S06.E12: Flying, Applying And Rassling Gators

[DanaK]

Quote

WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 9:32-10:01 p.m. EDT 

Dan achieves a major financial milestone, making him reconsider his belief in the "Conners curse." Elsewhere, Mark finds out some news that causes him to reevaluate his future.

 

[Snow Apple]

Thank god Dan didn't remortgage the house to pay to Mark's tuition. I couldn't enjoy myself watching this episode because I kept bracing myself for that.

[Annber03]

"That's right, I said, 'you people'. Mainly because I can't remember any of your names 'cause I'm drunk." 

I totally understand Mark's frustration, though. He may not have meant to say the things he said, but he was right to be upset. I'm hopeful he can figure out how to go to that school, though. 

Don't advise peopel getting in fights on planes (or in general), but given how much of a jerk that guy was being, I'm also not surprised Dan reacted as he did. 

I liked the gifts from New Orleans :D. 

[ItCouldBeWorse]

So many things wrong with this episode.

College applications require documents besides the actual application. Transcripts, for instance. How did Becky obtain Mark's official transcript from his first semester at SAD? How did she fill out his financial aid application? Because if one had been submitted, I'm practically sure Mark would be going for free, not for 50k a year. U Chicago provides 100% of demonstrated need, and the Conners need a lot.

I chuckled when Mark said it might take him more than a year to earn the money to attend U. Chicago. 

Edited May 16 by ItCouldBeWorse

[SoMuchTV]

Wait what happened to Ben? Did I miss something?

[Starchild]

Or David. Why is his dad not contributing at all?

[Rocknrollzombie]

7 minutes ago, Starchild said:

Or David. Why is his dad not contributing at all?

David at point doesn’t exist in their lives, nor do the writers take him into account even off screen. We have seen it with the way they have written situations before that would have made sense if David was at least mentioned with helping. 

[Winston Wolfe]

1 hour ago, Annber03 said:

I totally understand Mark's frustration, though. He may not have meant to say the things he said, but he was right to be upset. I'm hopeful he can figure out how to go to that school, though. 

1 hour ago, Annber03 said:

Don't advise peopel getting in fights on planes (or in general), but given how much of a jerk that guy was being, I'm also not surprised Dan reacted as he did. 

An old girlfriend once told me, "A drunk mouth speaks a sober mind."

In other news, Dan is a bit long in the tooth to be picking fights. Plus, he hasn't been a 300-pound behemoth in quite some time. Brawls aren't guaranteed to go his way now.

Always fly first class or business class when you can afford it, folks.

 

Edited May 16 by Winston Wolfe

[Rocknrollzombie]

Becky over stepping with sending applications and forms on Mark’s behalf without him knowing is so irritating.

[txhorns79]

1 hour ago, Annber03 said:

 

I totally understand Mark's frustration, though. He may not have meant to say the things he said, but he was right to be upset. I'm hopeful he can figure out how to go to that school, though. 

It seems like student loans would make the most sense.  I know it's generally not a great idea to weigh yourself down in debt, but if he has a plan and is going to go for a major that is in demand and leads to a good paying job, a student loan may be worth it. 

[Bastet]

"Can you hand wash this, I've got a feeling it's gotta last for the next four years" was depressingly funny.

The mortgage burning of the original series was better, but this group scene at the bank was nice -- except what is Tyler doing there?  Another huh? question in that scene was  "Mark, you can see over the wall ..." because clearly so could everyone, even Darlene.

My reaction to the plane scene was "Yeah, like half the cabin wouldn't be filming" once Dan got into it with the jerk passenger, exacerbated when the attendant said "Most people just film the whole thing". 

The timing of Mark's acceptance makes no sense; a delayed submission as a freshman applicant automatically turns into being accepted a year later as a transfer student with no transcript from his transferring college?  And then that acceptance will just hold for however long it takes Mark to come up with the money (a grossly overstated sum for a university that has dramatically expanded its financial aid recently)?  This was contrabassoon scholarship level of distraction from the emotion of the scene between Mark and Darlene; they've overcome the logistics in other episodes to get me going about Darlene and Mark's emotions over what each needs to sacrifice for his education, but not this time.

