[UCGal]

Thanks Piggs –

My son was just identified GATE and just missed Seminar if you can believe the raven percentile. (I knew he was smart, but didn’t know it was that close.) Our school, Curie Elementary, is top ranked… but we’ve had a few ‘bad fits’ with teachers – twice my older son has had teachers who didn’t ‘get’ him and held him back to the class level in math and science. The result was a lot of boredom and resentment… not something I want going forward. I’m hoping 3rd grade will be a better experience because at least he’ll have a teacher that has some training in GATE kids. In theory, he won’t be held back to the grade level in the subjects he’s good at. I think our situation was teacher specific because friends’ kids, who had different teachers, did not have the same teacher, and their kids were encouraged to move to their level in the various subjects they were strong in.

(SDUSD requires GATE certification for GATE cluster teachers – but since the GATE program doesn’t start till the 3rd grade…)

I have a good friend who’s kids are, I’m certain, seminar level. She was a product of seminar and her husband is also off-the-charts smart. They’re moving back sunny San Diego next year. I was trying to figure out what advice/experience I could glean from the Piggs here about school districts for exceptional kids.

It’s not in my future to do private schools – not unless I give up the idea of retirement. I do supplement educational stuff after school – my sister is a teacher who gives me materials to work with.

[UCGal]

Thanks Piggs –

My son was just identified GATE and just missed Seminar if you can believe the raven percentile. (I knew he was smart, but didn’t know it was that close.) Our school, Curie Elementary, is top ranked… but we’ve had a few ‘bad fits’ with teachers – twice my older son has had teachers who didn’t ‘get’ him and held him back to the class level in math and science. The result was a lot of boredom and resentment… not something I want going forward. I’m hoping 3rd grade will be a better experience because at least he’ll have a teacher that has some training in GATE kids. In theory, he won’t be held back to the grade level in the subjects he’s good at. I think our situation was teacher specific because friends’ kids, who had different teachers, did not have the same teacher, and their kids were encouraged to move to their level in the various subjects they were strong in.

(SDUSD requires GATE certification for GATE cluster teachers – but since the GATE program doesn’t start till the 3rd grade…)

I have a good friend who’s kids are, I’m certain, seminar level. She was a product of seminar and her husband is also off-the-charts smart. They’re moving back sunny San Diego next year. I was trying to figure out what advice/experience I could glean from the Piggs here about school districts for exceptional kids.

It’s not in my future to do private schools – not unless I give up the idea of retirement. I do supplement educational stuff after school – my sister is a teacher who gives me materials to work with.

[UCGal]

Thanks Piggs –

My son was just identified GATE and just missed Seminar if you can believe the raven percentile. (I knew he was smart, but didn’t know it was that close.) Our school, Curie Elementary, is top ranked… but we’ve had a few ‘bad fits’ with teachers – twice my older son has had teachers who didn’t ‘get’ him and held him back to the class level in math and science. The result was a lot of boredom and resentment… not something I want going forward. I’m hoping 3rd grade will be a better experience because at least he’ll have a teacher that has some training in GATE kids. In theory, he won’t be held back to the grade level in the subjects he’s good at. I think our situation was teacher specific because friends’ kids, who had different teachers, did not have the same teacher, and their kids were encouraged to move to their level in the various subjects they were strong in.

(SDUSD requires GATE certification for GATE cluster teachers – but since the GATE program doesn’t start till the 3rd grade…)

I have a good friend who’s kids are, I’m certain, seminar level. She was a product of seminar and her husband is also off-the-charts smart. They’re moving back sunny San Diego next year. I was trying to figure out what advice/experience I could glean from the Piggs here about school districts for exceptional kids.

It’s not in my future to do private schools – not unless I give up the idea of retirement. I do supplement educational stuff after school – my sister is a teacher who gives me materials to work with.

[UCGal]

I checked the following:
SDCCU (not in the mix, rate wise, unfortunately)
USBank
Chase/Wamu
Schwab
Aimloan.com

And then I shot Sheldon an email to see what he could offer.

It can be challenging to compare mortgages because some have more fees but lower origination charges… so you can’t just compare points and rates… You have to compare the entire fee structure.

USBank and Aimloan seemed to have the most info about their fees/charges/etc available online (based on assumptions of good credit).

I ended up going with HLS(Sheldon) because he was slightly cheaper, overall. Should fund tomorrow or Thursday. Sheldon was easy to work with and there was one serious hiccup in my refi that he handled well.

[UCGal]

I checked the following:
SDCCU (not in the mix, rate wise, unfortunately)
USBank
Chase/Wamu
Schwab
Aimloan.com

And then I shot Sheldon an email to see what he could offer.

