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October 19, 2014 at 5:04 PM in reply to: The dire climate of CA public university admissions for freshmen #778986October 19, 2014 at 4:26 PM in reply to: The dire climate of CA public university admissions for freshmen #778985
bearishgurl
Participant[quote=Blogstar]Great public service post, BG.
How about kids declaring a major and then getting most of it finished and then having a hard time getting the last few classes. How much is that happening.
We know a kid who went through a guaranteed placement from high school into an engineering program. He was apparently kicking butt .Recently I found out that it has been taking him a few years to nail down the last requirements due to lack of classes.
Congrats on your kid doing so well![/quote]
Well thanks, Russ, but my kid hasn’t actually received any grades yet :-P. Social animal that they are, I had to counsel them at length this morning on budgeting properly to make their earnings last longer (their checking acct is tied to mine so I can see what they’re doing with their debit card :=0). I read them the riot act because the dad and me were recently asked to pay the first $400+ installment of “Greek” dues (incl application and initiation fee) when kid had the money several times over since May and blew it. We’ve agreed to cover this first bill and then they’re going to be on their own for the rest (~$500 for the rest of the year).
I had no idea Greek dues had risen this much when we applied online in early September to “rush.” My other kid(s) only paid <$500 for the whole academic year. I also had another discussion with my kid about time management this morning because I feel they are suddenly going to get so busy that their grades will slip, possibly making them ineligible for their continuing scholarship, which I am processing twice yearly. My kid may very well have to scale down to 14 hrs per week of work (two 7-hr shifts as opposed to their current three shifts) when they return to campus in January 2015.
October 19, 2014 at 3:55 PM in reply to: The dire climate of CA public university admissions for freshmen #778980ParticipantAll CA CC’s are in the same boat, though I suspect that the more “rural” ones (such as Lake Tahoe CC) have far less students attempting to sign up for the same core GE’s so they can eventually transfer to university. It is a shame that these community institutions can no longer “guarantee” an associate degree in two years for FT students.
They still serve a need for training in the trades (ROP) and administering certificate programs for those who want/need to work FT in a particular field ASAP. Free day care for children is provided for those parents who qualify.
For the university bound, CA CC’s are a crapshoot, at best. It is far better to get accepted to a university ASAP after HS. If the one your student got accepted to is not their first choice, then they can always reapply to their preferred campus ONLY AFTER they finish the core GE’s (60 units for semester schedule or 90 units for quarter schedule) at their current university campus but NOT BEFORE! If they don’t get in at that late date, they should STAY WHERE THEY ARE. They are already “in.” No harm done.
I think too much attention is paid by freshman applicants for UC/CSU to location (often those campuses located at or near the coast) causing severe impaction of all degree programs offered on several campuses.
http://www.calstate.edu/SAS/impactioninfo.shtml
http://www.calstate.edu/sas/impactionsearch/
http://www.calstate.edu/SAS/impaction-campus-info.shtml
Here’s an interesting CSU “service area” recruitment list. Note that there is no mention in it of the “Compact for Success” program in SUHSD (for SDSU). Several other CSU campuses seriously consider their local “service area” freshman applicants using lesser admission standards than the rest of their applicants (out of county, state and country). This is as it should be to ensure university affordability to all freshman (not be forced into pricey on-campus housing contracts).
http://www.calstate.edu/sas/documents/CSULocalAdmission-ServiceAreas.pdf
Just like HS, IT DOESN’T matter where the kid gets his diploma/degree if a particular degree program offers the exact same 4 yr curriculum at several different local HS’s or CSU campuses. It’s really okay to graduate from an “inland” UC or CSU. The new bachelor’s degree graduate can accept their first FT job anywhere they wish (coastal CA or even another state).
Participant[quote=zk][quote=bearishgurl]
[quote=all]
I thought communiques from the county school districts and bearishgurl’s college campus being quarantined/evacuated is overreaction.[/quote]
zk, SWC never has been and is not “my” campus. I’ve taken several evening classes there (more than 20 yrs ago) but my kids have never attended classes there. They went directly to university after HS.
[cont’d to new thread][/quote]
“all” is not me. Not sure where he/she got the idea that that’s your campus.
Good info on the other thread about colleges, bg. Thanks.[/quote]
Sorry zk, I now see that it is another one of craptcha’s (misguided) comments. Just because someone lives in a particular community college district or CC attendance area doesn’t mean he, she or their family has ever taken any classes there.