[EtheltoTillie]

Thanks for reminding us of the contrabassoon caper, @Bastet. Logistics of this have exceeded previous levels of stupid if that is possible.

I was expecting Darlene to offer to go get a job at the University of Chicago to pay Mark’s tuition. 

Why were they calling  the current school SAD U?  Is that a real acronym or just a derogatory nickname for the school?  Or a real acronym that ironically fits the school?  Have they ever given us the name of the school?  

Edited May 16 by EtheltoTillie

[NeenerNeener]

1 hour ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Why were they calling  the current school SAD U?

Darlene actually named it in this episode: Stephen A. Douglas University.

[DanielleBowden]

11 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

Thank god Dan didn't remortgage the house to pay to Mark's tuition.

I absolutely thought that was where this episode was going. He can focus on taking/finishing gen ed courses at SADU for free and transfer to UofC to focus on degree work, then he's looking at two years.  Kind of like a community college plan.  Maybe because my kid is college bound and we've had a lot of discussion on what we can and cannot afford, I found Mark's rant at his family gross.  I get being upset that the app was submitted behind his back, but everything else was yucky.   I was glad in the end he apologized and seemed to appreciate what Darlene did do to get him to college.

Was Bev's train trip ever resolved? Did she come back?  Have we heard from her?

[Rocknrollzombie]

1 hour ago, DanielleBowden said:

 I found Mark's rant at his family gross.  I get being upset that the app was submitted behind his back, but everything else was yucky.   I was glad in the end he apologized and seemed to appreciate what Darlene did do to get him to college.

So he isn’t allowed to express his feelings at that moment?  Everything else was yucky? he has seen how his family is and the amount of idiotic decisions they have made.

[MrsEVH]

4 hours ago, DanielleBowden said:

Was Bev's train trip ever resolved? Did she come back?  Have we heard from her?

Maybe she just disappeared like David, Jerry, and Andy.

[pinkandsparkly13]

5 hours ago, DanielleBowden said:

Was Bev's train trip ever resolved? Did she come back?  Have we heard from her?

I think Becky mentioned her a few episodes ago. She's still out there exploring the world I guess. 

[chitowngirl]

Dan was worried about crashing into the mountains…there aren’t any from Chicago to New Orleans. Wouldn’t Dan want to take a vacation with…his wife??

[Starchild]

Jackie said Louise and Neville were visiting their mom. Guess he didn't want to wait.

[chitowngirl]

2 minutes ago, Starchild said:

Jackie said Louise and Neville were visiting their mom. Guess he didn't want to wait.

Because any money they get must be spent immediately! 🙄

[StaceyNotStacie]

1 hour ago, chitowngirl said:

Because any money they get must be spent immediately! 🙄

Were they going to a specific music festival? Maybe it was only a weekend thing. 

[Winston Wolfe]

7 hours ago, chitowngirl said:

7 hours ago, Starchild said:

Jackie said Louise and Neville were visiting their mom. Guess he didn't want to wait.

Because any money they get must be spent immediately! 🙄

The Conners Family has never met a bad decision that they didn't immediately fall in love with.

Edited May 17 by Winston Wolfe

[SoMuchTV]

20 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

Wait what happened to Ben? Did I miss something?

 

20 hours ago, Starchild said:

Or David. Why is his dad not contributing at all?

I wasn’t referring to Ben not contributing, I was commenting on how he wasn’t in the episode at all. Was there even a throwaway line about him working?

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, StaceyNotStacie said:

Were they going to a specific music festival? Maybe it was only a weekend thing. 

Yes, the New Orleans Jazz Festival, held that weekend.  Dan said he'd always wanted to go, and Jackie said she'd always wanted to see New Orleans, so since neither of them have jobs and Neville and Louise are visiting their mom, they should go.

[One Tough Cookie]

21 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

Wait what happened to Ben? Did I miss something?

