@RightCoaster Interesting. My new avatar is from Star Wars.
Congrats on the confirmed stacking, @Dolemite!!!
@Ynotgo ā I was wondering about your avatar but figured it was another cultural icon I had missed!
@Dolemite --congrats on the giant MAC! Is there not an issue about needing to have a student to swap for TE or something like that? If your D decides not to attend USC, can you transfer the TE elsewhere? Truly a wonderful benefit!
@CT1417 No swap needed. The stipulation is that schools accept as many TE students coming in as they have going out - does not matter the specific TE school. At my school they have 4 spots for Faculty and 4 spots for Staff and my D has already been approved by my work and the TE person at USC told me she marked her as approved at USC so sheās good.
@Dolemite āEXCELLENT news! And can she swap USC out for another school if she decides she likes another place better? Of course, the combination of TE & guaranteed 1/2 tuition is a tough one to beat!
So am guessing that the transaction works in your favor when requesting TE from a large school as they will probably have more of their own faculty children leaving?
@Ynotgo I love your avatar, meant to comment on it yesterday. My son has a hat with it that heās pulled back out to wear recently. 
@Dolemite Congratulations on the Big Mac, Tuition Exchange, and that the two stack.
@Dolemite Youāve graduated from Big MAC to Big STACK!
Congratulations!
@Dolemite congrats on the Big Mac meal vs only the sandwich. Make it a large please.
Huge congrats for the supersized MAC @Dolemite !
@stem2017 - Now we will see Stack ids 
Last day of mid terms today so son came home with a group of friends to celebrate. Son thought he did OK, so thatās a good sign.
They are down in the basement watching movies, playing games, eating/drinking everything in our house. Meanwhile, the acceptance letter sits on our table unread, arggggggghhhh. The waitingā¦
Catching up on 5 days of posts!
5th year - so I know this is old news but I figured since I asked the question - Iād let you know I read and appreciate all the responses! - ok so:
@carachel2 D was accepted into a 5 year program with at least a year of co-ops built in - no tuition during that time but I think $ for room & board will still be required
@socalmom007 Iām starting to realize reading through several threads that the UCās often come with a 5th year due to not getting classes timely. That is something we will need to consider. @stencils I think this IS something we will be focusing on and asking the finalists.
@itsgettingreal17 Couldnāt she do a year abroad and still graduate in 4 years? or is it some special program?
@eandesmom I love the suggestion of taking classes at local CC for the summer - I have to remember that and see if they would transfer in to wherever D ends up. Iām reading that a full semester is 5 classes, not 4. Seems like a lot. Adding @dfbdfb @IABooks here as you also confirmed 5 classes per semester, yikes. I think thatās especially tough if classes are all science/math, but what do I know. Kids seem to take on so much more these days!
@CT1417 I guess reasons for a possible 5th year include: overall course load, access to classes, travel abroad, change in major. Up until now, Iāve only factored $$ for 4 years and Iām worried!
@Testingearly I think if I had realized graduating from a UC school in 4 years was a problem, I wouldāve definitely pulled the plug on those applications. We were already gun-shy because of the overcrowding problem there. I wish weād known sooner, especially since weāre out of state, so no $ is expected. Hopefully D gets into her ED2 school and UC never becomes an option!!
@snoozn I suppose itās lucky your Dās 5 1/2 year plan was in-state! I wish I could get mine to seriously consider our instate option! I really wish I had been on CC a few years ago!!
@Dave_N Wow, that sounds like a ton of AP credit! Hopefully it will all transfer!
@WhereIsMyKindle Iāve noticed a lot of the study abroad programs are either about the same or even cheaper than the primary college campus. I guess just airfare can be an issue.
@RightCoaster yes, I think my D will also pursue her Masters or PhD so more $$$$ @Ynotgo also hoping that PhD is funded.
@MotherOfDragons I love that youāre on the 30 year plan! Thatās the way to go!!
I have about 12 more pages to read, so be back later!
@whataboutcollege Did you officially hear back on the Presidential Scholarship from Rutgers? I hear some Honors college invites went out yesterday, I guess most are still waiting on scholarships though.
@RightCoaster same situation, applied to 3 safety schools EA and got into all three. D did apply ED2, but doesnāt help with waiting. It is brutal. D wishes she applied ED1 instead of ED2 to be done with it. But even so, there are no guarantees and we still could be waiting until April for all her āsecond choiceā schools.
@cleoforshort I had to laugh when you said āsomething sciencey.ā My D has been using that term since 4th grade lol.
@vandyeyes Congrats on the scholarship!
@twoforone99 How is D recovering? Our semester ends tomorrow am Iām hopeful D pulled out a C for the semester in Physics. Weāre waiting on one test grade. No EA for us, but waiting on ED2 mid-Feb.
@Testingearly How is your daughter feeling? Is she finally back to normal?
@dfbdfb thatās great about the invite to the Danaās scholarship and nice for your D to be recognized for the science program! Another shout out for āscienceyā
I just scheduled round 1 of Sās meningitis shot. Thank you all for the reminder! (S wonāt be so happy though.)
@mtrosemom --way to get it done!!
@jmek15 asked: QOTD Unrelated to College - What are your top 3 ābucket listā concerts? Only ones you havenāt seen yet, not someone you want to see again. Hmmm, Iām going to say David Bowie, Gregory Isaacs and 3rd? Too many tied for 3rd that Iād love to see: U2, Cold Play, Bruno Mars, Clash, English Beat, Chili Peppers, Jimi Hendrix, and plenty of others.
Some of my favorites which I saw multiple times: Pink Floyd, YES, Sting, Dead, Santana, Paul Simon, list goes onā¦ Sad to say, but Iām feeling too old for concerts, maybe if you give me the VIP treatment with box seats, food and private bathroom LOL!!! We saw a Tom Petty concert that way and it was awfully nice!
@Dolemite laughing at your āconcert in the wombā comment. When I was pregnant with my D, I didnāt take her to any concerts, but I played Bob Marley in the car daily. I find his music very calming and now she does as well!
@LoveTheBard and @DaveN and @nw2this and @AngelaD Congrats on USC!! and good luck on the full tuition scholarship! Also@DaveN congrats on U of W!
@twoforone99 @cleoforshort @Testingearly Congrats on UVA!! <:-P <:-P <:-P
@whataboutcollege Congrats on Rutgers HC! <:-P
@Ynotgo <:-P @MSHopeful <:-P @Dolemite <:-P congrats on USC!!! Dolemite - great news on the tuition exchange and big stack! Thanks @STEM2017
Wow, the great news continues!! @socalmom007 Congrats on MIlls and the scholarship! <:-P
@thermom Congrats on Binghamton! <:-P I know, this waiting is brutal!! [-O<
@RightCoaster Glad to hear your son is partying. Tomorrow is the last day of the semester for us. canāt wait to hear about the acceptance letter!
@Fishnlines29 D is trying to combine a lot of things, so studying abroad during the school year is not ideal (except breaks). She will do 3 summers abroad and possibly a year post grad. The language flagships include a mandatory year abroad after the student completes requirements for their degree.
@Fishnlines29 D is on the road to full recovery. She had the same dinner as the rest of the family last night and tonight. Thank you for asking!
@Fishnlines29 The Rutgers honor college invitation said the scholarships will be sent next week. Hope what we saw earlier are still there when the official site opens