We're In! Now What?

Now that we know Jason will be attending P.A. School, it's time to PREPARE, PREPARE, PREPARE- and SAVE!

The first hard part is over. What a relief it is to know that Jason will for sure be attending P.A. school, to know where he will be attending, and to know when he will be attending. Now comes the second hard part. Getting the paperwork in order, and getting ready for the move! There is so much that goes in to both of these preparations.

First, the paperwork. Matriculation fees ($1000 in total for Salus), agreements to sign, and the dreaded - LOANS. Financial aid is definitely one of the more strenuous parts of preparing for P.A. School. Learning about all of the different kinds of loans and what will be best for you can get a little confusing. Then, you learn about the interest. Oh the interest. And up until now, I didn't realize the term "paying interest on interest" was even legal. Well, I'm here to assure you - it is. Quite disgusting really.  The hard part about the LOAN process, is that the amount of money you are awarded is only based on one person - the student attending. Therefore, cost of living (rent, food, travel, etc.) is only based on one individual. That means it doesn't matter if you have a wife and kids and mouths to feed - you've got to figure out a way to make your budget work. Apparently there is a loan maximum amount too, and you can't ask for more than that amount. So that has been a bit daunting to think about. But we'll figure it out! P.S. Fastweb is not what it used to be. Trying to find a decent scholarship to apply for is hard! Everything is, "Join our website and we'll enter you in to a drawing." No thanks. I prefer writing an essay and actually having a chance.

Next comes planning the move. We're not talking just packing, driving/flying across country, and transportation of all of our belongings (which, by the way, is estimated to cost us about $3500 - OUCH again). Along with this comes the tedious job of finding a place to live. It might be easy for some people, but for me, I plan every detail. For example: Where is the Elementary School located that Lilly will be attending in proximity to where we will be living? What are it's school ratings? Is it a walkable distance for when Jason has the car in his second year of schooling for rotations? How far away is Jason's school? Is there a bus route so I can have the car? How far away is Walmart, Target, Costco, grocery stores? - These are just some of the things I look in to when deciding on where we should live. The minute Jason got his interview invite to Salus, I started to begin my research. I had found a few apartments for him to visit after his interview, in the few hours he had before his plane took off. However, the Lord had everything in His hands. Jason happened to talk to a current student (who happened to be LDS and have a wife and two daughters also) who told him where he was living and to check it out. Jason went there, got the Real Estate Card from the doorman (they are Condos that people rent out), and went to the park across the street. There he happened upon the wife with her two daughters of the before mentioned student! The Lord directed our paths, and we now know where we will live for P.A. School! And for those who may be wondering, Lilly's school is right across the street from the Condos (along with an AMAZING park), and Jason's school is only a mile away!

This is just the beginning of the adventure. I know that as the time draws closer to actually move out to Pennsylvania, lots more will have to be done. I'm just grateful that the Lord is directing our paths, and we have a supportive family to help us along the way. That's all for now!
~Lindsay