GrreatTeacher

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Posts by GrreatTeacher

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  15

  Proud Parent - My son just got accepted to the University of Maryland!

  by GrreatTeacher in

  1. social
  2. family

  i'm so proud of my son.

  he has persevered through 2 years of community college.

  three of those semesters were at home because covid19 shut in person classes.

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  GrreatTeacher

  Thanks, Biahi. It means a lot.

  Actually, thanks for sharing the numbers. That is a biggie and makes people, eg exJWs think that college isn't affordable.

  The fact is that you just have to learn to navigate the system.

  My sister got kicked out when she was DFd and came to live with me. Financial Aid requires that parents submit their income to determine financial aid amounts and this applies at least to the age of 24, I think. My father refused to cooperate, so my sister went to the school's financial aid department and interviewed about being declared an independent student. She told her story and ultimately succeeded. She got student loans and maybe some grants that allowed her to finish all 4 years.

  If you're very poor, you will get grants that don't need to be repayed, but coming up with that last couple thousand dollars scares some people away. And if you're very poor, it might indeed be difficult to come up with an extra grand or so.

  Middle income families likely won't get grants, but should have most of it covered by student loans.

  Above maybe $60,000, and parents are suddenly expected to contribute a lot more out of pocket. Then, after a certain threshold, the student might get some small loans.

  Where you can really get ahead is with scholarships. This can be a large unknown for people. My advice is to go to the college financial aid office where you wish to enroll and ask about scholarships that might be available!

  My son entered a freshman program at community college for at risk (for dropping out) students. He qualified because of his ADHD diagnosis. It was a forced interaction with Guidance and Financial Aid. He learned about so many scholarships that I never had a clue about. He would often get calls about scholarships they thought he should apply to, and, though often only a few hundred dollars, it really helped.

  This information is available to anyone, but you have to ask! Go make yourself known at Financial Aid. They're there to help!
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  50

  Woke Oscars cringe

  by LoveUniHateExams in

  1. social
  2. current

  actors' acceptance speeches have often been a little dodgy - viewers don't care what political or social views actors may have, we typically appreciate actors acting well.. this year's oscars awards ceremony seems to be going above and beyond, however.. here's frances mcdormand's acceptance speech, in which she dedicates her victory to 'our wolf' and then howls like a bitch, lol.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-_be0awgwk.

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  GrreatTeacher

  I wasn't aware Shawshank Redemption failed at the box office.

  My neighbor got a disc in the mail from Netflix back in the 1990s and that thing got passed around the entire neighborhood.

  Great movie. Everybody loved it.
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  15

  Proud Parent - My son just got accepted to the University of Maryland!

  by GrreatTeacher in

  1. social
  2. family

  i'm so proud of my son.

  he has persevered through 2 years of community college.

  three of those semesters were at home because covid19 shut in person classes.

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  GrreatTeacher

  Thanks, all!

  iXav, those are not student loan amounts. He so far has qualified for only $2,000 in student loans.

  We have to come up with the rest of the money ourselves!

  We will probably apply for PLUS loans ( Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students ) but my credit is not good because of my own student loans.

  Then, the next option is a home equity loan or home equity line of credit which is not optimal because it puts your house on the line.

  My husband is not working since he had shoulder surgery and is on temporary disability, so that will affect our ability to borrow most likely.

  I do not believe that laws allow us to use retirement accounts for education expenses. Also, in general, you never want to touch your retirement. That should take precedence above anything else.

  We do have a little money saved in a savings account, and my son will work this summer to try to save up some money.

  It will be a challenge, not the least because he will not be finished in 2 years. Maybe 3 years, but if things go very well, 2 and a half years.
• 
  15

  Proud Parent - My son just got accepted to the University of Maryland!

  by GrreatTeacher in

  1. social
  2. family

  i'm so proud of my son.

  he has persevered through 2 years of community college.

  three of those semesters were at home because covid19 shut in person classes.

  1. 
  2. 
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  GrreatTeacher

  I'm so proud of my son. He has persevered through 2 years of community college. Three of those semesters were at home because Covid19 shut in person classes. This was a difficult transition, but I was home to help and he succeeded after much hard work! Community college is a great transition to university and living away from home.

  I'm extra proud that the University of Maryland has accepted him because it has become a selective university within the last decade. The average grade point average of a high school senior is a 4.1! He did well in high school, with a B average, but not well enough for the flagship state university.

  However, his community college work has earned him a 3.5 and has proven that he can excel in college level coursework and he got in through the back door! The transfer student door. Plus, community college was much less expensive, only about $5000 a year.

  UMD costs about $11,000 a year which isn't terrible, but room and board is more than tuition at $13,000! So about $24,000 for an in state school. It's no different at less selective state universities either because he was accepted to another and it was about the same.

  He was also accepted to Penn State, but out of state tuition is really unaffordable. We got an acceptance offer at $39,000.

  He has a few small scholarships that will roll over for four years and has applied and was interviewed for a big boy worth about $9,000, but it is competitive. He is applying for anything he can get his hands on.

  This is even more poignant for me because he was a firecracker as a kid and school was not easy. I regularly got calls from teachers in elementary school. He finally got diagnosed with ADHD (no surprise - his father and I both probably had it, we had similar school behavior, but there was no diagnosis back then). And also anxiety disorder, but with appropriate treatment and help from the schools, with a 504 plan, he has succeeded! He works extra hard for it, but he has done it!

