Ours requires that we notify our insurance each year that our son will be “out of area.” We also need to call our insurance when he comes home from college.
I wish I could tattoo him with “Call your insurance!” - twice he was in an emergency room, not really serious, but enough so he had to go, our insurance does not want to hear from us, as he is over 18. So, both times we had to hound him to call the insurance.
My health insurance is entering our “choose” period, and we are considering changing our insurance because the wording has changed about “out of area” costs - I need to call up and get some clarification.
If I had read this thread before son enrolling, I would have been overwhelmed. That said, I would make a list of every suggestion. Especially about health care surrogate.
I flew across country with son. I had medical kit with us. Turns out, we needed hangers, so went to nearest Walgreens. I could have bought supplies there. Son already had a credit card under my name, with his name as an account holder. On this card, he bought books and supplies. We had preordered an Apple computer from campus store, which came with free downloads and repair services. When I went out for parents weekend in October, son had items on a list, e.g. Love seat, a/c for window. We also bought a bike.
In terms of physicians, the health service on campus covered almost everything. When he needed a specialist, they referred to someone in their network. This only was needed once. Oh yes, I signed him up for U health insurance, as my plan was very difficult to deal with OOS.
Things like an interview suit came up much later. His navy blazer was functional.
Locate the on campus health center…and hours of operation. If it’s not 24 hour, locate nearest urgent care center and/or hospital/ER and discuss possible options to get there. Chances are, kids in need of medical attention, need it when health center is closed–at least it was our kid’s experiences…
Take photos of the room, furniture, beds, walls, ceilings, etc on move in day. There is usually a checklist that the RA will give you to sign. Make note if there are pinholes in walls, stained or scratched furniture, etc. Have your student copy the form and send a copy home. Trust me, this and the photos came in very handy one year when the college tried to send a bill for “damages”.
I often read the advice that you should look into opting out of the University insurance. Before opting out, do a little research. YMMV, but in our case, both my boys got some financial aid, and some was designated specifically for the healthcare plan. If we had opted out, that money would go to the school rather than us. So it was easier for us to keep them on my plan for at home and then have them use the campus one, if needed while at school.
We pay tuition insurance. Our regular insurance covers his possessions (check with yours). If the student leaves for whatever reasons, you’ll be responsible for tuition and you won’t get whatever financial aid was promised. That could be a big bill.
Get an Amazon Prime account. I can’t tell you the amount of times my daughter needed something and was not able to get it locally. I just purchased it on Amazon and had it shipped to her school address…she gets it in two days.
ymmv: Your student is usually covered under your homeowner’s insurance. Typically the parent’s insurance deductible is ~$500. Renter’s insurance deductibles are much lower. Do the math and think about what works for your family.
Do college students need to take their original Soc Sec card to college? I just had the DMV ask for my kid’s card. I’m glad the guy waived it, because I’m not actually sure where it is.
Mine has never needed his Soc. Sec. card. He had other ID with him and his SS # for the forms for work. I think he actually did most of those forms before he arrived at school, anyway, since he had his job set before getting to campus.
There is usually a mallet you can borrow at the dorm, or from RA to bunk the beds - and maybe even an instruction sheet. Ask - both are very helpful and there aren’t a ton of mallets. I don’t think it’s been said, but Bed Bath & Beyond has a great program. Go to your local store, register (kind of like a bridal registry) take the scanner and scan what you want. The box will then be ready for you to pick up and pay for at your destination. No way my kids had room for a two drawer file cabinet in a dorm room - we used a paper accordion folder and put in a desk drawer. Highly recommend door stop. Couple items - like plastic bowls or cups to use in microwave. Paper towels. Hotel reservation for parents weekend soon as the date is posted. Zip ties for cords etc. Very helpful for my son - a phone holder on his bunk bed, he ran an extension cord and plugs in his phone and puts in holder on the bunk bed. It’s dangerous to have electronic items on the bed, pillow etc - fire hazard. Coordinate with roommate before hand - for example you both don’t need a tool box. Space is VERY limited in a dorm room. Shoe rack to fit in bottom of closet. Hooks that can go over a door or end of bunk bed - again helps stretch space. Command hooks (safely tape on dorm walls) can also add more storage space for hats, etc.
Also - a lot of schools no longer have coin operated laundry machines. So fund the card right away - so your student can use it, do laundry, print papers. My son used a laundry basket for his dirty clothes, then carry to laundry room, fold and return. Saves room to double use the basket as your hamper. Put on top of his shoe rack in his close and shoes on the shelves under it. Space is at a premium in these dorms.