<p>New Haven is fine, gas-wise. Still cleaning up some tree mess around Yale, but just minor lane closures, nothing major and they might be done by the time you get here. The other areas, I’m not sure about.</p>
<p>A friend told me yesterday that people from areas that are experiencing gas shortages are coming as far north as New Haven County to fill up… don’t know if that’s true but if anything I would guess it might mean a short wait at the pump. As of yesterday most businesses seem to have their power back on, and stores had plenty of ice last night. Our power came on after 9 last night (heat is a beautiful thing) – lots of people still out, and apparently really crazy drivers are out in force taking down even more power lines, but the power companies seem to be making good progress. You might not have such an easy time finding gas between Nj and Westchester County, though… Don’t know but I can check with family who live in Westchester if you like.</p>
<p>P.S. talked to my mother who said that Westchester is still very chaotic with long lines for gas.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. I can make it to Yale on a tank of gas, so as long as I can fill up there, I should be okay. My sister, near Newark, NJ, waited three hours on line yesterday for gas - she said it got ugly.</p>
<p>I also double-checked on the situation around here (i.e. New Haven) – no problems here at all. The problem in Westchester is that Con Ed has prioritized NYC, so businesses ioutside the city in many cases don’t have power back yet… But I would think the situation would change pretty quickly once you hit CT, which has different power companies.</p>
<p>I see that Yale has sent a bill for spring semester tuition, room and board, due December 3. I want to pay this bill with funds from a 529 plan account. Will the 1098-T that Yale sends include the spring semester on the 2012 form so that my withdrawals from the 529 Plan and what is reported on the 1098-T will match up? Or since the spring semester is in 2013, will they report the payment on the 1098-T for 2013?
Thanks.</p>
<p>Yale chooses to report what is BILLED from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31 of a year on 1098-T, not to report what Yale actually RECEIVED from you (i.e., what you pay) in that year on 1098-T.</p>
<p>So, yes, the 1098-T that Yale sends will include the spring semester on the 2012 form (which you will receive in Jan/Feb of 2013) for the tax year 2012 for which you file your tax return by Apr 15, 2013.</p>
<p>In the year you graduate, there may be need-based Yale Scholarship (if you have received some FA) but zero qualified education expense reported on the 1098-T.</p>
<p>I remember we actually chose Yale Payment Plan in DS’s last year in order to overcome this problem. It helped only a little (I think only 2 payments out of 10 payments were made in the spring of the graduation year. Ideally, it would be better if 5 payments were made in the spring of the graduation year.) Also, we need to keep the payment record in case we were audited by IRS.</p>
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<p>This disjunct was my concern, that’s why starting the first year I always used actual figures rather than the 1098T numbers and matched both tuition/fees and grant aid for the calendar year. Of course like mcat2, I kept detailed records incase I was ever audited.</p>
<p>I learned that the Yale v Harvard game will be televised on NBC Sports Network on 11/17.</p>
<p>[The</a> Ivy League Announuces Its 2012 Football Television Schedule : The Ivy League](<a href=“http://www.ivyleaguesports.com/sports/fball/2011-12/releases/The_Ivy_League_Announces_Its_2012_Football_Television_Schedule]The”>http://www.ivyleaguesports.com/sports/fball/2011-12/releases/The_Ivy_League_Announces_Its_2012_Football_Television_Schedule)</p>
<p>My daughter is reporting that the food in the colleges has gone downhill - that it was great at the beginning of the semester, but now it is just awful. She says that all the colleges serve the same food and that the differences are only in things like the flavor of ice cream.</p>
<p>Has anyone else’s kid complained? Is she just homesick and stressed out, to the point that all the food looks bad? That’s what we’re thinking - that its not the food that has changed, but that she’s changed (or at least her frame of mind has changed).</p>
<p>Any thoughts?</p>
<p>I haven’t heard complaints about the quality. I did hear some weeks ago that my kid was hungry because the dining hall closes early and the late-night food available tends to be greasy. I sent him some staples through Amazon. I imagine we’ll get a better sense of what is going on over Thanksgiving.</p>
<p>I’m a little concerned that my son is not paying attention to getting to and from The Game. He needs to get back to NH that night so he can catch a shuttle to JFK the next day. Will there be a bus that he rides there and back?</p>
<p>Yes, YCC offered bus trips to the game leaving Friday evening and returning at 5 pm on Saturday. About $20 each way, I believe.</p>
<p>No complaints on the JE food. Although as long as they offer Nutella, my gourmet kid wouldn’t have any complaints…</p>
<p>We haven’t heard any complaints about changes in the food, either. And I think the colleges always have essentially the same food–they publish a university-wide menu every day.</p>
<p>^^ While the food essentially remains the same, all colleges do not have the same food options. For example, Morse and Stiles have a brick oven pizzeria, while other colleges do not.</p>
<p>So if the bus leaves on Friday and returns Saturday, where do they sleep Friday night?</p>
<p>If your son or daughter does not know someone to stay with at Harvard, they can stay at one of Harvard College’s residential houses: <a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard–Yale_sister_colleges[/url]”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard–Yale_sister_colleges</a></p>
<p>If you’re ever curious about what’s on the menu at Yale, you can always check out the Buzz section on the Yale Daily News website. For example, here’s today: [Tuesday’s</a> Buzz: 11.13.12 | Cross Campus](<a href=“http://yaledailynews.com/crosscampus/2012/11/12/tuesdays-buzz-11-13-12/]Tuesday’s”>Tuesday's Buzz: 11.13.12 - Yale Daily News)</p>
<p>Thanks for the menu link - my daughter read that to us the other day on the phone and she said it was all terrible. I’m reading it now and it all sounds pretty good. I think she’s just stressed out.</p>
<p>About The Game - she’s going on the bus Friday night and staying at TD’s sister house at Harvard. Do you know if they can take backpacks into the football game? If not, where should she leave her stuff so that she can get it before the bus leaves for NH at 5:00? Does anyone have any recent experience with this?</p>
<p>D has not really liked the food from day 1. She is not a finicky eater and has a broad palate. Just feels that the food is too bland or too boring. We tended to go out to eat a lot at home and have many different types of ethnic foods when we went out. Notes that the food selection is better in the commons but the walk is too far. Maybe will start cooking food in the rc kitchens??</p>
<p>DS said he will probably stay in a common room at the “sister” residential hall at Harvard. I have no idea what he will sleep on but that’s what being young is for. He seems to be figuring it out.</p>