had, even if it wasn’t a lot…as GA2012Mom said, we were all in it together, and no one was going to be kicked to the curb just because they hit a rough patch. That’s one worry we, and you, haven’t had to bear! </p>
<p>As far as good values go, I think your mom has managed to raise a pretty terrific kid so far:) Even kids (and parents) from “the best of families” have problems with addictions and many resent their upbringing…in some cases it’s because they didn’t get everything they thought they deserved, but it seems like a lot kids are really unhappy because their parents don’t make much time for them. I think that everybody has something to overcome and that you can either let it make you bitter or you can use it to make life better for yourself and those you care about. And that often changes with time…it sounds as if your brother has been carrying a chip on his shoulder and he may decide to let that go, either now or in the future. I would let him know what’s going on with mom, with no real expectation that he’ll come to the rescue, and give him a new opportunity to decide. You just never know until you try…he might just come up with an idea to help his little sister, even if he’s mad at your mom.</p>
<p>Thanks for posting an update…I’ll continue sending prayers up for a great outcome for both you and your family and I hope you’ll come back and update us in the future!</p>
<p>I have been reading this thread, after seeing nattilee’s posts on a Swarthmore thread. I am the parent of 2 swarthmore students, and a Stanford alumnus myslef – and I gotta say, NEVER prouder to be associated with Stanford than now, after reading applicannot’s story here on this thread. I was in tears after reading nattilee’s postings on the Swarthmore thread, and now again after reading these here. Not because of the difficulties nattilee has faced (although those are significant), but because of the strength of spirit and depth of character she shows in each and every word she chooses - writing about her past, her family, and her dreams. I can really only speak for undergraduate admissions at Swarthmore, and Nattilee, they are competitive, but the real competition is for students with character, which is a lot harder to come by than high test scores and grades. I’m sure I can’t be the first person to tell you this, but you ROCK IT on all counts! Schools will be fighting for you, and will feel exceedingly pleased with themselves if YOU choose THEM! And I couldn’t agree more than, difficult as it is, you will be in the best position to help your family if you take advantage of the college opportunies that are already (thru Questbridge) coming your way and will (in the form of your future admission offers) come your way soon!</p>
<p>YOU GO GIRL!! You CAN do this!!!</p>
<p>You might want to check out The Sunshine Lady Foundation. This foundation created by Doris Buffet has scholarships. You might be a great candidate for this opportunity.</p>
<p>Checking in on Nattilee. Can you give us an update?</p>
<p>I will try to be brief so I don’t bore everyone to sleep!</p>
<p>So I have been astounded to the point of tears in the last couple of days. And I was thinking about all the people that I am forever grateful to, and a good chunk of those people are right here. I was at an extremely low point when I made this thread. I am not usually such a whiner 
but I am usually automatically a pessimist, unfortunately. And I don’t know what I would have done without all the truly encouraging and uplifting comments and advice I received here. So thank you, everyone, so so so so so much. I have read through this forum various times throughout these last 3 to 4 months and the comments have always helped to keep me going.</p>
<p>And the update- these last couple months have been insane. They have been terrible, exhausting, sad, hard, exhausting again, good, anxiety-making, and finally amazing. So, this is what happened where we left off. A family friend in need of a house actually asked to move in with us, and was willing to pay the whole mortgage every month. This help was coupled with the fact that we applied for and received food stamps and my mother received medicaid. It ended working out that I did not have to start working more, and I was able to pay for most bills out of pocket (I’m a waitress, so I live off tips:) ) without denting my savings much.</p>
<p>So that was good- we were making it. And I ended up getting most of my applications in. I applied to Northwestern, Amherst, Swarthmore, UVA, UPenn, Emory, and University of Richmond. However, during this time we also got the sad news. My mother was diagnosed with RA- Rheumatoid Arthritis. Very scary to know the cause of her pain is an actual disease. It was terrible when we first got the news. But now we’re starting to accept it and look on the bright side.</p>
<p>And finally, these last few days. I think to myself it must be a miracle. I was accepted to University of Richmond, UVA, and UPenn! I was also waitlisted at Swarthmore and rejected at Northwestern. I hear from Amherst and Emory tomorrow.</p>
<p>Right now I am deciding between UVA, which accepted me as an Echols Scholar!, and UPenn. Both have also practically given me full rides. My preliminary award at UVA is 200 dollars more than their estimated cost of attendance for next year (which includes tuition, fees, room, board, books and supplies, and personal expenses) ! My prelim award at UPenn is also extremely good, all they are expecting me to pay is 300 dollars a year. They are even waiving the enrollment deposit. I think it is going to be a really tough decision for me. If anyone has any advice on the decision I am to make, I will take it gladly!</p>
<p>Once again thank you to everyone, you have all helped me so much. And a special thanks to Pennforme (if you’re still on this forum somewhere!) for doing heavy damage control on my penn supplement, I know there was no way I would have gotten in if it weren’t for your help. I actually still can’t see how I got in, though, to Penn or as a UVA Echols Scholar! I think it must seriously be a miracle!! But it is so amazinggg!! >.<</p>
<p>Woohoo! Thanks for coming back and providing an update. This makes my day.</p>
<p>This is such great news and an awesome way to start the day! Please come back and let u sknow what you decide!!</p>
<p>Wonderful to hear you were able to follow through on the college apps and have such fine results!</p>
<p>It may not be entilrely smooth sailing the rest of the way, but you now have the opportunity to launch in a new direction. Best wishes to you on the journey.</p>
<p>Best news all week. Truly!</p>
<p>Wishing you much success!</p>
<p>nattilee, you are amazing. congratulations!!</p>
<p>It is so great to hear this news, and you already have amazing schools to choose from! Good luck!</p>
<p>I am so happy for you nattilee! Congratulations.</p>
<p>WaHoo! Congratulations to you Nattilee on the college acceptances; don’t think you can make a wrong choice there. And so glad to hear that the financial front at home has stabilized and that your mom has some answers for her health. It will be a weight off your shoulders to know that her situation is settled before you go off to school :)</p>
<p>nat, I’m curious – Did you go the Questbridge route?</p>