Yeah, I couldn't believe the info I ran across on that website. I just went there looking to see if there was a vet school in HI- there is not- but I found out the tuition/fees and the difference for out-of-state and in state and then the other info- like a college accepting 80 students per year and 60 of those will be in-state students to give them preference. Obviously, I can't revolve everything around this right now and difficult child likely will not get that far, but darn if I'm going to squelch that dream for him and it is worth considering if I get offered a job in HI. Not necessarily that I wouldn't take it, but I'd need to be aware that we might as well not plan on being there all our lives- or I coould stay there and try to help difficult child financially to come back to the mainland. But when you are looking at $19,000 per year cost vs $40,000 per year for 4 years, it's worth keeping in the back of the mind, Know what I mean?? And the fact that even though it's hard for everyone to get in, your chances are 3 times better if you live in the sate of the school. Even a contract with another state only helps so much- MD has a contract with VA, apparently, and VA accepts about 50% from VA, 30% from MD, and 20% from other statees.
I stayed up last night estimating costs of the move alone and that's outrageous unless I give up my household full of furniture. Of course, ultimately, it would cost me more to replace it. Unless they decide to cover some of these expenses or commit to starting me out at a high "step" for that GS level, this just won't be feasible at all. Actuall, I'm not sure it would even be possible because I don't have that kind of monsy in the bank and can't fathom giving up the dogs, walking away from all our "stuff", etc. Hopefully, I'll find something closer to here but it better happen quick!
Actually, what gave me the thought about college to begin with was trying to look into sd's on the island we would be going to so I could search for housing costs in the area of a good high school. Most of the high school's lookk pretty good and several have pools/swim teams and JROTC as options for difficult child. One of the universities there apparently has a great Marine Biology undergraduate program- I can see difficult child deterring into something like that.