  This means I have scaffolded things for him and have been handing over responsibility to him steadily. He now keeps up with school deadlines, plans out his assignments, works part time and volunteers on weekends. He gets himself up and fed every morning. He is responsible about going to sleep at a decent time. He has maintained personal hygiene without prompting, but has given up doing his laundry. He will have to figure that out when living on campus!

  So proud of him and so glad he is getting his degree directly after high school.
• 
  50

  Woke Oscars cringe

  by LoveUniHateExams in

  1. social
  2. current

  actors' acceptance speeches have often been a little dodgy - viewers don't care what political or social views actors may have, we typically appreciate actors acting well.. this year's oscars awards ceremony seems to be going above and beyond, however.. here's frances mcdormand's acceptance speech, in which she dedicates her victory to 'our wolf' and then howls like a bitch, lol.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-_be0awgwk.

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  GrreatTeacher

  The last time I went to a movie theater was many years ago when my kid wanted to see a must see cartoon movie.

  Every place was sold out until we finally found a small town movie theater about 25 miles away.

  We slid in after the previews started and settled in. I told my kid to sit still and stop kicking me. He said he didn't. Then it happened again. I was ready to let him have it when he told me it happened to him too!

  Our eyes got used to the light and what we saw was MICE darting around and eating the leftover popcorn! And running over our feet!

  We tucked our feet up under ourselves on the seat and watched that damn movie, and I have never gone back into a movie theater again!
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  15

  Do JWs now allow some gambling?

  by mickbobcat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i had seen a video evens did where he said that jws now say if you gambling for entertainment its ok. anyone have any link to the cult actually in print or video saying this?.

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  GrreatTeacher

  No. You probably still can't buy lotto tickets, but now it's totally acceptable to play bingo with all the blue hairs at the fire hall. 😁
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  23

  DPA Blood ASAP

  by manicmama in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am in need of the current copy of the newest dpa blood card as some of the jw's in my mothers congregation are asking about if she signed the latest copy after she passed today.

  i am curious as to why they are asking about this specifically and not offering condolences on the loss of my mother.

  there has been some shady interactions leading to my mother requesting me to talk to certain elders to request that certain people not interact with her further.

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  GrreatTeacher

  Jeezus! This isn't going to fly when my parents pass.

  They're going to get called out on their offensive behavior and told in no uncertain terms to fuck off.

  If they want to know who the executor is and whether they're getting anything, they can petition the probate court like any other buzzard looking for freebies they didn't earn.

  Damn, this is so offensive.
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  35

  Over population

  by mickbobcat in

  1. social
  2. current

  so i see some very counter intuitive videos on how there is no over population issue.

  that the world will grow to about 11 billion and stop.

  well that would be the first time in human history that population just stopped.

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  GrreatTeacher

  I live in chicken farm territory and can confirm chicken growing conditions. The big companies have bought up most of the small family farms. It's sad.

  Some farms, however, are now solar farms with fields full of solar panels. It's a bizarre looking crop, but it sure smells better than the chicken farms!
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  24

  The choice of being alone has never been clearer.

  by pistolpete in

  1. social
  2. current

  something i've noticed is that marriage was the thing for those born before 2010. but today's culture of divorce laws slanted to favor women has forced men to think carefully before signing the marriage certificate.

  most of my friends have no intentions of getting married.

  all of them have gotten vasectomies, so there is no chance of being blamed for a pregnancy.

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  GrreatTeacher

  I understand the frustration of losing monetarily in a divorce. That would suck really bad.

  But some men gain by getting married. My husband owned a car which he paid over 30 days late every month. That was it.

  I started paying his car payment on time. We started putting money away in 401k's for retirement and bought our first house by the time he was 24 and I was 21 when I realized that the rent I was paying was greater than a mortgage payment would be. I found a first time buyers program, saved up about $1200 and we bought a house that we flipped 4 years later for a $20,000 profit to put down on a larger house. That was in the '90s.

  My husband was 23 when we got married, lived at home with mom and dad and paid his only asset, his car payment, late every month. I have every reason to believe, and he even admits, that things would have remained that way for him for a long time had I not come along.

  Now he's 51 and looking to retire in about 10 years, though I'll work longer. We both have investments and should be able to enjoy retirement. He does work his ass off. His ADHD keeps him busy all the time. But, I'm the brains behind this operation. He admits that he would've drank and partied his paycheck away and died young if he had stayed single. He marveled when he turned 50 because he said he never expected to live this long.

  But, obviously you have to be compatible too.
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  24

  The choice of being alone has never been clearer.

  by pistolpete in

  1. social
  2. current

  something i've noticed is that marriage was the thing for those born before 2010. but today's culture of divorce laws slanted to favor women has forced men to think carefully before signing the marriage certificate.

  most of my friends have no intentions of getting married.

  all of them have gotten vasectomies, so there is no chance of being blamed for a pregnancy.

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  GrreatTeacher

  I mean, I don't really care what younger people are doing, but I must say that my marriage is one of the least stressful things in my life.

  Our worst issue is the what's for dinner, who's cooking problem which isn't more than a minor irritation.

  I've always wondered why people say marriage takes work because ours doesn't. It's easy and comfortable.

  To me, if you have to work that hard at it, you've made the wrong choice of partner.

  But I really don't care if other people don't want to get married.