Continuing the discussion from Parents of the HS Class of 2016 (Part 1) - #26760 by psychmomma.
Previous discussions:
Itās looking like S will finish his masters remote just like bachelors. First quarter has been over for a week. Classes for winter quarter have been selected. I sure hope that they will hold commencement in 2021. If not that will make it 2 commencements misses 
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Like almost all schools, kiddo had a virtual graduation in May. She got into a 3+2 BA+ masterās program so her post-grad plans have already been spoken for.
God-willing her Masterās degree graduation will happen in-person in May. If not, then we fully understand but will be disappointed nonetheless. At this point, Iām thinking itāll be limited to a couple guests per student. However, that still wouldnāt make sense between all the undergrad and grad students (the university does all at one time) with a limited number of guests each still equals several thousand clustered in one area.
She had only 1 in-person course last semester and will have only 1 this semester.
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Same with our S - no commencement for his BS but weāre hoping for a ceremony for his MS this June. Fingers crossed 
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Have any of you with 2020 college grads tackled the āare they a dependent for 2020 tax filing?ā yet?
My D lives at home (thank you Covid) but even throughout college paid for her personal expenses. She writes me a hefty check every month for reimbursement for anything charged on our joint credit card and for her car payment, insurance, etc. TBH, we thought sheād have moved out and we would have transferred all this to her accounts at that time. but since sheās still basically working the same as she has all along, and still living here, we just never changed the automatic payments from my checking accounts.
Her car was purchased (in both our names) with the intention of her leaving home with it but now I drive it more than she does, but sheās paying the full payment, made the $5K down payment, etc.
Anyway, in my opinion, she has paid at least 1/2 her support and I have heard that perhaps she will be eligible to receive stimulus payments not previously received. I do want to be careful and have proper documentation etc. Looking at her checks to me, sheās paid me over $13K in 2020 and Iām tackling the questions like āwhat is fair rent for our family homeā etc.
Anybody know where there is really good / detailed info on all this? Since Dās tuition in 2020 was about $8 K (for her last semester - wow! did her tuition costs rise over the 4 years) it is making the numbers (using rough estimates) very close. So, obviously Iām going to have to nitpick and find as many actual #s as I can. Unfortunately, Iām not the type that kept a detailed / strict budget and tracked every grocery purchase for 2020.
Technically, D is self employed (with 2 businesses) and we struggled our way through her tax returns last year. Think we may need significant help this year. Unfortunately, her income is extremely low compared to what it should have been (again - thank you Covid). So, Iām trying to help however I can.
I really feel like these grads got screwed over all the way around in this situation. I know my D didnāt qualify for unemployment (underemployment) and I feel that she should have, no graduation, no stimulus, no full-time job (her industry being one of most hard-hit).
Ugh. Having a pity party over here today!! lol
@dbandmom Ours was not a dependent as of the 2019 filing. We simply did not provide over half her support. Turned out to be a good thing for her as far as stimulus checks. Good luck in sorting it all out.
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Our son was independent in 2019. He paid more than half his expenses and lived at school more than half the year. 2020 might be close, but heāll file independent again.
This has been a tough year (all of 2020) for our kids. Mine moved home at the end of August, applied for jobs, and after a couple multiple interview rounds, landed a job a few weeks ago. For now, heās working remote, so can save some money for when he eventually moves out.
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Last night we made our final tuition payment! Final quarter of MS starts in a week! Yaaaaaa.
Wait, what? College tuition payments for our D will start in ā22? Ughā¦
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Enjoy the short break in tuition payments! We started in 2010, finished in 2020, and had a few years of 2 at the same time. Hard to believe thatās finally behind us!
Itās great that we may be seeing light at the end of the tunnel. Our S just leased a very nice apartment in the Bay Area. Move in date aligned to Stanfordās now in-person commencement ceremony in June.
My DD2016 is engaged and is planning her wedding for January 1, 2022šÆ
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Congrats @labegg !
Amazing how these young adults have made their way.
Hope all from the HS Class of 2016 are doing well.
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This continues to be a strange year. Our youngest is still working remote, living with us (which Iāve enjoyed). Our oldest, a grad student who lives across country, couldnāt go overseas to do the research he was planning, so has spent half the summer with us. Our D visited for a week, so weāve had a good ākidā year so far. Under normal circumstances we would never get to see our adult children so much. Iām very thankful!
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