[cont’d on new thread]
Participant[quote=blogstar]Someone spoofed South Western College on Ebola.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/oct/…
[/quote][quote=all][quote=flu]My concern is… People in this country aren’t taking it seriously enough…And it’s the arrogance that I’m worried about….[/quote]
I thought communiques from the county school districts and bearishgurl’s college campus being quarantined/evacuated is overreaction.[/quote]
zk, SWC never has been and is not “my” campus. I’ve taken several evening classes there (more than 20 yrs ago) but my kids have never attended classes there. They went directly to university after HS.
[cont’d to new thread]
Participantscaredy’s most recent comments on here remind me of the advice “Doc Love” gives on askmen.com:
http://www.askmen.com/dating/doclove/
scaredy . . . might Doc Love’s column be in your bookmarks or favorites folder??
ParticipantI just returned from an 18-day sojourn into “flyover country” where a relative (age 61) demonstrated to me and bragged about her new “Speed Queen” laundry duo. She adamantly told me that she wanted machines which performed like her past set which was more than 25 years old and decided on a Speed Queen washer and dryer which was the same as those installed in commercial laundromats except for the coin-operated mechanism. She was VERY happy with them.
I explained to her that my 1988 GE dryer went out almost 3 years ago and I got a very LARGE dryer (MUCH larger than my (circa) 2002 large-capacity top-loading washer) called Whirlpool Cabrio because it was on “clearance” and I wanted to be able to dry large items (blankets, etc) without going to a commercial laundry. (My pets routinely use blankets and comforters, etc, which need to be washed and dried 1-2 times per month.) The dryer has been a huge disappointment. First of all, it takes WELL OVER one hour for it to dry anything (so much for “energy saving”). I have had no less and four service calls on it (I had to get a costly extended warranty for it) all due to its failure to heat. All service calls were performed by the same local contractor. During the last service call, the technician practically took the entire machine apart in attempting to find out why a particular part repeatedly failed. The next service call will result in a settlement from Whirlpool, but not sure if my purchase price will be totally refunded at this late date (abt $760, IIRC).
If I move out of county/out of state in the coming year, I will sell both of my laundry machines on Craigslist either separate or together (with the dryer’s extended warranty) and buy a Speed Queen set at the new location. I want the old-school washer/dryer set (but as new) that my relative has. I won’t buy a “new” set on pedestals (w/o an agitator in the washer and doesn’t use enough water to be effective) in which I have to “bend over” to do laundry. Hello?
The vast majority of the newer laundry machines out there are sh!t and I would say they began to lose their effectiveness in about 2004/05.
Participant[quote=scaredyclassic]This is kind of a deep thread.[/quote]
FWIW, me and my ex-spouse spent about $900 for our wedding (for 77 guests) … in the 1970’s, LOL. That included $69 each (no tax) for gold wedding bands at the Navy Exchange and my homemade dress costing ~$88 in materials. ($500 was donated by my mom and the rest was our expense.)
My ex-spouses mom paid for the rehearsal dinner for 22 people the night before the wedding. All paying parties are now deceased except for me and my ex-H and our kids.
The marriage lasted 21 yrs until I filed for divorce and nearly 26 years until the divorce was final. What does this tell you?
ParticipantWell, your decison to buy a (retirement or “forever?”) home in Waco is in the eye of the beholder. It doesn’t matter what the “perception” (my boots-on-the-ground perception of years ago passing thru . . . or anyone else’s, for that matter) is out there of Waco, TX. It has the wide open spaces that most of San Diego County doesn’t, especially for the price you can buy a home there for with “good bones.” And the biggest a$$ sky the Piggs have ever seen!
I didn’t realize Baylor University was in Waco.
http://piggington.com/atlanta#comment-247165
Since you posted the above comment, I watched its recruitment videos and was very impressed (loved the architecture). I tried mightily to get my last kid to apply for (public) colleges in “flyover America” (due to a much lower student/teacher ratio and much more individual attention by instructors/counselors) where they had in-state “status” in three states. But alas, they refused and wanted to attend a CSU. That’s fine. Very deep-pocketed donors are ALSO alive and well at CSUs here in Cali and literally make some of the campuses what they are today.
I realize Baylor is private but what an experience! Did your kids graduate from there, desmond?
Congrats on your imminent RE closing!