He woke up and ran for his life?

 

3 hours ago, chitowngirl said:

Because any money they get must be spent immediately!

and usually on crap.

[chediavolo]

Who played the banker? 

[iMonrey]

On 5/16/2024 at 12:07 AM, Bastet said:

And then that acceptance will just hold for however long it takes Mark to come up with the money (a grossly overstated sum for a university that has dramatically expanded its financial aid recently)?  This was contrabassoon scholarship level of distraction from the emotion of the scene between Mark and Darlene; they've overcome the logistics in other episodes to get me going about Darlene and Mark's emotions over what each needs to sacrifice for his education, but not this time.

There are myriad examples on this series that prove the writers really don't understand the simplest things about how the world works . . . or just don't care. At all. On a lesser note, they wouldn't have served Jackie any drinks before taking off, nor are passengers allowed to use the restroom while they're still sitting on the tarmac. 

I'd like to know just how Mark plans to rack up $150 grand in a year or even two or three. He's not qualified for anything other than minimum wage jobs, it's going to take decades to save up that much cash working at Walmart.

Edited May 17 by iMonrey

[chitowngirl]

8 hours ago, chediavolo said:

Who played the banker? 

Joel Murray

[Bastet]

8 hours ago, chediavolo said:

Who played the banker? 

To me, he's Pete from Dharma and Greg.  Joel Murray

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

On a lesser note, they wouldn't have served Jackie any drinks before taking off,

You still get a pre-takeoff drink in first class, but they didn't go crazy and splurge on that, IIRC -- I'm 99.9% positive there were three seats, not two, in each row -- so good catch.

[ofmd]

Aaaand... I'm back to hating all of them, except for Mark (and Louise), but boy does that actor need a couple of lessons on how to play drunk...

[wendyg]

3 hours ago, Bastet said:

To me, he's Pete from Dharma and Greg.  Joel Murray

Also Freddy in Mad Men. I always love his work.

[One Tough Cookie]

6 hours ago, iMonrey said:

There are myriad examples on this series that prove the writers really don't understand the simplest things about how the world works . .

The Conner are lower middle class, right?  They have always struggled to pay bills ; but when they get a little cash, they waste it. 

There was a time in my life when I was poor.  If I was lucky enuff to get something extra, birthdays, holidays I would  either pay a bill, put a little in a {gasp} savings account.  It's kinda pathetic that they think it's funny wasting money.

I don't get why the producers of this show haven't shown any growth or maturity when it comes to finances--

To each their own, I guess.  But it would be nicer if the producers managed to show a little growth of financial management for this family.

rant over

[Winston Wolfe]

2 hours ago, One Tough Cookie said:

I don't get why the producers of this show haven't shown any growth or maturity when it comes to finances--

To each their own, I guess.  But it would be nicer if the producers managed to show a little growth of financial management for this family.

Agreed. At the end of the day, they are their own worst enemies.

[Yeah No]

On 5/16/2024 at 1:07 AM, Bastet said:

The timing of Mark's acceptance makes no sense; a delayed submission as a freshman applicant automatically turns into being accepted a year later as a transfer student with no transcript from his transferring college?  And then that acceptance will just hold for however long it takes Mark to come up with the money (a grossly overstated sum for a university that has dramatically expanded its financial aid recently)?  This was contrabassoon scholarship level of distraction from the emotion of the scene between Mark and Darlene; they've overcome the logistics in other episodes to get me going about Darlene and Mark's emotions over what each needs to sacrifice for his education, but not this time.

Not to mention that even though the U. of Chicago has "rolling admissions", meaning that they will accept an application from someone at any time for the next semester and accept them as long as they meet the requirements, they don't accept transfer students without at least one term of study in the form of a transcript.  I doubt it would accept anyone as a freshman who has attended any college at all.  And an essay would likely be a requirement.  Did Becky write one herself?  Also while an in-person interview might not be required  at the very least they'd want a video from the applicant introducing themselves and why they want to go to the school.  Chicago U. is a very competitive school, almost as hard to get into (if not AS hard) as an ivy league school and only accepts a small percentage of transfer applicants so this whole thing is once again an instance of the writers creating a situation that doesn't bear any resemblance to the real world.

