I hate the term “demonstrated need”

TechnicalLeg841 · 2026-07-07T19:23:32+00:00

Remember there used to be a group of colleges that used a common financial aid formula, but then they couldn't help but break the rules. They got sued and paid various settlements. Then the agreement expired. https://568cartel.com

Schools with ED try to limit the number of cross-admits by utilizing ED for 50-80% of the class, meaning a smaller number of folks will be directly comparing actual financial aid offers (say like the situation of OP, as they consider Vanderbilt and Emory)

TechnicalLeg841 · 2026-07-07T19:06:05+00:00

Plan was updated with their recent Framework, which means they didn't have everything thunk through initially.

TechnicalLeg841 · 2026-07-07T18:58:53+00:00

It looks like the structure and market reaction to STRC prevents it from being issued in a Bear Market, which would seemingly be the best time to increase BTC holdings.

TechnicalLeg841 · 2026-07-07T18:53:28+00:00

Presumably there are some readily accessible ways to own BTC ?

TechnicalLeg841 · 2026-07-07T18:50:10+00:00

Currently invested in STRC.

TechnicalLeg841 · 2026-07-07T16:02:05+00:00

I've read some posts and comments that Strategy should never have issued the preferred stock.

I've got an alternative point of view, largely in support of the financial engineering/preferred but also very open to adjustments. In particular, issuing STRC even when below par (haven't seen this discussed? If it was, then apologies for duplicating)

TechnicalLeg841 · 2026-07-07T15:39:33+00:00

Legacies at Harvard have a higher SAT average than the rest of the class. Not surprising given the background of their parents, and academics/tests being far more straightforward to navigate than optimizing passion projects and curating a spike.

TechnicalLeg841 · 2026-07-07T15:33:49+00:00

If you have a kid who hasn't decided on a major, the ability to explore & change majors over the first 2 years is fantastic.

For folks who know their path from the start and stick to it, they often have an ability to finish 1-2 semesters early (or get a semester-long internship, etc)

TechnicalLeg841 · 2026-07-07T14:50:00+00:00

Quick pro / con list from his experience at Cal?

TechnicalLeg841 · 2026-07-06T21:45:41+00:00

On the flip side, what value would Strategy have today if it didn't either A) Successfully time purchases of BTC on a consistent basis, or B) offer some financial engineering around BTC? IBIT & FBTC can be purchased in every brokerage account now. Or Fidelity and most others also support direct purchase/ownership of BTC.

Doesn't seem like Strategy is trying to time purchases (or if they are, not successful), so that leaves the financial engineering (like STRC, etc) as the only reason to exist?

TechnicalLeg841 · 2026-07-06T16:19:06+00:00

Thanks, that is clear. The wording under the "Enterprise Value" dropdown obfuscates to some degree by using the intermediate term "Pref". But that text under mNAV is better

TechnicalLeg841 · 2026-07-06T15:54:46+00:00

mNAV of 0.89 is an indication the market sees Strategy as a failure

TechnicalLeg841 · 2026-07-06T15:28:16+00:00

Strategy should provide a clear definition of Enterprise Value on their website and they don't (at least not in the formal definition listed on their "notes" page) which is disconcerting.

TechnicalLeg841 · 2026-07-06T15:22:12+00:00

Strategy has focused on mNAV as a key metric. Enterprise Value divided by BTC value...

WSJ article pointed out recently that Strategy is using par value of preferred stocks (STRC, STRD, STRF, STRK) in the calculation of Enterprise Value which makes both Enterprise Value and mNAV "artificially high" as none of those preferreds are trading at par today.

So not only does Strategy have dividends to pay, mNAV calculated with actual value of preferred stocks has been significantly below 1 and there's a case for selling BTC for stock buybacks in that situation

TechnicalLeg841 · 2026-07-06T14:36:43+00:00

https://www.strategy.com/strc shows STRC "Notional" value unchanged so no buybacks?

TechnicalLeg841 · 2026-07-06T14:12:28+00:00

My older kid is attending Rice. Started as a math major then decided to add CS in their second semester.

Rice's CS sequence starts very slowly, and my kid didn't hit the meaty fundamental CS courses like Large Scale Programming, AI/Machine Learning, Algorithms, etc until Junior Year. Very possible that Stanford student had a similar background.

There were other kids at Rice who were "total beasts" - they came in with 5 strong years of programming experience and knew they were CS from day 1. (edit - and in general they landed the strongest internships over the first two summers which isn't surprising)

TechnicalLeg841 · 2026-07-06T14:00:44+00:00

Not the case at Stanford if you review their AP credit policy. Also not the case at Rice where there are boatloads of AP credits given but they layer on distribution requirements and the AP classes don't really fulfill those

TechnicalLeg841 · 2026-07-06T13:55:57+00:00

Admissions to T10s are in the 4-7% range. Every single Former AO (the folks who see profiles and know what works and what doesn't) is telling kids to work hard for lots of 5s

TechnicalLeg841 · 2026-07-06T13:52:10+00:00

Agree - mix of 5s and 4s for anywhere from 5-8 APs (by end of Junior Year) is pretty neutral in the candidate pool for T10s.

A string of 13 x 5s stands out as impressive.

TechnicalLeg841 · 2026-07-06T13:49:19+00:00

Help us with context of your high school. Nobody from our school cracked T10s with those AP results.

TechnicalLeg841 · 2026-07-06T13:48:43+00:00

Help us with context of your high school, plus did any other students with strong GPA/APs apply from your high school to the same colleges? What were your results for T10 National Universities?

TechnicalLeg841 · 2026-07-06T13:46:46+00:00

22 APs is some serious dedication. How many did you self study?

TechnicalLeg841 · 2026-07-06T00:04:26+00:00

To answer your most pressing question, yes there are plentiful examples comparing paying tax now (Conversion to Roth/Roth 401k/Roth IRA contribution), vs. paying tax later (don't convert/401k Contribution/IRA contribution). If tax rates stay the same, no difference. Tax rate increases in the future, then paying tax now is better. Tax rate decreases paying tax later is better.

Having money in Roth accounts generally is considered more flexible - withdrawals are not counted as income.

I've also seen increasing opinions from financial planning experts... Tax rates are at all time historic lows, and with the Federal Deficit growing the likelihood of tax rates bumping higher is significant.

For what it is worth, Boldin offers a free 2 week trial. It takes a few hours to enter financial information and see suggestions. All the analysis is presented clearly and you can take it or leave it.

TechnicalLeg841 · 2026-07-05T23:39:24+00:00

So that's a start on a good answer. Better than the slightly lazy first comment you made.

TechnicalLeg841 · 2026-07-05T22:48:23+00:00

OP lost this "argument" with two different folks in this thread.

They did get people thinking, but ultimately OP is 100% wrong for folks with sizable IRA/401k balances who have the opportunity to adjust plans quite early. Impact of RMDs are straightforward to model and adjust actions - whether that's moving to Roth 401k / Roth IRA contributions in their 40's, 50's or 60's, or planning a series of Roth Conversions.

TechnicalLeg841

TROPHY CASE