It can be challenging to compare mortgages because some have more fees but lower origination charges… so you can’t just compare points and rates… You have to compare the entire fee structure.

USBank and Aimloan seemed to have the most info about their fees/charges/etc available online (based on assumptions of good credit).

I ended up going with HLS(Sheldon) because he was slightly cheaper, overall. Should fund tomorrow or Thursday. Sheldon was easy to work with and there was one serious hiccup in my refi that he handled well.

[UCGal]

I checked the following:
SDCCU (not in the mix, rate wise, unfortunately)
USBank
Chase/Wamu
Schwab
Aimloan.com

And then I shot Sheldon an email to see what he could offer.

It can be challenging to compare mortgages because some have more fees but lower origination charges… so you can’t just compare points and rates… You have to compare the entire fee structure.

USBank and Aimloan seemed to have the most info about their fees/charges/etc available online (based on assumptions of good credit).

I ended up going with HLS(Sheldon) because he was slightly cheaper, overall. Should fund tomorrow or Thursday. Sheldon was easy to work with and there was one serious hiccup in my refi that he handled well.

[UCGal]

I checked the following:
SDCCU (not in the mix, rate wise, unfortunately)
USBank
Chase/Wamu
Schwab
Aimloan.com

And then I shot Sheldon an email to see what he could offer.

It can be challenging to compare mortgages because some have more fees but lower origination charges… so you can’t just compare points and rates… You have to compare the entire fee structure.

USBank and Aimloan seemed to have the most info about their fees/charges/etc available online (based on assumptions of good credit).

I ended up going with HLS(Sheldon) because he was slightly cheaper, overall. Should fund tomorrow or Thursday. Sheldon was easy to work with and there was one serious hiccup in my refi that he handled well.

[UCGal]

I checked the following:
SDCCU (not in the mix, rate wise, unfortunately)
USBank
Chase/Wamu
Schwab
Aimloan.com

And then I shot Sheldon an email to see what he could offer.

It can be challenging to compare mortgages because some have more fees but lower origination charges… so you can’t just compare points and rates… You have to compare the entire fee structure.

USBank and Aimloan seemed to have the most info about their fees/charges/etc available online (based on assumptions of good credit).

I ended up going with HLS(Sheldon) because he was slightly cheaper, overall. Should fund tomorrow or Thursday. Sheldon was easy to work with and there was one serious hiccup in my refi that he handled well.

[UCGal]

My understanding (I could be wrong) is that if any of the deposit is listed as a “cleaning deposit” is toast – it’s gone. Say goodbye.

Check your lease to see how the deposit was worded.

The link below has useful information about wear and tear for carpets/drapes/etc.

http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/sec-deposit.shtml

[UCGal]

My understanding (I could be wrong) is that if any of the deposit is listed as a “cleaning deposit” is toast – it’s gone. Say goodbye.

Check your lease to see how the deposit was worded.

The link below has useful information about wear and tear for carpets/drapes/etc.

http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/sec-deposit.shtml

[UCGal]

My understanding (I could be wrong) is that if any of the deposit is listed as a “cleaning deposit” is toast – it’s gone. Say goodbye.

Check your lease to see how the deposit was worded.

The link below has useful information about wear and tear for carpets/drapes/etc.

http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/sec-deposit.shtml

[UCGal]

My understanding (I could be wrong) is that if any of the deposit is listed as a “cleaning deposit” is toast – it’s gone. Say goodbye.

Check your lease to see how the deposit was worded.

The link below has useful information about wear and tear for carpets/drapes/etc.

http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/sec-deposit.shtml

[UCGal]

My understanding (I could be wrong) is that if any of the deposit is listed as a “cleaning deposit” is toast – it’s gone. Say goodbye.

Check your lease to see how the deposit was worded.

The link below has useful information about wear and tear for carpets/drapes/etc.

http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/sec-deposit.shtml

[UCGal]

Add me to the group of pay-in-full customers that will simply switch back to cash.

I’m not that upset about the rewards programs… but I will not pay an annual fee or interest from day one. I’ll pay cash and use my debit/visa card for anything that requires a CC (like renting cars or online purchases.)

It will be a bit more hassle… But it’s not that bad to pay cash.

[UCGal]

Add me to the group of pay-in-full customers that will simply switch back to cash.

I’m not that upset about the rewards programs… but I will not pay an annual fee or interest from day one. I’ll pay cash and use my debit/visa card for anything that requires a CC (like renting cars or online purchases.)

It will be a bit more hassle… But it’s not that bad to pay cash.

[Author]

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