<p>i'm letting my son take responsiblity for preparing to start college next month. now i'm starting to get a little worried about what might be overlooked.</p>
<p>it has been too long since i lived in a dorm. just as a back-up for me, there must be great checklists on this site for two things:</p>
<p>1) a detailed list of what a first year "needs to know" before he/she leaves from the simple to complex living in a dorm away from home (e.g., how to wash clothes, banking issues, etc.); and</p>
<p>2) a detailed list of what a first year needs to bring to school (towels, razor, etc.)</p>
<p>i'd appreciate any input that can point me in the most efficient direction.</p>
<p>You probably know the obvious things so I’ll just add a couple of things that I found useful.</p>
<p>–I made my kids store the phone numbers of at least 2 taxi companies who service the college area into their cell phones. </p>
<p>–Make sure your son carries his Drivers License and Health Insurance Card in his wallet. </p>
<p>–Give him a credit card to use for emergencies. You can get one with his name on it from one of your credit card companies. Emergencies do happen—such as having to pay a co-pay amount during an emergency room visit, purchasing antibiotics, etc.</p>
<p>–Pack a small plastic bin with first aid stuff. I packed a one of those cold packs that activates when you squeeze and pop the middle, cold medicines, nail clippers, bandaids, antibiotic cream, benedryl, motrin, extra toothbrushes, and whatever else you think he’ll need. Some may think it’s not a Mom’s place, but I also threw in some condoms.</p>
<p>–I also kept copies of their debit and credit cards (front and back)</p>
<p>–pop-up hamper with handles. Don’t get a really big one because if your son is anything like mine, he won’t bother to do his wash until the hamper is completely full. </p>
<p>–Things that are very useful and sometimes forgotten: scissors, stapler with extra staples, more than one bed pillow, and lots of extra underwear and socks.</p>
<p>For parents - put your students mailing address in your phone’s address book so you can easily mail things directly to the student, even if you aren’t home. </p>
<p>Groupon, Living Social - sign up for daily notices for your students college town and keep an eye out for national deals here - [GroupRoundup</a> - A Summary of Local and National Groupon Deals](<a href=“http://grouproundup.com/home/national]GroupRoundup”>Grouproundup.com)</p>
<p>Visit your physician before your kid leaves for college, make sure everything is fine, and then get a copy of their most recent physical/vaccination history. You never know when a job might ask for it, especially if your son wants to do anything in the medical field.</p>
<p>You know…I did this for both of my kids.The ONLY thing they used was the Tylenol…the rest of the OTC stuff came home intact. In fact, I’m not sure my daughter even used the Tylenol…her bin is here (she’s a college grad) and I just threw away all the expired things I bought in 2006.</p>
<p>SS # of the insured in your household. Birthday too if your kid is anything like mine who does not know his parents’ BD. So they can fill out patient forms at Dr’s office if needed.
Prescription card if it is separated from insurance card.</p>
<p>I second Groupon in collegetown. I have already bought 3 for restaurants and one for a cupcake delivery. We used on of the restaurant ones in June and H& S will use the other two at dropoff. The cupcake delivery I will use just before midterms.</p>
<p>Thumper, Did your daughters have single rooms during freshman year? Just joking because my two sons have definitely had their fair share of colds, strep throat, sinus infections, fevers, etc. while away at school. On top of that, one kid had his finger slammed in one of those heavy steel doors in his dorm and blood went everywhere. His RA patched him up with the stuff in son’s first aid bin. When they started living in single rooms as upperclassmen, they remained much healthier during the academic year.</p>
<p>For the first aid kit, I went to a gas station/truck stop and bought the individual packs of Peptobismal, Nyquil, Benadryl, etc for only $1 each. (I also tossed in a 3 pack of condoms when my son was not around). He either threw them out or used them because they did not make the return trip home. Yikes!!!</p>
<p>Make sure you know the serial #of the laptop in case it gets lost or stolen.</p>
<p>CC had a ton of very humorous posts last year regarding teaching your son how to do laundry. I finally gave up and just sent him off with some of those Purell all in one sheets and everything went fine.</p>
<p>My parents got me a small tool kit;my older sib got one too and used it a lot. Anyway, it has a small hammer, needle nose pliers, several small screwdrivers (ones that will work on electronics), various hooks and nails (again all small), a tape measure, a small level. I’m sure I’m leaving some stuff out. I think it will come in handy for basic dorm room needs.</p>