This thread has been very helpful. Thank you everyone for all this useful information.
Find out if the school has a parents’ office. They have a huge amount of information. Many have parents FaceBook pages too. You can get info specific to your school from parents who have recently been there. Another suggestion is to plan to do something nice for yourself in the first few days after drop off. 
A lot of parents plan a side trip if the college is far from home.
This is extremely important. Make sure your child is vaccinated for meningitis. A small number of freshmen die every year from meningitis including a girl at my son’s school who died on the last day of class a few years ago. It is very simple to get the vaccine so just do it!!
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There are serogroup B meningococcal vaccines that are approved but not required. This strain of meningitis has had outbreaks at Princeton, Drexel, UCSB, and U of Oregon. Maybe more, since the CDC page doesn’t yet list Oregon.
http://www.cdc.gov/meningococcal/outbreaks/vaccine-serogroupb.html
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Agree with all insurance, banking, credit card, vaccination.
For move in:
1 buy a door stop to keep doors open on move in
2. Buy small set of tools
3. Some folks buy a folding dolly
4. Bring drinks and snacks
5. And most importantly, if you have a DD that is going to college, put all the clothes, supplies, etc that she is going to take to college in 1 place, and then take out 1/2 of the stuff and leave it behind.
One other thing I thought of that parents can do is to scout out the health related options near campus. Where is the closest pharmacy? Optometrist (if glasses get broken)? Orthodontist (broken retainer)? Allergist if your student needs allergy shots? you get the idea. It may sound like helicopter parenting but it is a very rare 18/19 year old that can navigate health care these days, especially if already sick. You don’t need to bombard them with information, just make a list for your peace of mind and to refer to if needed. Also find out where there is an urgent care clinic nearby that takes your insurance. On-campus clinics can get swamped, especially during flu season. If your sick kid has to wait 3-4 days to get an appointment, the extra cost of an urgent care visit will seem like pocket change.
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Read the complete student handbook, the college catalog, and the academic calendar. Learn the add, drop, and withdrawal deadlines. Read the transfer credit policy (perhaps for that rising sophomore summer). Learn all the degree requirements and the course sequence.
Then require you kids to do all the above, too.
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Immunization! Health insurance doesn’t cover immunization in general, so either do it at the school or the county health department
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If you are flying to your child’s new school, book a rental car or minivan now.
If CC has a forum for your child’s school, ask on that specific forum for advice on what to bring for move-in day.
Remind yourself not to do the unpacking for your child. They are going to be the ones who need to be able to find everything. If you put the Tylenol and bandages away, your child isn’t going to know where they are when they need them.
Find out when your child’s school will accept mailed packages for the coming year. If you are ordering something bulky, you can have it shipped directly to the school.
Keep all receipts until something is actually opened prior to being used. It is much easier to return the extra desk lamp or trash can if they’re unwrapped, and if you have the receipt.
Things can be bought after move-in. Amazon and Target and Walmart etc etc etc all ship. When in doubt, don’t buy it.
Get dorm insurance.
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When I went to move in day for my own freshman year (back in the dinosaur age) I was totally unprepared for uppperclassmen to descend on our car and just start taking my stuff inside. It wasn’t packed well, things were thrown in at last minute willy nilly, and my name wasn’t on anything. Thank goodness it was a tiny LAC and all my stuff made it safely to my room.
At large universities they may not have helpers waiting to unload your car, but do find out what the rules and routines are. Some make you reserve a move-in window of time. One friend was required to dump their son’s stuff on the sidewalk (in downtown Atlanta) and then go find a parking spot.
Make sure your kid knows his/her SS# by heart. They will need to for the rest of their lives, but many HS kids don’t know it.
Order some checks. There are things that require checks at some schools (club dues and intramural sports, for example).
Be sure he/she has at least one appropriate “interview” outfit. They will need it for internship fairs, speeches in class, etc. For guys this is easy, but parents of girls might need to offer advice. Only saying this because I have had lots of my sons’ female friends ask me for advice over the years because the girls aren’t quite sure how to dress professionally without looking like a schoolmarm.
If your kid is taking a car, write down the date when any state required inspection (and maybe when the next oil change) are due, and have your kid put a tickler notice in his/her phone, or just do it during the summer so it will be done for the entire school year. While you’re at it, get an extra set of car keys to be kept in a safe place in the dorm.
