I’m sorry @pizzagirl. I felt that most people would want to read the points in the article before commenting on them. Next time I’ll be more explicit for those who don’t.
I agree most of these topics may/should have discussed prior to college. Depends on the parent/child relationship and maybe what the child was doing. But it is still important to revisit these or even bring some up for the first time. because when your child goes off to college, whether 30 or 3000 miles away, she really can do whatever she wants, and whenever. Even if topics about sex and drugs are uncomfortable, it needs to be done. We can’t protect them like we could when they slept at home every night. There are sexual predators even at the ‘best’ colleges! And the last point, on finding a mentor at college, si one that sometimes get forgotten but is vital.
When I hear the word “discuss” I often imagine a stock image of an attractive family around the dinner table making eye contact and smiling encouragingly. Not so much at our hale. The six (mysterious for pizzagirl) topics have most often been touched upon in 30 second sound bites generated by something that has happened in the news/social media/pop culture. I like to think similar to a Geico commercial, the symbolic gecko has been ingrained in her brain.
The author is a college professor. That reminded me all-knowing mom and dad are not the only purveyors of wisdom. I thank my lucky stars for every teacher, boss, auntie, uncle, older friend, etc who has given my daughter insights on how to do grown-up safely and successfully. I know she doesn’t have it down pat, but then, neither do I. 
The most important is to establish a close and trusting parent/child relationship so at least you will hear from them when they are in trouble. You can discuss as much as you want, but keep in mind that they will listen as much as they want also. If you have a kid that more or less trusts you, most likely you will at least have some kind of communication from them if they are in trouble and hopefully this communication occur while it is not too late. Unloading your concerns may not fall into open heart / brain at all. I believe that we as parents are doing it for our own sake, to have a mental check so to speak, there is no indication whatsoever that it is helpful in any shape or form. I am not saying that I am immune to that at all. I am doing it all the time to my adult children. My constant preach is to take care of yourself, make sure that you sleep enough and eat properly. I am convinced that if they cannot afford either, they will not follow my advice, but I do it anyway. That is basically why we do it knowing very well that it will be forgotten in 5 min. after the conversation. Basically, it is a mental disclaimer which does not guarantee anything.