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I've read many threads on DCUM where OP asks a question that refers to her academically advanced child, and immediately gets pounded for asking the question. Here's an example from today: http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/118253.page . I think people in that situation are in a tough spot -- it seems almost impossible to ask a question about your academically gifted child without getting everyone upset. Yes, many times people on DCUM will brag obnoxiously, but I think some of them are really just trying to ask for advice. I actually thought OP on that linked thread asked in a low-key way, so I was surprised that she got attacked. So I'm looking for examples of how to do it right ....
Pretend you're the OP in the thread linked above, and you want to ask which schools/curricula will serve your child. How do you ask the question without coming across as a braggart?
People are of course free to do whatever they want with this thread, but I'm not really looking for a discussion about whether some questions are good/bad, or whether its fair or not that questions get attacked. I just would like to see some examples of what people think is the "right way" to ask a question like that. Thanks in advance. Maybe this will help the next person who has a question.
Here's my best shot: "I've got a four-year-old who seems fairly advanced academically (adding, subtracting, reading a lot), and I'm wondering whether private schools will have a challenging curriculum at younger grades to keep him from being bored. Can anyone offer some advice?"
Now let's see your best examples.
Pretend you're the OP in the thread linked above, and you want to ask which schools/curricula will serve your child. How do you ask the question without coming across as a braggart?
People are of course free to do whatever they want with this thread, but I'm not really looking for a discussion about whether some questions are good/bad, or whether its fair or not that questions get attacked. I just would like to see some examples of what people think is the "right way" to ask a question like that. Thanks in advance. Maybe this will help the next person who has a question.
Here's my best shot: "I've got a four-year-old who seems fairly advanced academically (adding, subtracting, reading a lot), and I'm wondering whether private schools will have a challenging curriculum at younger grades to keep him from being bored. Can anyone offer some advice?"
Now let's see your best examples.
I have no first-hand knowledge, but I'd actually be pretty surprised if admissions people at top colleges are not well aware of Montgomery Blair, and especially of the magnet program there. Even with only 100 students in each class, I suspect they see several applicants from there each year.
Silver Medal from USNews (schoolwide, not just magnet):
http://www.usnews.com/listings/high-schools/maryland/montgomery_blair_high_school
#139 Public School in Nation from Newsweek (schoolwide, not just magnet):
http://www.gazette.net/stories/06162010/montsch180900_32550.php
Recent article about Blair magnet student and college admissions:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/20/AR2010042002068.html
Some Wiki-info on the magnet program:
Silver Medal from USNews (schoolwide, not just magnet):
http://www.usnews.com/listings/high-schools/maryland/montgomery_blair_high_school
#139 Public School in Nation from Newsweek (schoolwide, not just magnet):
http://www.gazette.net/stories/06162010/montsch180900_32550.php
Recent article about Blair magnet student and college admissions:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/20/AR2010042002068.html
Some Wiki-info on the magnet program:
Wikipedia wrote:Magnet students have been winners of National Science Bowl, National Merit semi-finalists, Montgomery County Science Fair Grand Award Winners, first place winners in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, Montgomery County Mathematics League champions for 22 straight years, SuperQuest finalist teams, national winners in the NASA Space Science Student Involvement Project, American Computer Science League National Championship Teams, Grand Winners of the Physics Olympics for the Baltimore/Washington Metropolitan Area, and first place winners in the National Junior Science and Humanities Symposium. Prior to the SAT changes, SAT scores consistently fell above 1400. Now, the average SAT score for the Magnet program consistently falls above 2100.
Over the years 2002-2010, Montgomery Blair has had the greatest total number of semi-finalists (108) in the Intel Science Talent Search of any school in the United States; it has also had the most finalists (16).
The program now boasts alumni who are math and science professors and researchers at institutions such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, New York University, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Multiple alumni have also gone on to become Rhodes Scholars.
Two asteroids, 16234 Bosse and 16241 Dvorsky, were named in honor of Magnet teachers Angie Bosse and Mary Ann Dvorsky for mentoring finalists in the 2002 Intel Science Talent Search. A third asteroid, 23014 Walstein, was named in honor of Magnet teacher Eric Walstein for mentoring a 2007 Intel finalist.
Alumni in Academia
* Maneesh Agrawala, Professor of Computer Science at Berkeley, Winner of the 2009 MacArthur Fellowship (aka MacArthur Genius Award)
* Jacob Lurie, professor of mathematics at Harvard University
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Elite universities pick more kids from TJ than Mont. Blair.
This would stand to reason. TJ has 300 kids in each graduating class, while Blair has 90 or 100 graduating each year.
I think the spread is even wider -- 450 in each TJ class versus 100 in each Blair class -- so it actually would be pretty embarrassing if TJ didn't have lots more students going to top colleges than Blair in terms of absolute numbers. But I think the absolute number comparison is sort of pointless, since the programs are of such different sizes. For example, even if 100% of the students attending the Blair program matriculate to Yale every year, TJ could still claim "more kids" if only 22% of its graduates (101 students) go to top colleges.
If PP has any info suggesting that TJ does better than Blair on college placement on a percentage basis, I'd be very interested to hear what that info is.
Anonymous wrote:SAM2 wrote:If you want an interesting comparison, a better question is TJ vs. Blair.
SAM2, I'd be interested in your views on this. Although since TJ and Blair are in different states, it's not really a practical comparison, but it is an interesting one theoretically.