[Yeah No]

On 5/15/2024 at 10:07 PM, ItCouldBeWorse said:

So many things wrong with this episode.

College applications require documents besides the actual application. Transcripts, for instance. How did Becky obtain Mark's official transcript from his first semester at SAD? How did she fill out his financial aid application? Because if one had been submitted, I'm practically sure Mark would be going for free, not for 50k a year. U Chicago provides 100% of demonstrated need, and the Conners need a lot.

I chuckled when Mark said it might take him more than a year to earn the money to attend U. Chicago. 

Yeah, the financial aid thing bugs me too.  The show goes out of its way to make the Conners look poor and yet Mark doesn't qualify for much financial aid?  I get it that aid is harder to come by now than in my day but come on, how poor do you have to be not to owe 50K per year?  It's ridiculous and once again the show annoys people by creating a reality where these people don't get one single win, break or advantage in any situation.  It's bad enough that they're their own worst enemies but the alternate reality they live in is even worse in that way than the real reality!

[chediavolo]

15 hours ago, Bastet said:

To me, he's Pete from Dharma and Greg.  Joel Murray

You still get a pre-takeoff drink in first class, but they didn't go crazy and splurge on that, IIRC -- I'm 99.9% positive there were three seats, not two, in each row -- so good catch.

Yes! That’s where I saw him. Thanks.  

[Rocknrollzombie]

This is Glenn Quinn’s niece in the airplane scene

[ams1001]

6 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Not to mention that even though the U. of Chicago has "rolling admissions", meaning that they will accept an application from someone at any time for the next semester and accept them as long as they meet the requirements, they don't accept transfer students without at least one term of study in the form of a transcript.  I doubt it would accept anyone as a freshman who has attended any college at all.  And an essay would likely be a requirement.  Did Becky write one herself?  Also while an in-person interview might not be required  at the very least they'd want a video from the applicant introducing themselves and why they want to go to the school.  Chicago U. is a very competitive school, almost as hard to get into (if not AS hard) as an ivy league school and only accepts a small percentage of transfer applicants so this whole thing is once again an instance of the writers creating a situation that doesn't bear any resemblance to the real world.

Well, she said she found the application saved on the computer he gave her, he just never submitted it, so I'll grant that all the pieces were there (and maybe they assumed he was just applying as a freshman....until I remembered that one of them specifically said he was accepted as a transfer. So never mind that. 🙄) But I'll assume that his essay was already written, at least. Maybe he also made a video.

(Which...pretty dumb to give a computer to someone without wiping your data first. Especially in this family who clearly can't be trusted.)

My parents had way more money to send two kids to college than Darlene ever will (unless she wins the lottery and doesn't do something stupid with it) and I got a lot more financial aid than Mark ever seems to find himself eligible for. My brother did the community college then transfer to a state college route (with an extra year at the state school because of prerequisites he needed to take for classes he transferred...), while I did four years at a private out-of-state school. My parents paid about half and I had a grant from the school, a campus job which was listed as "work-study" but was really just for spending money, and loans. When my brother graduated the year before me my grant was cut by about 75% and I had to take out an extra loan for my senior year. My parents also helped us after the fact (in the form of Christmas gifts earmarked for loan payments) and we both paid off our loans well before the 10-year payment schedule that they set up (mine were done in about seven). I do recognize I'm quite lucky in that regard and a lot of things are different now. (This was in the mid-90s; costs were lower, in actual dollars it was roughly around $20K including room and board, and now it's about $51K for the upcoming school year, but I don't know how that compares when you factor in inflation and whatnot since then.)