ParticipantI don’t see the four cities kev pointed out as “sh!tholes.” Far from it. Everybody can’t live in La Jolla … or in his case, Laguna Beach or the Palo Verde peninsula.
kev, you might be surprised to learn that many homeowners have paid-off homes in those “sh!thole” cities you mentioned. And many more homeowners in those cities are in the pipeline to have their homes paid off before retirement. In order for this to happen, a prospective buyer needs to actually consummate a sale and begin making mortgage payments. The younger they are able to do this, the better. You never did in the years you were actively “shopping” for a home (even in the post-bubble crash) because you didn’t like anything in your price range. You came here several times complaining vociferously that you didn’t like any of the inventory you could have placed an offer on. SEVERAL Piggs (me included) tried mightily to guide you here. So, even though you say you love SoCal and you think it is the best place in the nation to live in, you still don’t have a house there today. I’m not trying to taunt you here but I just feel you need to own that fact.
flyer, I don’t believe the typical homeowners in the cities kev mentioned are the ones we have to worry about “spending themselves into oblivion.” Those aren’t generally the types of owners who are trying to keep up with the joneses, nor are most of them “young.” They’re the type who work all of their lives (and often keep working into retirement to have something to do), keep older vehicles running as long as possible and repair their homes little by little as funds allow.
The type of homeowner we should be concerned about decimating our housing values again or complaining that they need a “bailout” are the ones who can’t and won’t live within their means. Good examples are “worker bee” FTBs who have kid(s) to support but who: 1) can’t move into a resale home they just purchased without first going deeper into debt to completely remodel it; 2) refuse to buy a resale home and ends up getting sucked into several hundred dollars per month in MR/HOA fees; 3) buys their first home and immediately after closing goes into deep debt for new furnishings and appliances; 4) refuse to drive vehicles older than 8 years old; and 5) at least one of the two buyers (if a joint purchase) staunchly refuses to take any kind of job at all, even if the family is teetering on the edge of BK and desperately needs operating income.
I’m not saying any of the above is you, kev. But based upon your collective previous posts, I think you could have purchased a home for yourself in LA or Orange County in years past and for whatever reasons, decided you really didn’t want one bad enough. In order to get a home in your price range while the getting was good, you had to have been decisive and able and willing to act on short notice (along with having a competent, credible agent). Not sure any of that happened in your case.
kev, I wish you the best if you decide to move out of state but am wondering why you would do so if the pay and promotional opportunities won’t be better than staying put or taking a position in the Silicon Valley. If you’ve got a least a decade left of possible raises/promotions, you need to remember that if you are an in-demand tech worker, your pay should build on itself as you change jobs. If you decide to return to Cali later from a place such as GA, you will have the GA pay from your most recent position for your new employer to verify and any offers of employment they make to you will be based upon a step up from your lower, GA pay (instead of the higher scale that you could have earned if you had stayed here).
Participant[quote=FlyerInHi]Losing Missouri is not desirable for a Democrat, but hardly humiliating. You’re speculating a motivation of political retribution that’s not there.
The grand jury being extended means that any protests will occur in the freezing dead of winter.
The justice department is investigating the police department. Holder has nothing to with the grand jury.
On the end justify the means… hummm I wonder why there’s so much voter suppression in certain states. Having large portion of the population not voting serves some people’s purposes very well. Not so democratic though.[/quote]
Even though MO was the (lone?) “purple state” in “Election 2012,” I agree with much of your post, brian. What I’m having trouble with is the “apathy” part but understand why (if “apathy” was truly an issue re: the MO polls).
There’s been a lot of discussion in the past here on the forum that the “red states'” voters (does purple count as “semi-red?”) routinely bite the hand that feeds them when “push comes to shove” at the polls (at least the ones who are actually voting). This phenomenon transcends racial differences.
Based upon my experience, somehow this assumption sounds right to me … even though it’s not logical.
I’m coming to the conclusion that MO was a “purple state” in 2012 solely due to voter apathy. And that, my friends, is a dirty shame.
Participant[quote=spdrun]
A ~$500K home in TX is a large “luxury” home with nearby amenities such as a community lake, tennis, HOA, etc.
Since when is an HOA an amenity instead of a ball-and-chain? I’d rather live in a town with a community park (with pool and tennis courts) as is common on the East Coast.[/quote]
Well, you really don’t need “gates” in TX. Or even in SD, for that matter. I think it’s kind of ridiculous to pay for a gated community. TX has a lot of man-made lakes which have housing subdivisions built around them on the order of a “master-planned community” in CA (ex: Eastlake – Chula Vista, CA) except there is generally a lot more room between houses and wider streets there. Those types of communities DO have HOAs set up to provide all the amenities they offer. Some HOAs there even have RV storage and horse boarding!
