I’ve always heard to send the kids with rolls of quarters for use at the laundry!!! Great ideas everyone!
@Rinahen, My son pays for laundry with his school ID that doubles as a debit card for funds deposited on his school account. He does not need quarters, since it is actually cheaper per load if he pays with the card.
My son’s school fees include laundry. There’s even an app to tell you when your machine is done.
My kids’ schools gave them a printer allowance each semester, tracked on their ID card. With my D, it was about 500 pages per semester. She began college 10 years ago. My S17 has a smaller allowance but he is also able to submit more of his work online. He also has friends with printers.
Ditto on the ID. No quarters needed. I’m wondering how long my daughter would be staring at the coin operated washer if she had to place the coins standing sideways like on the machine I used back in college :))
Wow - 4 years after I started this thread, I’m going to have to go read through it again for my younger kid. ?
Time for BB&B coupons again…
I feel like this thread has sort of turned into a what to bring / take to college list, but I’m going to jump back to the original post question of What needs to be done now that we are accepted? I made a To Do list yesterday for us, so I thought I’d share some of the more universal things on it here, in the hope that it will help others maybe think of something they might have forgotten.
Admitted student day / dorm tour if not done yet
Accept school
Pay enrollment Fee
Turn down other schools
Setup student email / school account
Have student familiarize themselves with any school portals or new resources they now have access to through account
Update and provide any pictures / information school is requiring (D19 school is requiring they make a kind of Facebook page thing)
Make housing choice / pay fee
Make meal plan choice / pay fee
Register / determine move in date and time
Submit roommate questionnaire or preference
Setup any required placement or CLEP testing
Register / apply honors college
Submit any required disability forms
Sign up for orientation/ registration / summer program if offered
Book hotels for all upcoming events: orientation, move in, family weekend (if smaller town where rooms may sell out)
Determine if any hotels offer University discounts
Find out if there is a parent weekend
Sign up for the parent newsletter / panel / social media page, etc
Look into current health insurance to determine coverage
Get student own or copy of ins. card
Arrange medical consent and medical POA both in general and in regards to any specific forms the school requires
Boosters for any vaccines if needed
Physical if required
TB skin test
Submit required medical forms
Student permission forms for financial and academic access (FERPA)
Register and pay for AP exams
Apply to any outside scholarships left (We had a few that didn’t open up until March or ones you couldn’t do until you chose your school.)
Ensure outside scholarships are paid to the correct place
Review / verify FASFA I’d required
Accept offered aid from school
Finalize finances, scholarships, loans, etc
Choose a payment plan
Buy a prom dress
Finalize graduation information for HS
Order graduation cards
Setup AAA membership
Discuss what to do if pulled over alone at night or in secluded area
Weatherize car for northern climate
Make sure registration, tags, and ins. are up to date
Apply for passport
Familiarize student with college town if haven’t done so, local bank, Dr. Office, pharmacy, grocery, areas to avoid, etc
Make move in list / purchase needed items if any
Check out printing, laundry, desk chair situation
Send final HS transcripts
Send dual enrollment college transcripts
Send AP credits
Order text books
Sign up for clubs or intramurals that require preregistration
Finalize work study details
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Both my kids’ schools required immunization records to be sent before orientation.
They also had to do required online modules (alcohol education and others) and placement tests.
If you want student to be vaccinated with Meningitis B shot, they should get the first dose soon.
This is a great topic. Thanks to OP for posting.
I cannot wrap my head around the fact that my last kid, born 18 years after the middle child, is going away to college.
Not sure I can handle this!!!
So any guidelines are appreciated.
I am going to freak out. Now wishing we were just doing junior college nearby.
Good tip about booking hotel rooms in advance. I need to get cracking.
And the whole cc situation. Heaven help us.
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Sorry, new to this site and just realized I responded to something from 2015.
Not much has changed, so it’s still a good read and worth being pinned for posterity.
That said, there have been some innovations since this thread was started. For example there are these new things called “smart phones” that some kids find helpful… ?
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Thanks to everyone for the helpful comments. I did not grow up in America and I do not completely know how college works re parent involvement. I do not want to be overbearing on my daughter and hope to give her her own space, but I don’t want to make her feel alone! Hopefully she will visit home.
@mgreenberg You sound like you will do just fine as a college parent! 
@snovak968 My daughter has a TON of clothes etc. What was the approx. cost to you? She goes to school in Los Angeles, not sure if that matters. Thanks!
Wait for the school’s updated checklist before buying a printer. Some schools (e.g., Barnard) do NOT allow them in the freshman dorms - there are even rules on what kind of extension cord is acceptable when they do their walk-through inspection!
My daughter does much of her work at the various Columbia and Barnard libraries, where printers would be everywhere - rather than sitting locked away in her room. And, even more so than at High School, many professors don’t even want to deal with “paper” papers.
Facit: She’s never mentioned wishing she had her own printer (unless it produced legal tender).
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I agree with @DigitalDad It’s fine to wait and see. I know at Amherst College printing has not been an issue for my girl. In fact, in certain buildings it was made completely free for all students this semester.
One of the things that really helped us ( we were from OOS)was to get a Storage Unit when you go to Orientation. We brought a bulk of his clothes, sheets , blankets and towels in vacuum packed bags/ Ikea bags.We also shopped for school supplies and stored those items in the storage unit. When it came time to move into the form it was very easy and not stressful. Three other items to buy, painter’s tape, Sharpie pen and 6 ok of bottled water for move in. The painter’s tape is for labeling your items with your name, Dorm building and room #. A lifesaver for sure !
I apologize if this question has already been answered but what items should I bring when living at the university. I know to bring clothes and school supplies but are there any miscellaneous items that would come in handy that I should bring along?
I suggest you check the freshman site of your specific college for the items they recommend, permit or dis-allow. A big-city environment with neighborhood stores for everything might require different preperations (some stuff is easier to get to, others might be prohibitively expensive), than some remote location where the trip to a supermarket or hardware store requires organizing transportation… Same is true with recreational opportunities.
In any case, here one sample:
https://barnard.edu/reslife/new-students/what-to-bring
Thank you. The link you gave me was really helpful in finding what I need to pack as well as my own university’s website for what to bring. I’ll need to start making a list of everything I need to bring because the neighborhood stores near the university I’m going to are in a bad area. If I needed to get additional items, I would have to drive farther away to a safer area so it will feel like going to a remote location which I wouldn’t want to do frequently.
Also, this question is kind of vague but how many clothes counts as bringing too many to the university?
If you had a chance to visit a dorm room at your college, or if the college has a picture gallery/virtual walk-though, you’ll be able to get a sense of the size of any closet or wardrobe per student. Typically, there may be one door with hangers, the other door with shelves for sweater, shirts, etc. It’s also not uncommon to have a a level or two of wide bed-storage drawers. Once you find out how much space you have you can probably look at your closets/wardrobes at home and get a sense how much you end up fitting.
If you’re close enough to travel home during some of the semester breaks, you could plan to “swapping” the majority of summer, fall, winter coats, spring clothing & footwear (while always having few out-of-season light/warm/rain items in case of unseasonal days – better to have THOSE alternatives when needed, than to have a unnecessarily huge variety of SAME-season items; you’ll be doing laundry as needed).
If you are planning to go home, then you really only need to plan for late summer/early fall because you’ll be able to figure thing out and make any adjustments when your first break arrives.
Will you be FLYING to your college or driving? Basically, if you can’t squeeze is under the ceiling of a medium-sized car, it probably is too much…
PS: Oh, and DO bring “compression straps” for when you have to move out after the first semester. Bedding will take 5 or 6 times the space if you can’t compress it back down.