I googled U of Chicago tuition and it looks like a student living on campus is looking at about $94K for the 2024-5 school year with tuition, room and board, and other fees. According to USNews.com, "The average need-based scholarship or grant awarded to first-year students at University of Chicago was $65,176." (Looks like that was for 2021.) They also have a chart of average costs based on family income, which Darlene would certainly be at the lower end of. Since she and Ben are married, I assume his income would also be factored in, so maybe they'd land in the second or third tier, because clearly that store wasn't making him rich and neither will this magazine venture.

And now I feel like I have probably done more research in five minutes into the U of Chicago cost structure than the writers of this show. I could be totally off-base.

I still think that Darlene would have done better to keep the good-paying job with benefits and room for advancement, let Mark apply for whatever financial aid he's eligible for (which even then would certainly be more in the real world than the writers think) and take out loans to supplement the rest, and then help him pay off the loans later, with her good salary, which would most likely also come with a few raises by the time he finishes school. (Plus he's planning to go into a field where he has a good chance of making decent money once he gets a job, right?) She could start setting aside a little from each paycheck in a high-yield savings account for that purpose so it would grow faster in the meantime. Set up a direct deposit and she wouldn't have to even think about it (which would be best since these people can't see a pot of money without blowing it on something dumb). Make a big up-front payment toward the loans and you have a cushion for future payments, too. I did that with my Christmas gift money; my second payment was $3500, and while I continued to pay the monthly amount (sometimes more, occasionally less if something else big came up), my statements always said I owed zero for the month because I was ahead. Darlene could easily have started saving now if she hadn't quit a decent job before she even started.

(Speaking of blowing money, I assume Dan didn't get a refund on the plane tickets after deliberately doing something stupid to get him kicked off when he had a reprieve from the first stupid thing. The guy was an ass but he should have either left it alone or called a flight attendant. I wonder what that cost him, then they would have spent at least another couple hundred for the bus tickets (I googled and found, "You can expect to pay from $110 to $319 for a bus ticket from Chicago to New Orleans."). Plus hotel and the music festival and food and I'm guessing this trip cost more than his thousand or so that he had left over to burn. Also wonder where the flight crew was during all that and why they weren't keeping an eye on the troublemaker after the first incident. I mean, he wasn't exactly being subtle about taunting Dan.)

[One Tough Cookie]

1 hour ago, ams1001 said:

Speaking of blowing money, I assume Dan didn't get a refund on the plane tickets after deliberately doing something stupid to get him kicked off

I was surprised that Dan didn't get tackled by passengers who were frightened by a loud, big guy, restrained and taken off the plane in cuffs.  People are uneasy on planes and I could totally see that happening and they blew the money to get him out.

but when did common sense or reality matter on this show?

[wendyg]

18 hours ago, One Tough Cookie said:

There was a time in my life when I was poor.  If I was lucky enuff to get something extra, birthdays, holidays I would  either pay a bill, put a little in a {gasp} savings account.  It's kinda pathetic that they think it's funny wasting money.

IME this sort of thing can go either way. I've known people who saw found money as a chance to save or pay a bill...but I've also known people who just want something for themselves for once. The latter is no help longer-term, but I can understand the reaction if you think it's the only time you're going to be able to have a little fun.

[mythoughtis]

39 minutes ago, wendyg said:

IME this sort of thing can go either way. I've known people who saw found money as a chance to save or pay a bill...but I've also known people who just want something for themselves for once. The latter is no help longer-term, but I can understand the reaction if you think it's the only time you're going to be able to have a little fun.

The Conners have done the same stupidity with found money and job choices repeatedly. That’s what makes everyone so annoyed.   
 

Becky was well aware of Mark’s financial situation. What possessed her to send in his application? 

[Mittengirl]

The whole issue of “found money” doesn’t make sense.  Dan was working at the hardware store and now he is out of a job.  Wouldn’t the insurance money Ben gave him just make up for his lost salary?

 

Dan is 70 years old, he is sure to be having more medical issues and unless he has some kind of unicorn insurance plan that covers  everything, that money should have been put aside for the next bill - and there will be a next bill. (Spoken as an insured person 12 years younger than Dan who just got a $6k ER bill.)  And every homeowner knows there is always something about to need repair or replacement.  Spending a couple hundred bucks on something fun, I can see.   Blowing it all is just stupid.