The numbers I've seen are stronger from Blair than TJ. I suspect the reason Blair has better stats has to do with the smaller class (and higher percentile-scoring student body). Fairfax County in total has about 13,500 students per class year, so TJ has about the top 3% for each class of 450 students. MontCo has about 11,000 students per class year, so Blair is skimming the top 1% with a class of 100 students. Some of that is offset by the fact that Fairfax County is far wealthier, so I'd presume the TJ students have higher SES scores than the Blair students. But in the end I think trying to say one is better than the other is a fool's errand. Both schools are very strong (just like all the top private schools).
OK, I read about these tasty things in LA about a year or so ago, and they sounded really good then. But now that I hear they're starting to appear on the East Coast (http://fwd4.me/Yo2), I really want to try them. Does anyone know whether there are any in DC?
Trying to pick a fight, huh? No thanks.
If you want an interesting comparison, a better question is TJ vs. Blair.
If you want an interesting comparison, a better question is TJ vs. Blair.
Anonymous wrote:I saw a piece of bacon on the metro yesterday. Grossed me out. I know that's a little off topic of this thread but needed to get that out. In my 12 years of riding the metro I've never seen anything like that. Who eats bacon on the metro?
Ack -- I was wondering where I dropped that! If I send my address, can you drop it in the mail for me?
Just tape one end of a straw or other tube to your bicycle pump, and then tape the other end of the straw to the nozzle for the pool. Use duct tape, or maybe electrical tape, to make sure it holds tight. Then pump away.
It might look like West Virginia, but your son will think you're awesome.
It might look like West Virginia, but your son will think you're awesome.
OP, I agree with you that it makes sense to sell the TH in order to get a better/bigger primary home. I understand what your DH is saying about not wanting to sell the TH at the bottom of the housing market, but you're just pouring that equity back into a house at the bottom of the market, so there should be no net loss. Indeed, I'd argue that a TH likely lost less absolute value in the housing market crash because it's a more fungible property, and the house you want to buy likely has more upside when the housing market does improve, so perhaps putting your equity into the high-upside property is a better bet.
I think the HELOC suggested by some PPs is also a good idea, but it would increase your exposure because you'd effectively be carrying two housing loans.
I don't think you should be mad at your husband. He's likely just trying to be conservative about what you can afford, and perhaps holding the TH is a useful method for him to keep you both from getting overextended on a house. In this rough economy, I think it's a wise idea to buy less than your maximum.
Why don't you propose to your DH that you sell the TH, but instead of increasing your maximum house budget by $175k (the full amount of TH equity), you increase your house-buying budget by only $100k? This might give him the comfort that you're not stretched too thin on the house, but also expend your house-buying budget by a nice amount.
I think the HELOC suggested by some PPs is also a good idea, but it would increase your exposure because you'd effectively be carrying two housing loans.
I don't think you should be mad at your husband. He's likely just trying to be conservative about what you can afford, and perhaps holding the TH is a useful method for him to keep you both from getting overextended on a house. In this rough economy, I think it's a wise idea to buy less than your maximum.
Why don't you propose to your DH that you sell the TH, but instead of increasing your maximum house budget by $175k (the full amount of TH equity), you increase your house-buying budget by only $100k? This might give him the comfort that you're not stretched too thin on the house, but also expend your house-buying budget by a nice amount.
I'll think about it. If I can come up with anything, I'll post. Sorry I don't have a ready answer for you.
Can you remember whether it was a "coastal" river, like Potomac or Chesapeake? Or instead an inland river, like Shenandoah? That would help narrow it down. If you're guessing Ellicot City (Patapsco River), I'm thinking you mean an inland river, but I just want to check.
Yough River Fest?
http://www.youghioghenyriverfestival.info/
http://www.youghioghenyriverfestival.info/
Anonymous wrote:I appreciate all of the input so far. What if I told you that in 2 years we'd have no mortgage and that we're living on 65% of our net income right now?
I think you should work at least until your mortgage is paid off, and likely at least until your kids are grown and safely out of the house. This protects you in case something happens that requires additional income, gives you cheap health coverage, and builds your nest egg. If you're only living on 65% of your net income, why not find a job that you really like a lot? As long as it pays your current expenses, you can allow your nest egg to grow uninterrupted. If you work for 9 more years at a job you enjoy, and let your youngest child get to college, your $1.5m will essentially double to $3m, so you can fully retire without worry. Alternatively, if your spouse wants to keep working, let her/him continue working and you can retire now. There's no rule that says both must retire at the same age.
I'm jealous.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Perhaps my risk tolerance is higher than others for an emergency fund, but I like two ETFs in particular. ... They are investments in baskets of preferred stocks Because they are based on preferred stocks that pay high dividends the stock price is fairly stable and the annual yield to the investor is about 7%. There is also one other factor that appeals to me and that is the fact that they pay their dividends monthly.
Bad, bad, bad idea. Also, your description of how the ETF works is not accurate.
Could you please explain why you think PP's idea is a bad one? At first glance, it seems sort of clever to me. I checked Vanguard's list of funds, and found this one (https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/snapshot?FundId=0723&FundIntExt=INT), which seems to be targeting the same goal. I'm sure there are other similar funds. It definitely is a little riskier than a vanilla money market account because income can fluctuate, and also you are paying fees and expenses (0.23%), which eats into any returns. But earning approximately 3% seems worthy of some moderate risk.
I'm not looking to argue with you. I'm hoping you'll explain your thinking so I can understand better. Please educate me. Thanks.