So, yesterday I took care of a bunch of health related stuff. Last step? Calling to waive SMU's health care option. I have my own health care, so I don't need to pay the extra $715 per semester for theirs, right?
WRONG.
I'm super peeved at my new educational institution right now, because apparently even if you have health insurance, people with HMOs instead of PPOs don't get the option of waiving the SMU coverage. What does that mean, exactly?
Well, to be a student at SMU you have to do two health related things. You have to pay your Student Health Center fees, which are built into your student fees. Every student has to do this. You don't have a choice. Those fees cover routine visits at the Health Center, as well as counseling services, etc. etc. So if you're going in because you've got strep throat, or something, that would be covered by the student fees you're paying.
The second thing you have to do is have health insurance/medical coverage. This is in case something a little more serious were to happen -- x-rays, ambulance rides, hospitalizations, etc. Now, if you have a PPO then you can waive SMU's health insurance, no problem, and you go on your merry way. But those of us with HMOs? Fuhggedaboudit.
We don't have the choice. We have to pay the extra $715 per semester. So then we are covered DOUBLE, and if we choose to use the SMU insurance to visit a local doctor for something we would have a $250 deductible! I don't have a deductible on my own health insurance! Why would I want to pay for insurance when I'm just going to have to pay a deductible if I really have no need to?
The answer is: I don't. I don't want to pay that extra $715 a semester. My budget is already going to be tight enough as it is. I don't want to pay for the health insurance PLUS the health fees, when the health fees in addition to my own personal insurance that I already have will pretty much take care of any situation that could possibly arise. But do I have a choice? NO. Which amounts to little more than thievery, in my book. I'm paying $1430 per year to get covered less comprehensively than I am without having to pay anything per year.
What part of that makes sense? No wonder I'm peeved.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
0L Prep: Taking Care of (Your Body's) Business
Over the last week, I've started really getting into the swing of the whole "I"m moving to Dallas and going to law school in less than a month" thing. I've started actively packing up my room, and I'm slowly but surely checking things off of my to-do list.
One thing that I can count as checked off as of today? Getting my health care stuff in order. You see, any law school that you attend is going to want to have a health questionnaire filled out by your doctor. But you should also take this opportunity to make sure that you are in tip-top shape before you leave the comfort of home and your family doctor.
You should review all of your immunization and booster records to make sure that you're not due for something important. All educational institutions require that you have your MMR (Measles, Mumps, and Rubella) vaccines. Most people get them as kids...I got mine when I was about a year old.
Tetanus boosters should be given once every ten years, so if you haven't had one since junior high you'll want to get that taken care of . The tetanus booster is often administered in conjunction with the vaccines for pertussis (whooping cough) and diptheria, all together called a PDT or TdaP vaccine. I got mine last Thursday, and I'm no wimp, but BOY was my arm sore! For three or four days!
You'll also want to make sure that you're immune to Varicella (chicken pox) and Hep A and Hep B. Most colleges will have required you to get vaccinated against Meningitis, so odds are you've had that done in the past, but it doesn't hurt to take a look at your records just to make sure.
Lastly, you will be required to show proof of a negative TB test. The test, known as a PPD skin test, is pretty simple -- they insert a small dose of tuberculin units into your forearm, and in two days you go back to have the test "read." They just check to make sure that you haven't had any sort of bad reaction to the injection, and that the bubble has receded.
Another thing you should do is make sure that you get your "yearly" visits out of the way before you leave, so that you don't have to worry about scheduling them during the school year. Eye appointments, dental check ups, lady-parts visits, physicals -- they can all be taken care of in July and August.
If you have contacts or glasses, make sure that your prescription is valid for a whole year from the summer, that way if for some reason you do need to order new glasses or contacts you can do so without having to schedule another eye exam. I personally wear contacts, so I'm going to make sure I have no less than a six month supply before I leave.
It pays to make sure that you have all your ducks in a row, that way you aren't scrambling around like a crazy person once you make it to school and realize you only have a couple of days to get the different shots or inoculations before school starts.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
I Made a Moving AND a Car Decision!
