We've got a winner!

I will be attending the University [school name redacted for privacy] this fall and I am extremely excited about it. I think this school with be a good fit for me academically and financially. I also think the transition for my daughter and myself will be pretty easy, and for me the easier the better! I've been informing friends and family of my final decision and they have been helpful with directing me to people to help with moving, babysitting and any other out of the way need that may come, so I'm feeling very blessed to already have some sort of network.

My daughter is very excited about everything as well. She has been there for almost every envelope opening and each time she would say, "Mama, everybody wants you. It's because you're a really smart girl." I figure if anything, this journey I'm taking both of us on will instill in her the importance of having an education. As a first generation college graduate, I wasn't exposed to college campuses, I didn't have any immediate family members who talked about going to or graduating from college, and I have had to navigate my way through undergrad and to law school through trial and error mostly. She's been with me since day one and she knows that college isn't an "option" it's AUTOMATIC!

Right now I am working on finishing a scholarship application which is due on March 2nd! Once that is finished and sent off, I will be sitting pretty for the next two or three months. Then comes the pre-work, if you will....finding a place to live, enrolling my daughter in a new school district in a new city, MOVING, argh! Wish me luck!

Admitted Students Day

Admitted Students Day presents the opportunity to visit the schools you've been accepted to in order to determine if you are ready to take the next step of forking over the cash necessary to reserve the seat offered. At this point I realized that somehow I miscounted the schools to which I have applied, (it was nine instead of 8...weird) but even with this oversight I'm still pretty set on which school I plan on attending. Although my "choice school" has not yet scheduled its Admitted Students Day, I know I will be one of the first to register.

Meanwhile, I'm starting to notice a trend with some of the schools and their Admitted Students Day. Schools are offering travel stipends and reimbursements to perspective students. So far it's ranges from $75-$250 for one or two days. It's nice to see these schools realize the cost associated with visiting a school, especially if you are attending out-of-state. I'm on the fence about whether I will take advantage of the offers, mostly because I don't want to waste my time or anyone else's if I'm not totally sold on the school. On the other hand, you can't really tell what a school is about by just looking at their viewbook. Furthermore, if time (as opposed to a lot of money) is all I have to give up in order to make the best decision about where to spend the next three years of my life, and most importantly, where to begin what will be the foundation of my career, it's worth serious consideration. At the very least, it will get me out of this cubicle for a couple of Friday's next month. Who could ask for anything more?

CLEO

I decided not to attend the summer institute. While I understand it would give me a six week head start on my first year, it would then leave me stressing over my finances. If given the choice, I would rather stress over law school, figuring it out as I go, than stress over my financial situation. At least the stress over law school can be alleviated with the help of professors, classmates, law school staff, or even a little exercise. Financial stress is a beast all its own and since I have no one I can call my own personal ATM, it just wasn't practical to give up the 2k for the seat and the additional income on the back end for something I can surely figure out on my own.

I sent a very gracious email thanking them for the opportunity, but declined due to financial reasons. I do still hope I can go to one of their weekend programs. Last year's was SO fun!

**Update** A couple of days ago I received a letter offering a seat in this Summer's AIE program, so I'm super excited about that!**

Credit Cards, Taxes & FAFSA's Oh My!

At this moment, I am pretty much focused on taking care of as much financial stuff as I possibly can. I filed my taxes over the weekend, and filed my FAFSA on Monday. Though doing both of these things is somewhat time consuming, I figure the earlier it's done the sooner I'll have tax refund in hand, which will go straight to credit card balances. As far as the FAFSA is concerned, I have alleviated some stress in that department as I have notice that some schools have a deadline as early as March 1st. Also, having these two items complete means that I have a couple more components needed to submit external scholarships, should I choose to do so.

And that leaves CREDIT CARDS! Right now I considered them to be the devil! I can admit that in the past I was an avid credit card charger and I liked having those pieces of plastic at my disposal. I must also admit that as a full time undergraduate student, a parent, and an employee at a job that just barely allowed me to make ends meet, the cards supplemented my income. I can recall many of the items I purchased and feel that most were justified, but once I decided that law school was going to be the next destination in my life, it became quite obvious that I needed to get rid of this awful debt. So far I have gotten off to a really good start paying down my balances and hope to have it all credit card debt zapped by this summer!