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Everything posted by Hoggirl

  1. We’ve done a major downsize. It’s fine for now, but if and when ds ever marries and he and his wife have some grandchildren for me, I’d like a third bedroom (our condo has 2 BR/2BA). The one thing I really miss is having a laundry room. Our condos don’t have in-unit washers and dryers, though there are several on-site within our complex. In fact, it is fewer steps from my bedroom here to the community laundry room than it was from the MBR to our laundry room in our last house. But, it’s still a pain, and you can’t do laundry in your bathrobe.. Dh knows I don’t like it, so he does all the laundry now. So, I’d wish for a third bedroom and a washer and dryer - stackable in a closet would be fine!
  2. I don’t know of one specifically, but I would search for one that mounts under the upper cabinets and has a swivel arm thingie.
  3. I’d start with thinking about your small appliances. I can’t stand to keep anything other than the Keurig on the counter, so my biggest challenge was minimizing and figuring out where to store small (which aren’t so small in a small kitchen) appliances. I ditched my food processor, my toaster oven, and my waffle iron. I had previously ditched my bread machine (a long time ago) and my Kitchen Aid mixer (because I just don’t bake a lot). I kept my Instant Pot, my George Foreman grill, immersion blender, hand mixer, and my Vitamix blender. Finding homes for small appliances was the most challenging. If you don’t mind having them on the counter, that’s probably less of an issue. With a small space, things looks cluttered in a hurry, so I do my best to keep counters as clear as possible. Beyond that, I had one large drawer that had a ton of utensils in it. It was quite a mess until I purchased some small flat containers at BB&B so I could categorize knives, spatulas, serving spoons, etc. I got four long ones, and two short ones so I could group these types of things by length as well. I store infrequently used bakeware up high in my cabinets. Anything that you can nest (casserole dishes, bowls, etc) will help. I have one skinny, tall cabinet to the right of my range which is very helpful for storing cookie sheets and cooling racks. ETA: I was fortunate to have one sort of odd, triangular-shaped cabinet that was pretty useless for anything OTHER than storing spices. It’s not in the most convenient place, so I do pull whatever I need for the recipe I am preparing before I start cooking. However, I’m glad to have it as it holds a lot, and I don’t have my spices commingled with anything else.
  4. This is likely not urgent, but if you are going to continue to provide health coverage for your kid, you will likely need to sign a waiver that you do not want the university-provided health insurance and provide some sort of documentation that your child is covered on your policy. If you don’t, they’ll bill you for health insurance. The waiver had to be signed every year, but we were only required to provide documentation before freshman year. I’m sure it varies between institutions.
  5. I like the Kuhl brand. You can get them at Title Nine. They come in several different lengths. I am NOT long-legged, but I am long-waisted. They also (I think) tend to run a bit small. I usually wear a size 2 on the bottom half, but I wear a size 4 in this brand. They also have capris. Here is a link to all of Title Nine’s shorts. You’ll find some of the Kuhl brand among them.
  6. My best advice (not that you asked for it) is to use neutral colors as your background (walls, floors, counters) and for the items that are most expensive (large furniture). Decide if you are cool neutral or warm neutral in your preference. You can gain interest by mixing textures within your neutral pallet. It’s easy to change out pillows and other accessories. We do have one accent wall that it is a vivid color in our MBR. Changing one wall of paint is easier than changing the entire room. Most of the color in our home is from pillows and our art. I am not crafty at all. There is a big difference between crafty and craftsmanship. We are pretty minimalist here, and I don’t care for lots of decorative items as they simply tend to mean more dusting. I do have a few. Accessories are kind of like jewelry in that they provide a finishing touch. However, I like fewer, larger pieces. My mom was the queen of clustering small collectibles. Not for me. Somewhere I read that home accessories should always be the size of a cantaloupe or larger! My kitchen counters have the Keurig, soap and paper towels by the sink, a fruit bowl, and one small, wooden tray with a pitcher of flowers, a little bird, and a decorative calendar in a frame. For a long time, I didn’t even have the tray, but it was too sterile-looking - even for me.
  7. ^okay, I think that is awful! They should at least let them do the essay first!
  8. ^I thought only kids who didn’t take the essay had the extra questions/section?? An extra section wasn’t a thing on the ACT when ds took it. It was on the SAT, but I don’t think you knew which section was experimental. You could figure out whether it was math or reading or (back then) writing based on the total number of sections after it was over, but tha was it. Aren’t the practice ones all tacked on the end now?? I don’t get how that helps the testing agencies. I mean, the kids know they don’t count now, right? So what is the incentive to do well? How can either the ACT or SAT get a good read on how the questions are??? Maybe i am mid understanding how it works. I’m curious, for sure.
  9. @klmama - here is what the National Merit website says about commended scholars (coped and pasted): Commended Students are named on the basis of a nationally applied Selection Index score that may vary from year to year and is typically below the level required for participants to be named Semifinalists in their respective states. Although Commended Students do not continue in the competition for National Merit® Scholarships, some of these students do become candidates for Special Scholarships sponsored by corporations and businesses. There is a national cutoff for commended. Approximately 2/3 of the 50,000 (around 34,000) remain at commended level. Approximately 16,000 move on.
  10. @Arch at Home - yes. That’s what I thought you had meant. Just wanted to be sure. Thank you!
  11. @Arch at Home - can you please elaborate just a bit. I’m having a hard time following what you are saying. I may need more coffee!