So, if you've been reading you know that I've been wrestling with the decision on how to (or whether to) move my crap from here in California to Dallas. I was weighing a couple of different options, but after a lot of number crunching I've decided that it makes the most sense to rent a PODS-like storage cube, pack it up, and ship it to Dallas.
I decided to go with ABF's U-Pack ReloCube because of their competitive pricing. Ultimately, it's going to cost me about $920 to get a cube that will fit a studio's worth of furniture and stuff from here to Dallas. I picked the door-to-door method, which is a little more expensive (but significantly more convenient and less stressful) than the terminal-to-terminal option. They will drop off a ReloCube (which is about 6' x 7' x 8') in front of my house, give me 5 days to fill it up, and then pick it up. 4 days later it will be in Dallas waiting for me when I get off of the plane!
Originally it seemed a little bit of a waste to me to pick to storage pod option, just because I didn't have enough furniture to fill my apartment anyway, and I would have ended up shopping for the big things (bed, couch, table, etc.) in Dallas anyway. However, my mother and my aunt both decided to redecorate rooms in their respective houses over the summer, so I now have pretty much everything I'll need at my disposal, so it ends up costing me less in a long run (and it's nicer furniture than I could afford on my own!).
ALSO, I've decided to wait until I get to Texas to get a new car. I think I've pretty much decided to go for a lease instead of a purchase, in an effort to keep my payments down and because I really don't know where I'll be in 3 years. I'm going to try to sell my car as a "Mechanic's Special" locally, and if I get $1,000 that's great. I'm thinking that my plan will be to arrange for the lease over the phone over the next month, and then when I land in Dallas go to the car lot and pick up my new ride. I'll just have to drive one of our family cars around until then.
I decided not to buy or lease here at home because if I went with a lease then 15% of my annual mileage allowance is used in the first month just driving out to Dallas, and that just didn't make sense to me. PLUS Texas has a lower sales tax rate than California, and they tax you on the cost of the car out the door (after rebates), rather than the sticker price (pre-rebate) like California does.
So, those are two huge weights lifted off of my shoulders. While I still have to get all of the details ironed out, it does make me feel so much better to at least have a direction in which I'm moving already worked out!
I decided to go with ABF's U-Pack ReloCube because of their competitive pricing. Ultimately, it's going to cost me about $920 to get a cube that will fit a studio's worth of furniture and stuff from here to Dallas. I picked the door-to-door method, which is a little more expensive (but significantly more convenient and less stressful) than the terminal-to-terminal option. They will drop off a ReloCube (which is about 6' x 7' x 8') in front of my house, give me 5 days to fill it up, and then pick it up. 4 days later it will be in Dallas waiting for me when I get off of the plane!
Originally it seemed a little bit of a waste to me to pick to storage pod option, just because I didn't have enough furniture to fill my apartment anyway, and I would have ended up shopping for the big things (bed, couch, table, etc.) in Dallas anyway. However, my mother and my aunt both decided to redecorate rooms in their respective houses over the summer, so I now have pretty much everything I'll need at my disposal, so it ends up costing me less in a long run (and it's nicer furniture than I could afford on my own!).
ALSO, I've decided to wait until I get to Texas to get a new car. I think I've pretty much decided to go for a lease instead of a purchase, in an effort to keep my payments down and because I really don't know where I'll be in 3 years. I'm going to try to sell my car as a "Mechanic's Special" locally, and if I get $1,000 that's great. I'm thinking that my plan will be to arrange for the lease over the phone over the next month, and then when I land in Dallas go to the car lot and pick up my new ride. I'll just have to drive one of our family cars around until then.
I decided not to buy or lease here at home because if I went with a lease then 15% of my annual mileage allowance is used in the first month just driving out to Dallas, and that just didn't make sense to me. PLUS Texas has a lower sales tax rate than California, and they tax you on the cost of the car out the door (after rebates), rather than the sticker price (pre-rebate) like California does.
So, those are two huge weights lifted off of my shoulders. While I still have to get all of the details ironed out, it does make me feel so much better to at least have a direction in which I'm moving already worked out!
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
But What I Really Wanted to be...
Yes, I'm going to law school (in less than a month!). But what I really wanted to be was...
An editor at Vogue!
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Schools with Free Applications
"Why can't we hunt something cool? Like a hawk or an eagle, something with talons?"
