Miss Tequila
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Post by Miss Tequila on Sept 18, 2012 8:31:48 GMT -5
I'm confused as to why you think you are going to be paying for your girls' college...we have thread after thread from both you and loop bragging on how those are the smartest little buggers to ever live....I should think they would score a scholarship.
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Formerly SK
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Post by Formerly SK on Sept 18, 2012 8:47:12 GMT -5
Get your girls good in some sport so that they get scholarships. Even golf. Colleges have to have female athletes. DD got offered a swimming and a golf one. She's a better swimmer than golfer but not bad at either one. She chose not to go to that college, jerk, but still, she was offered. Find an odd sport that the college needs athletes for and get them good at it. I'm curious about this (I wasn't an athlete at a kid). DD (6yo) is wanting to do more gymnastics and I can easily see it turning into a $400-500/mo sport. Of course, everyone goes on and on about the possible scholarships. But doesn't the cost of the sport outweigh the scholarship? $400/mo for 12 years is over 57K. And I'm guessing not every school has a gymnastics program so it's not like I could send her to the local (cheaper) U. Are other sports different, or am I just not seeing how a sports scholarship benefits someone financially?
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jeffreymo
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Post by jeffreymo on Sept 18, 2012 8:54:52 GMT -5
I have a different mindset when it comes to the timing of purchases. If I forecast that I'm going to need to buy x, y, and z within the next 4 years, I start saving for all of them. Whether I buy x in year 2, y in year 3 and z in year 4 or make all of the purchases in year 4 doesn't matter to me. When we bought our house 5 years ago we knew it would need some work. I had the money to paint it in year 2, had the money for a new driveway in year 3, and had the money for a deck back in April. This year from April thru August we attacked all these projects. I never thought "Well I know I will have to replace the deck in year 5 so I better get the house painted as soon as possible".
For your particular predicament you could make a "car payment to yourself" right now so that when the cars crap out and you have college expenses at the same time, you won't have a car payment to go along with them (because you'll be buying with cash). I worry about college expenses as well even though we're 14 years away from encountering it. I almost think that we'd be better off not to overprepare - if the money's not there, our son will have to be more resourceful and might learn more than the kid who has their parents funding everything.
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midjd
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Post by midjd on Sept 18, 2012 9:30:04 GMT -5
My sister was a competitive gymnast from age 5 to 14-15. A couple of her teammates went on to get scholarships (one to UVA, one to ASU). The problem is that due to the nature of the sport and the rigorous training, a lot of the girls get injured around age 16 (usually when they're going through puberty and trying to adjust to their new height/build). For the two girls who got scholarships, there were probably half a dozen who were just as good but had ACL tears, dislocated shoulders, and similar injuries and were benched for the recruitment season. It's always possible - but I wouldn't approach the time commitment and expense of gymnastics in the hope that your DD will get a scholarship. It's probably a 1% chance or less. Do it because she loves it. OTOH, my brother was a very good golfer and of his team of 6, at least 1 got a full ride and another 2 got pretty good scholarships. And many fewer injuries I think some sports are more conducive to scholarships than others.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Sept 18, 2012 9:48:18 GMT -5
Stay away from gymnastics and girls softball, a dime a dozen. Go for something unique, crewe, swim, golf , especially golf. Tennis even but thes a lot of those as well. My bets on golf.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Sept 18, 2012 9:56:05 GMT -5
The chances of getting an acedemic scholarship are far, far greater than getting a sports scholarship. And you are more likely to get an acedemic scholarship to the college of your choice - but you might only get a golf scholarship to Iowa State or D'Youville or whatever place/school where you do not want to spend 4 years.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2012 9:58:14 GMT -5
In all honesty, the chances of Dark and Loop becoming completely broke resulting in their girls getting need based help, is the most likely scenario.
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midjd
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Post by midjd on Sept 18, 2012 9:58:59 GMT -5
It seems like there are a lot of math/science scholarships targeted to girls, and not a huge pool of potential applicants...
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Sept 18, 2012 9:59:58 GMT -5
A friend has a top ranked high school girls soccer player. She spend almost $10k per year on that gal - she's in a traveling club. $10k x 10 years = $100,000. I don't think putting kids in athletics in order to force them to pay for their own college is really the best way to go about it. Especially because at the end of year 6 you might realize that your child isn't that good, and a scholarship isn't coming. Your kids will make their own way. If they are motivated enough to become a college level athlete, then you can support that. But counting on it makes you an idiot.
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973beachbum
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Post by 973beachbum on Sept 18, 2012 10:39:16 GMT -5
In all honesty, the changes of Dark and Loop becoming completely broke resulting in their girls getting need based help, is the most likely scenario. I was thinking the same thing.
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swamp
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Post by swamp on Sept 18, 2012 10:43:20 GMT -5
Get your girls good in some sport so that they get scholarships. Even golf. Colleges have to have female athletes. DD got offered a swimming and a golf one. She's a better swimmer than golfer but not bad at either one. She chose not to go to that college, jerk, but still, she was offered. Find an odd sport that the college needs athletes for and get them good at it. DIII schools cannot give sports scholarships, only DI, and do you realize teh time commitment competing at the DI level takes? I competed DIII and it was 2 hours a day and meets on weekends. I was offered DI money to swim in college, but I didn't want my entire college existence to be in the pool and the weight room. Also, if you get hurt, and swimmers are notorious for blowing their shoulders, the money dries up. Not everyone has the drive or ability to be a DI athlete.