I’m with you, spdrun. I wouldn’t buy a house in a HOA which had monthly dues. I would however buy a house in a subdivision which had annual dues of $500 or less if the assn was well-established and well-managed. This money is usually used to lobby for continuing water rights, distribute a monthly community newsletter, snow removal on the main arter(ies), maintain community hiking trails, etc.
Participant[quote=The-Shoveler][quote=flu]Texas actually has a decent high tech community, especially around Dallas….
And Gov. Perry keeps throwing bones at California businesses to relocate there too…. I think there were a few companies in SD that just relocated to Texas….And gotta love the no state income tax…[/quote]
TX makes up for no income tax in property Tax,
Probably works out well if you have CXX in your job title though.I know a colleagues who pays 16K a year in the Dallas area on her 300K home.
In the better areas home prices typically exceed 500K in Dallas and Austin near the High tech job centers.[/quote]
I agree that property taxes are prohibitively high in TX considering the property values there.
However, I disagree that a buyer needs to pay $500K to get a house in a “better” area in TX. In every larger city there, one can buy a perfectly acceptable ~2400 sf brick ranch with 2/3 car garage on a 1/4+ AC lot in a “better” area for $275K to $325K. Sure, if you want 3600+ sf with massive tray ceilings, a MBR fireplace and “luxury” bath, a swimming pool and a 1/2+ AC lot located in a gated community, you might pay between $425K and $550K.
A ~$500K home in TX is a large “luxury” home with nearby amenities such as a community lake, tennis, HOA, etc. A similar home would cost $1.2M ++ in Poway, CA, and would likely not have the square footage (in either the house or lot) of the TX home.
ParticipantThis interesting study by the DOE just in:
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The final report from a landmark federal study on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, found no evidence that chemicals or brine water from the gas drilling process moved upward to contaminate drinking water at a site in western Pennsylvania.
The Department of Energy report, released Monday, was the first time an energy company allowed independent monitoring of a drilling site during the fracking process and for 18 months afterward. After those months of monitoring, researchers found that the chemical-laced fluids used to free gas stayed about 5,000 feet below drinking water supplies.
Scientists used tracer fluids, seismic monitoring and other tests to look for problems, and created the most detailed public report to date about how fracking affects adjacent rock structures.
The fracking process uses millions of gallons of high-pressure water mixed with sand and chemicals to break apart rocks rich in oil and gas. That has led to a national boom in production, but also to concerns about possible groundwater contamination.
“There are a whole wealth of harms associated with shale gas development” separate from fracking, said Maya K. van Rossum, of the Delaware Riverkeeper group. She mentioned methane gas leaks, wasteful use of fresh water and air pollution, and said the Energy Department study confirms a point that the Riverkeeper has been making: that faulty well construction is the root cause of most problems, not fracking chemicals migrating up through rocks.
A separate study published this week by different researchers examined drilling sites in Pennsylvania and Texas using other methods. It found that faulty well construction caused pollution, but not fracking itself.
Avner Vengosh, a Duke University scientist involved with that study, just published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, said in an email that it appears the Energy Department report on the Pennsylvania site is consistent with their findings…
Participant[quote=spdrun]^^^
High property taxes (at least the cost of a $100k mortgage per month if not $200k) depress prices nicely. As did the judicial foreclosure process. Homes that started the process in 2010 are just hitting the market now in a big way and the governor isn’t too eager to help suckers who overpaid in 2005-2006.
This is what $300-350k can get you in a small city that’s about 1 hr by train from NYC, and close to more local job centers.
Live in one 3/1 unit, rent the other to some schlub for $1500-2000 and have your mortgage paid for you.
Compared to San Diego, it’s good bang for the buck.[/quote]
WOW … Isn’t Morristown pretty upscale? I had some in-laws who lived there for awhile and they were very well-off longtime local biz owners at the time.
I liked the house/duplex … not for myself cuz I don’t want stairs. I’d probably refinish a few floors and change a few things like get rid of fake FP’s and that crazy closet sticking out (a streamlined Ikea closet organizer on another wall would look a lot better).
spdrun, if you can upgrade the electrical yourself (what is not already done and then get it signed off) and get it anywhere close to that price and get as much rent as you say you can for the unit(s) you don’t want to live in, it’s probably a winner.
Does the bank allow an inspection period where you can take an engineer or inspector on the property?
I’m kind of shocked this large of a place in this particular town is listed for this price. I feel it’s definitely a better deal than D-e-e-etroit, even if you can get the same size (rundown) property there for $40K or less.
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