A Month To Go: Time for an Update

(Courtesy of CelticConnectionsRadio.org)

It hit me today that I leave for N. Ireland in a month.  Man, the last two weeks here at home have flown by!  By way of an update, here you go:

Loans/Funding

Great news here!  As of my last post, I was going to have to take out private loans to pay for this year - YIKES!!  When you're taking out nearly $40,000 in loans, the thought of private (vs education loans) is scary, to say the least.  Yesterday morning I got an email from the international office at Queen's that they were cleared to use US Federal Gov't loans for their US students.  Woohoo!!  So, Monday I've got to get on the phone with the FAFSA people and start moving ahead.

In the meantime, I'm in a financial crunch.  The housing deposit for Queen's is $600 and was due this week.  So, I've got to work on something this weekend for that.  So we'll see - I don't know if mom and dad will be able to loan me the money and I'll pay them back or if I'll need to take out a loan from my bank.  We'll see!

Departure

I don't know if I mentioned it anywhere else, but I have tickets bought for Sep. 15th.  So, I'll fly out of Memphis that morning and then arrive in Belfast Tuesday morning, the 16th.

Housing

Along with the housing deposit above, I have to decide on housing.  Queen's sent me a great booklet on all there housing.  Based off of the book, location, and the recommendation from a friend that was at Queen's this last year (Philip Londeree), I'm hoping to get into a set of townhouses that are across the street from Villa Italia.  For any of you that have been to Belfast with JBU, you'll remember this fantastic little Italian joint and know that it's right around the corner from the school.  It would be great!

What's Left?

So, besides funding, what's left is this:

1) Work out insurance for my car for the year

2) Sign up for absentee voting

3) Order a new harddrive and more memory for my computer (I decided to go this route, $200, instead of getting a new laptop, $1000.  I think, with these upgrades, my computer will make it through the year if not longer.)

4) Get Mohela Undergrad loans differed for the year

That's about it! If I can get that all done (and pack), I should be ready to go come Sep. 15th.  One month - here we go!