Recently, there was a little celebration in the DaRin household. I completed my 12th, and final, FAFSA! For those not familiar with applying for financial aid, the FAFSA is short for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Three college going kids, times four FAFSA's each, equals headache. Mind you, this comes from someone who works with the results of that form. Complicated? Yes. Necessary? I suppose. Glad it over? Oh yeah. When Trevor started college in 2001, 2010 seemed like a long way off. Now that Beth is a rising senior I am feeling a bit melancholy, but nevertheless thrilled that my annual bout with FAFSAitis has finally come to an end. To quote one of my high school teachers, "so what have we learned here?" First, my EFC (better known as Expected Family Contribution) usually fell somewhere between "are you kidding me?" and "when pigs fly". However, I learned to live with the results. Second, I wish I had a dime for every parent who told me "we look good on paper, but...". I have a news flash, some of you look very good on paper. Finally, it was all worth it! I'm incredibly proud of Trevor, Katie, and Beth. They got the most out of their college experiences and have grown into the kind of adults that, well, I wish I was at their age.
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