[Bastet]

To be fair, the only number we know is how much he got back from the bank after it turned out it took less to pay off the mortgage than he'd thought -- we don't know how much he started with, in terms of his share of the insurance payout, or how much he paid the bank, so don't know how much he has left to sock away.  Depending on the answer to that, treating the refund as found money might have made perfect sense. 

In the original series, we several times saw them grapple with whether to put such money towards bills, in savings, or on something that's a treat.  This time, there was no hesitation of the I really should put it towards [a certain expense] or save it in case variety; he simply bought better groceries and said he hadn't decided what to spend the rest on, which is when Jackie suggested a bucket list item and he brought up the New Orleans Jazz Festival.  So, and this could go either way, he's either quit even considering keeping more in savings or there's enough left of the insurance settlement after paying off the mortgage that, this time, a thousand dollars isn't needed elsewhere.

[juliet73]

I just can't with this show...

I don't understand why financial aid is NEVER mentioned!  This would be a great storyline since student loans are such a present day hot topic.  Mark thinks he's going to work for a year and save $150k? Someone please direct me where an 18 year with only a high school diploma is going to get a job with that kind of salary...in Lanford!!  If Dan takes out a mortgage to pay for Mark's education, I'm out!

[One Tough Cookie]

20 hours ago, wendyg said:

o save or pay a bill...but I've also known people who just want something for themselves for once.

Granted, but these people never learn and all they have done is blow it.

[iMonrey]

17 hours ago, juliet73 said:

I don't understand why financial aid is NEVER mentioned! 

It's mentioned, but apparently it's not enough. At least, not according to the script writers who put little to no effort researching this.

17 hours ago, juliet73 said:

If Dan takes out a mortgage to pay for Mark's education, I'm out!

You're not the first person to suggest this, and now I'm starting to wonder if that's where they're going with this.

[One Tough Cookie]

On 5/15/2024 at 10:03 PM, Snow Apple said:

tuition.

 

On 5/15/2024 at 10:03 PM, Snow Apple said:

Thank god Dan didn't remortgage the house to pay to Mark's tuition. I couldn't enjoy myself watching this episode because I kept bracing myself for that.

That's the kind of thing I was expecting him to do  It would have been a huge mistake on his part...but that''s the way they roll. I wonder how Louise would have reacted. if Dan did.

eta:  I wonder if the bank would even consider giving him one if he applied for one, given his age

Edited May 19 by One Tough Cookie

[ams1001]

23 minutes ago, One Tough Cookie said:

eta:  I wonder if the bank would even consider giving him one if he applied for one, given his age

Also his payment history. They even joked about it with the guy at the bank.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 5/18/2024 at 3:42 AM, Yeah No said:

Not to mention that even though the U. of Chicago has "rolling admissions", meaning that they will accept an application from someone at any time for the next semester and accept them as long as they meet the requirements, they don't accept transfer students without at least one term of study in the form of a transcript.  I doubt it would accept anyone as a freshman who has attended any college at all.  And an essay would likely be a requirement.  Did Becky write one herself?  Also while an in-person interview might not be required  at the very least they'd want a video from the applicant introducing themselves and why they want to go to the school.  Chicago U. is a very competitive school, almost as hard to get into (if not AS hard) as an ivy league school and only accepts a small percentage of transfer applicants so this whole thing is once again an instance of the writers creating a situation that doesn't bear any resemblance to the real world.

Yes to most of this, with these comments:

1) "I doubt it would accept anyone as a freshman who has attended any college at all.": Yes, Becky must have filled out a transfer application herself, since Mark had completed an application for freshman year.

2) "And an essay would likely be a requirement."

On 5/18/2024 at 12:05 PM, ams1001 said:

Well, she said she found the application saved on the computer he gave her, he just never submitted it, so I'll grant that all the pieces were there (and maybe they assumed he was just applying as a freshman....until I remembered that one of them specifically said he was accepted as a transfer. So never mind that. 🙄) But I'll assume that his essay was already written, at least.