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swamp
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Post by swamp on Sept 18, 2012 10:44:42 GMT -5
A friend has a top ranked high school girls soccer player. She spend almost $10k per year on that gal - she's in a traveling club. $10k x 10 years = $100,000. I don't think putting kids in athletics in order to force them to pay for their own college is really the best way to go about it. Especially because at the end of year 6 you might realize that your child isn't that good, and a scholarship isn't coming. Your kids will make their own way. If they are motivated enough to become a college level athlete, then you can support that. But counting on it makes you an idiot.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Sept 18, 2012 10:45:33 GMT -5
Just a thought. There's a lot of smart people so have something that sets you apart.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Sept 18, 2012 10:47:27 GMT -5
I didn't have a ton of money. If you have a good athlete, which I did, she swam and golfed in HS for free. Summer swim team cost maybe 300 bucks.
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swamp
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Post by swamp on Sept 18, 2012 10:48:07 GMT -5
Just a thought. There's a lot of smart people so have something that sets you apart. There are a lot of good athletes out there too, but not all of them have the ability to compete at DI level. They may have the physical ability, but they don't have that mental edge you need.
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swamp
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Post by swamp on Sept 18, 2012 10:48:40 GMT -5
I didn't have a ton of money. If you have a good athlete, which I did, she swam and golfed in HS for free. Summer swim team cost maybe 300 bucks. To get to DI, you're going to have to do more than the school free program.
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973beachbum
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Post by 973beachbum on Sept 18, 2012 10:56:52 GMT -5
I didn't have a ton of money. If you have a good athlete, which I did, she swam and golfed in HS for free. Summer swim team cost maybe 300 bucks. To get to DI, you're going to have to do more than the school free program. There are also a lot of restrictions. Many schools wont give out scholarships if the person doesn't also qualify with financial need. I know two who would have gotten a sports scholarship but since their parents were midd/upper class with the income the school wouldn't approve it.
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alabamagal
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Post by alabamagal on Sept 18, 2012 11:24:25 GMT -5
Lol, Dark - I thought you were asking how frequently you'll have to replace the cars that your kids will total! At least one will, you know (BTDT). If you have more cars than 2 (1 each for you and Loop), the others will automatically be assumed by the insurance company to belong to your kids. You'll pay much higher rates when they have their own cars as teens. I like the "save up cash and buy new(er) cars before the girls go to college" plan. There are 2 different time windows you have to keep in mind regarding the FAFSA. Assets are reported as of the day you fill out the FAFSA, so up until you fill it out you can make changes to your assets. Your income, however is reported from the previous year's tax return, so looks back to the middle of the kid's junior year. It may depend on state laws, but for me it was much better to have an old car that is theirs to drive rather than having them listed on my insurance. The insurance kicks in as soon as the teen gets a DL. We delayed on kid getting DL, but when he did the insurance went up ~$90 per month, and it was assumed he was driving my ~6 year old Ford truck, which had collision coverage. When we bought him a 25 year old vehicle for $800, no collision coverage, our insurance actually went DOWN $20 per month.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Sept 18, 2012 11:26:46 GMT -5
Well, that's true. I was a schoolteacher so I didn't make much money. Unlike those Chicago ones, huh? But DD was offered two different scholarships at the same school so I felt they must be hurting for female athletes. She chose to not go to that school because I wanted her to, good reputation, family went there. None of that was good enough for her.
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Sum Dum Gai
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Post by Sum Dum Gai on Sept 18, 2012 14:00:10 GMT -5
Stanford doesn't offer academic scholarships. The only scholarships from the school trust are for athletics. It's just assumed that everyone going is smart, has great SAT scores, etc.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Sept 18, 2012 14:01:15 GMT -5
So then, you need that edge. Golf is best.
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swamp
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Post by swamp on Sept 18, 2012 14:02:44 GMT -5
So then, you need that edge. Golf is best. Do you have any idea how much it costs to become a good enough golfer to play DI?
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Sept 18, 2012 14:04:52 GMT -5
If you have athletic ability encourage it wisely. Channel it.
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Sum Dum Gai
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Post by Sum Dum Gai on Sept 18, 2012 14:05:09 GMT -5
If I was going to put the girls in a sport strictly for scholarship money it would be fencing or rowing. Hardly anybody does those two sports, and the schools with teams seem to be more prestigious universities. I've heard too many other parents talking about how rare female golfers are over the last several years, so I imagine in the next 5-10 years you'll start seeing a lot more of them.
In all honesty though, putting your kids in a sport just for scholarship money sounds pretty dumb to me. With the odds of it actually working out, you might as well just buy lotto tickets.
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swamp
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Post by swamp on Sept 18, 2012 14:09:22 GMT -5
Enrolling a kid in a sport with the intention of the kid being awarded a scholarship to pay for college is way too much pressure on the kid.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Sept 18, 2012 14:20:10 GMT -5
DD loved both and was good at both. Her personality is such that you couldn't make her do anything she doesn't want to do. Which is why she doesn't take voice lessons. . If I had a voice like hers, I'd be on American idol.
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swamp
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Post by swamp on Sept 18, 2012 14:21:03 GMT -5
Which makes her uncoachable and not suitable for high level competition.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Sept 18, 2012 14:28:00 GMT -5
She's coach able if she's interested.. I tried to get her into girls softball and soccer. Zero interest. Tennis, no thank you. She likes and excels at swim and golf. Her golf instructor was the club pro and he told me to keep her going because she'd be a shoe in. A girl that wasn't as smart or as talented took the scholarship to UF that could have been hers.
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8 Bit WWBG
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Post by 8 Bit WWBG on Sept 18, 2012 14:32:18 GMT -5
...:::"Seals/belts/hoses drying up with age and that type of thing.":::...
I was told that starting around 2007, hoses and seals were more commonly being made out of kevlar, rather than rubber, which should last considerably longer.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Sept 18, 2012 14:35:40 GMT -5
Figures, my Toyota is a 2005.
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