If he/she is taking a bike, be sure it’s ready and has a good lock. We pulled out the ol’ bike on move-in day only to find flat tires.
Pack sports equipment if your kid is planning to do intramural sports or just plans on playing sports or taking a particular PE class. Soccer cleats, baseball gloves, basketball shoes, tennis rackets - easy to forget in a rush.
A box of thank you notes.
A small white board that sticks to the door.
We bought a small 2-drawer file cabinet, and set up files in advance for insurance info, stamps and addresses, instruction manuals for items they were taking to school, etc., plus extra folders for new files they needed. They used one drawer for files and the other for extra printer paper and school supplies. (They were in large dorm rooms where space was not an issue.)
Here are two things my older ones grabbed on their first visits home: a sleeping bag and a Halloween costume.
Re: Banks.
When my DD turned 18, we transfered her childhood savings account to a checking/savings account with Debit card (and checks). Make sure they know how to use the ATM and Checks. You think it is obvious, but not to them! Also make sure they remember their PIN number (this is all gathered from experience :-))
Re: Stuff
They do have stores near your child. If you forget anything it is not a crisis.
If your child is going to a school that is far away, you may want to buy the stuff near the student (e.g. a refrigerator) But many other parents have this idea…so see if you can order online but pick up in store so you are assured it is available. During the school year tell them to make friends with someone who has an apartment so they can store their frig there over the summer.
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US passport as a second ID for flying if their drivers license gets misplaced
Useful if they apply for internships/research that require US citizenship
Necessary for any out of country excursions that can pop up for holidays and breaks and an 8 week processing time is not available
what are “stamps”?
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Knowing the SS# is a good one. I think my son has finally learned his (he’s a college freshman).
I started training him in handling his own doctor visits and stuff when he was still at home. Still reminding him of things like when you get a new insurance card, tell them it’s a new one or they probably won’t notice.
We did order him some checks. He hasn’t used one yet, other than a voided one to set up direct deposit. And reslly, can places stop requiring/asking for those?
@beerme…One could also not think that them having a passport there (unless that is their only form of ID) is a good idea…easy to get misplaced. Obviously depends on your kid.
I’ve seen both dorm and tuition insurance mentioned in this thread and have never heard of them before. Has anyone gotten insurance for these? Worth it? From where?
Stuff my kid needed ( or at least really wanted) that I didn’t think about
1)paper plates, plastic forks,knives,spoons and napkins ( for when pizza or other food ordered in…meal plans often include some ordered in meals)
2)chip clips
- “dress up clothes” for parties…I mean costume like stuff from our play old dress up box. Animal ears headbands, flower leis, cowboy hat…stuff I never though would be used again were all pressed into service
4)bug spray
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cordless hand vac and broom
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rain boots. Also a very light weight umbrella that could “live” in her backpack all the time for unexpected rain.
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folding step stool ( to reach top of closet…her shorter roommate needed it to get up easily on the lofted bed)
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mini emergency kit for backpack with travel sized tissues Advil pepto etc…
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steamer ( never used an iron but used this all the time)
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phone wallet and key bracelet. Boys probably don’t have this issue but since so much of girls clothing doesn’t have pockets it was nice to be able to simply slip her ID and credit card in the back of her phone and to put on a bracelet that her key could be attached to. Many schools like my kids seem to use a real keys for dorm rooms They sell those key bracelets other sites like etsy
Most college students are responsible enough to keep important items like social security cards, cash, passports secure in their possession while on campus.
A lockable 2 drawer filing cabinet, a lock box stashed in a lockable desk drawer, stashing items in your locked luggage stored securely in the dorm room-anywhere out of sight and not susceptible to opportunity of convenience theft.
As the above poster states, you need to evaluate if your student can do so.
Otherwise, overnight delivery will get things to your student if the need arises.
Renew passports if the possibility of international travel is close to the expiration date, you need the passport to be valid 6 months past the last day of the trip to be granted visas to certain countries.
Couple of heavy duty surge protectors with 12 foot cords, older dorms have wall plugs in inconvenient places.
If your student is intending on getting a job while at school they will need a passport or a birth certificate (with a government-issued photo ID) to prove citizenship…