Mark must have had his freshman application essays saved-U Chicago requires 2-but in order to transfer:

The University of Chicago Supplement requires one extended essay of your choice from our list of several prompts and one short essay on why you would like to attend the University of Chicago as a transfer student. For this second essay, transfer students will be asked to answer the following prompt (in approximately 500 words):

Please tell us why you are planning to leave (or have already left) your current college or university, and how the University of Chicago will satisfy your desire for a particular kind of learning, community, and future. Please address with some specificity your own wishes and how they relate to UChicago.

https://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/apply/transfer-applicants

3) ..."meaning that they will accept an application from someone at any time for the next semester and accept them as long as they meet the requirements": only if they have space for them.  No competitive college can accept all qualified applicants, and as you said "Chicago U. is a very competitive school, almost as hard to get into (if not AS hard) as an ivy league school and only accepts a small percentage of transfer applicants so this whole thing is once again an instance of the writers creating a situation that doesn't bear any resemblance to the real world."

So there's no way Becky could just submit Mark's original application. And Darlene would have needed to be involved with the financial aid application, which explains why there wasn't much (although there probably wouldn't have been any.)

On 5/18/2024 at 4:48 AM, Yeah No said:

Yeah, the financial aid thing bugs me too.  The show goes out of its way to make the Conners look poor and yet Mark doesn't qualify for much financial aid?  I get it that aid is harder to come by now than in my day but come on, how poor do you have to be not to owe 50K per year? 

It's actually much easier now for low income students to get financial aid at the more competitive schools-the hard part is getting accepted.  The most competitive schools generally have replaced loans with outright grants.  "Beginning with the Class of 2023, the UChicago Empower initiative increased access to Chicago in a variety of ways. In addition to admissions policy enhancements, UChicago guarantees free tuition for families with incomes under $125,000* per year (with (typical assets). Families earning less than $60,000* per year (with typical assets) will have tuition, fees, and standard room and meals covered by financial aid."  

https://financialaid.uchicago.edu/undergraduate/#:~:text=In addition to admissions policy,meals covered by financial aid.

In reality, Mark would have gone for free, or very close to it.  What could Darlene have been making before she quit her job?  And even if you added on Ben's income?  Were they jointly making much over 60K?  M

Mark should have been applying to the most competitive schools (in addition to some safeties), many of whose applications would have been free for him.  But they needed to keep him close to home in order to keep him on the show, so his college advisor apparently put no time into the kid who probably had a great shot at attending a competitive college.

On 5/18/2024 at 12:05 PM, ams1001 said:

And now I feel like I have probably done more research in five minutes into the U of Chicago cost structure than the writers of this show. I could be totally off-base.

You and me both.

On 5/18/2024 at 3:11 PM, mythoughtis said:

Becky was well aware of Mark’s financial situation. What possessed her to send in his application? 

Didn't she say she thought he would feel better about himself if he knew that he could have gotten in?  Boy, was she wrong.

She must have also changed Mark's email address to her own.  And you probably have to electronically sign the application before submitting it.  If so, she forged his electronic signature, too.

 

On 5/19/2024 at 2:00 PM, One Tough Cookie said:

I wonder if the bank would even consider giving him one if he applied for one, given his age

On 5/19/2024 at 2:24 PM, ams1001 said:

Also his payment history. They even joked about it with the guy at the bank.

I guess it depends on the current value of his house.  If it's worth a lot more than the loan, business is business, and they can always foreclose.

He could try for a reverse mortgage, which carries no monthly payments, but then the kids will be left with almost nothing as soon as he dies, as the house will be sold to repay the loan.

[ams1001]

5 minutes ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

Yes, Becky must have filled out a transfer application herself, since Mark had completed an application for freshman year.

So would that qualify as fraud? I mean, we know they're not above such things, anyway. Doubt she'd be prosecuted but if the school found out they'd probably revoke his acceptance.

Edited May 20 by ams1001