  12. @mom1720 - The way your information is asked for seems much more reasonable and thorough to me. It’s hard for me to understand why all schools wouldn’t be as specific as yours. Since I haven’t seen what Yale asked on its forms, I can only go by what she is telling me which was that she was asked about any siblings and had the option of including costs. She did not fill the cost part out. I would assume (though many of my assumptions have clearly been false!) that their award information for Yale for the younger’s freshman year would have then been the same, or at least much closer to what they are saying her sophomore - senior years will be. That likely would have saved many months (she was accepted SCEA) of angst and hand-wringing. As would her understanding of how outside scholarships would be applied when they were seeing their NPC numbers. Sigh.
  13. They did. They told her what they spit out for them to pay this year would double after the older graduates. She talked to them. I feel like I failed my friend. I asked over and over again if they were comfortable with what they were seeing on NPCs. “We’ll make it work.” It’s so hard to press when personal finances are involved. 😢
  14. Ugh. Remember my friend whose daughter got into Yale? They have an older daughter and she and the younger will overlap in college one year. Yale told her what the family will have to contribute will double for younger daughter’s sophomore - senior years. I understand that, but Mom only indicated that there would be another child in college next year and did not indicate what they are paying for the older sister. She said providing the amount was optional, and she didn’t fill it out. They pay $0 for older because she is on a full-ride at an in-state school (not the flagship). So, did Yale make an assumption as to the amount they are paying? Knowing that there is a kid who overlaps in and of itself doesn’t tell Yale anything. The family could be paying anywhere between $0 and $70,000 per year for older daughter. Why is that question “optional”??? So, now they feel they cannot justify that much money at all, and the daughter is looking at her other options. And, they are all bummed. Thanks for sticking with me. I have no personal experience with financial aid at all. I have learned a lot through her journey. I wish I had more specifics on their personal finances, but it’s just too personal to ask.
  15. I sent you a pm, OP. We’ve been through this process in L.A.
  16. No personal experience as ds dropped Latin when he entered his charter school as they did not offer it. I did find this book however. It seems to have mixed reviews?? HTH I also found this: Again, no idea how useful these resources are. I am just googling around.
  17. I do have one friend who says, “It’s an asking world.” Idk the answer. She spoke to someone in the financial aid office.
  18. Agree with others about visiting the career services office. Also, depending on what is covered/required in her particular program of Econ, I would encourage adding on some additional quant/statistics/math/data analysis classes. Math skills can be a key differentiator for employment, in particular. Can’t hurt for grad school either. On the scholarship money - as long as she goes full-time, does she still receive that? I understand the idea of not wanting to take classes just for the sake of taking classes, but broadening her skill base might be helpful in the long run. Lastlly, I would spend a lot of time researching the LSE to understand what they are looking for if that is the end goal. Depending on where she is currently enrolled, there may be little to no knowledge on her campus about it.
  19. @*LC - yes, it is a relief. As I had written, without knowing concrete numbers, it was hard to be of of too much help. As I wrote, their lack of understanding of how outside scholarships would be applied was the confusion for them. I’m sure they said, “If you get the Coca-Cola,” we can make it work. The good news is that she can use it for ten years. They are going to investigate if they can apply it toward loans at the end. I was very clear with dh that if we were not willing to pay full-freight somewhere, that needed to be communicated from the get-go to ds and that we shouldn’t let ds apply to schools where price was more than we would be comfortable with. Having clear conversations and understanding the process from the get-go is vitally important!
  20. Thanks for all the advice! I learned a bit more, and things aren’t as “tight” as I imagined. If they continuing working at the camp for four more years, they can make it work with only federal loans and no help needed from grandma. They really want this for their daughter, so I think that is how they will proceed.
  21. Well, unfortunately, I learned today that a student from her high school with whom she has had significant challenges has decided to matriculate there. I don’t knwo the ins and outs of it, but it sounds pretty bad, and now she doesn’t want to go there because he will be there??? Hadn’t considered that retirement stream would then be counted. Gosh, there’s apparently no escape. I feel so bad for them. She chose to do a competitive scholarships competition weekend at Oxford at Emory this weekend instead of one at WashU that conflicted. She received full tuition there but didn’t really like it?? Too small? She was also accepted to Emory, but no merit there. Then they learned that WashU would have allowed them to stack her outside scholarships and not reduce her awards! 😩 I just don’t think they have done enough research along the way. I have given advice, but only as asked, and it’s certainly delicate because it involves personal finances.
  22. They are the ones in the weird situation where their housing is provided at the camp where Dad works, Dad is close to retiring (several years older than mom, and he’s over 65), and they don’t currently own a house, but have money set aside to buy one. I’m sitting here wondering what would happen to their fin aid package if dd deferred a year, he accelerated his retirement (was looking to in another year or year and a half anyway), and they bought a house. I’m really grasping because I don’t know specific numbers at all. Grandma has not been specific with numbers either. Ugh. I’m so stressed FOR my friend!
  23. What do you mean by “taxable threshold”? ETA: So you are saying as long as grandma only gives $15,000 to each parent, that amount is not reported on the FAFSA? Is that what you mean? Thanks for hanging with me! I’m wondering if grandma gives the money to the parents and then they use it to pay it’s not there (in assets) when the FAFSA is filed. CSS is filed every year, too, correct?
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