"That'd be awesome. We could get something like big game. Even a gorilla, or a rhinoceros, or a f***ing human being! That'll get you jacked up."
- Wedding Crashers (2005)
What do you like better - Christmas, or Application Season? I'd definitely go with Christmas. Sorry, Vince Vaughn.
In my personal journey towards law school, I'm well past the application cycle (no duh). But if you're gearing up to apply for the 2011-2012 cycle, there are a fair few things you should be taking the summer to get done, especially if you're still in undergrad.
Of course, you should take the LSAT. At this point the June LSAT has occurred, but if you still haven't taken it, or if you plan on re-taking because of a less than stellar score, now is the time to study for the test. If you put in even an hour a day, four or five days a week during the summer, then once school starts you're golden. All you'll have to do is take a BUNCH of practice tests, but you'll already have worked out the approaches to the different sections that are effective for you.
Since it's been years since I studied for the LSATs I don't want to talk about that too much. What I do want to talk about it identifying your application strengths and weaknesses, and working on a list of where to apply. If you're planning to apply for admission to law school for next fall, you should be setting up your list of target schools now, and applying as early as possible (especially if you're a splitter or your numbers are on the less-competitive side for a given school). A lot of applications go up in September, and an early application never hurts, so you should have your applications, and any supplemental materials, ready to go by then.
Take some time to re-read my post from last year about picking where to apply. Use those tools to craft a target list for yourself. Another good resource for finding out information about each application you might be interested in (fee, deadlines, requirements, etc.) in one centralized location is AppReqs.com. You can filter and sort results based by what's important to you (deadline, essay length, application fee), and it has a majority of the ABA-accredited law schools
But bear in mind the cost of applying to each school. Those $60 applications add up REALLY quickly. So, I've taken it upon myself to craft a list (not exhaustive, but pretty good) of schools that have no application fee. Some of this data is available on TLS, but in threads that are locked, so you can't find it really easily.
Don't forget, you can always ask for a fee waiver! And even if the application is free or you get a waiver, you still have to pay the LSAC fee of $12. Check out my list after the jump!
"That'd be awesome. We could get something like big game. Even a gorilla, or a rhinoceros, or a f***ing human being! That'll get you jacked up."
- Wedding Crashers (2005)
What do you like better - Christmas, or Application Season? I'd definitely go with Christmas. Sorry, Vince Vaughn.
In my personal journey towards law school, I'm well past the application cycle (no duh). But if you're gearing up to apply for the 2011-2012 cycle, there are a fair few things you should be taking the summer to get done, especially if you're still in undergrad.
Of course, you should take the LSAT. At this point the June LSAT has occurred, but if you still haven't taken it, or if you plan on re-taking because of a less than stellar score, now is the time to study for the test. If you put in even an hour a day, four or five days a week during the summer, then once school starts you're golden. All you'll have to do is take a BUNCH of practice tests, but you'll already have worked out the approaches to the different sections that are effective for you.
Since it's been years since I studied for the LSATs I don't want to talk about that too much. What I do want to talk about it identifying your application strengths and weaknesses, and working on a list of where to apply. If you're planning to apply for admission to law school for next fall, you should be setting up your list of target schools now, and applying as early as possible (especially if you're a splitter or your numbers are on the less-competitive side for a given school). A lot of applications go up in September, and an early application never hurts, so you should have your applications, and any supplemental materials, ready to go by then.
Take some time to re-read my post from last year about picking where to apply. Use those tools to craft a target list for yourself. Another good resource for finding out information about each application you might be interested in (fee, deadlines, requirements, etc.) in one centralized location is AppReqs.com. You can filter and sort results based by what's important to you (deadline, essay length, application fee), and it has a majority of the ABA-accredited law schools
But bear in mind the cost of applying to each school. Those $60 applications add up REALLY quickly. So, I've taken it upon myself to craft a list (not exhaustive, but pretty good) of schools that have no application fee. Some of this data is available on TLS, but in threads that are locked, so you can't find it really easily.
Don't forget, you can always ask for a fee waiver! And even if the application is free or you get a waiver, you still have to pay the LSAC fee of $12. Check out my list after the jump!
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