OP, I highly recommend talking to the school and making sure your daughter gets into her advisors office quickly. They will be much more responsive if they know in advance. I don’t know what her academic plans are, but she may need a slow start. Or she might be fine.
What is definitely true is that she will need to avoid a second injury at all costs. So, I would recommend against any intermural sports.
When my daughter had a mild concussion at the beginning of a college semester (although not freshman year), her adviser said it was easy to handle compared to getting one at the end of a semester when finals etc. can be involved. My daughter did feel a little like she missed the beginning in a math class and since everything builds from there she felt like she was catching up all semester (didn’t show up in her grade as she aced the class.) The teachers and advisers were great and made all the necessary accommodations. The one thing we couldn’t swing (which probably would have helped) was getting her moved from her double to a single (none available). Her sleep was definitely a problem and a single would have helped.
She was one of those who felt great and had issues months later. Aura headaches and eventually severe TMJ problems. In the end, we decided those issues were due to undiagnosed whiplash when she got the concussion (which happened in a fall). At the time of the fall, she didn’t think anything of it - only a few days later realized she had a concussion (confirmed by the college’s health center.)
Please get an extensive eye exam. To rule out any physical damage to the eyes. Not just a vision check, but a full physical exam to rule out physical damage.
@allyphoe thanks she does know that - and so hopes that doesn’t happen to her
@Smr1980 I agree and she is feeling better so I stayed home to keep an eye on her activity (making sure she doesn’t over do!)
@powercropper With an ophtamologist? Should I ask the concussion specialist about that?
@brooklynlydia That is probably a good suggestion.
I used to teach college. So I can tell you this. Professors are generally fairly cooperative with special circumstances when informed early and appropriately (office hours, not in the lecture hall) . Professors struggle with surprises or when told things in a crowded room with no privacy and ten other special cases vying for attention. So, definitely check in with the advisor, but letting her profs know will be her insurance in case things go to pieces later.
@toomanyteens Yes, get an appointment with an opthamologist. You are just ruling out any physical damage to the eyes.
We had friends who mentioned their son had physical eye damage from a concussion that went undetected and caused vision troubles for a long time.
It was a comfort to us to rule out eye issues as cause of his migraines.
There is so much speculation, especially as the months drag on and symptoms still bothering your child. It was helpful to rule out damage to the eyes.ahead
Neck can also be an issue .Whiplash, spinal issues and so on- affecting balance and causing dizziness.
But for now, it is important to say that this concussion may very well heal well and quickly. Young brains do better with this than older ones. There may need to be adjustments for the first semester, even if she is much better, just to facilitate continued health, but a first concussion does not always cause months of problems.
@compmom you are correct. Every concussion presents differently. Impact on the person varies. That is what is so difficult to handle. You look to medical folks to tell you what is wrong and how to treat it. But medical staff seem to rely on generalities, since the brain is such a complex thing.
@toomanyteens I just wanted to send you a hug and good wishes for your D to recover quickly.
Medical folks cannot tell you that much because imaging does not pick up concussion.
I imagine some of the protocols are liability-driven, for schools and teams and so on.
The main theme for recovery is take it slow, and if you have a setback, backtrack a bit. But since every one is different, you have to go by what is going on for the individual, something best judged by the sufferer and family.
The hard part here is the time pressure and how to proceed with college so close. This is not a medical worry so much as a life worry.
Very bottom line is a delay in entry. Not likely, but bottom line. A whole range of options between that and what was originally planned, with various resources at the school (Disabilities Office, health center, dean, advisor etc.).
In some ways, coming down with mono the week before school might pose similar short term problems.
I just wanted to reassure the OP in the context of stories of months of problems, that that does not always happen 
Good to be prepared but hope for quick recovery is also appropriate. The hardest thing is the uncertainty. At least with, say a case of mono just before college starts, there is some general idea of the impact over time.
We went to the specialist today and her prognosis is really quite good! Apparently it is true that the complete rest thing is old protocol and she is now supposed to start reading, using her phone, watching some TV and some physical activity. She did very well on the concussion test and she also received some vision therapy items to help speed her recovery and get her brain ‘fit’ again. The doctor believes that in all likelihood she will do just fine by the time classes begin but did give her a letter for school just in case she needs some accommodation while she continues to recover. All in all I am very glad we went to the specialist and relieved that the probability is she will be okay.
It’s really kind of scary at just how NOT evidenced based the “complete rest” thing was. Especially something so punitive feeling should never have been prescribed without better data.
@maya54 I know! My daughter’s boyfriend apparently suffered a very bad concussion in the fall from an auto accident and for reasons I don’t understand (the at fault driver has insurance) he hasn’t been going to the best medical providers who have had him doing literally nothing for months - like he wasn’t even going to school. And he isn’t really better.
My son had a serious concussion just a few weeks before the beginning of his junior year of high school (age 17). He rested, and started classes in September – but he did tell me that he didn’t feel totally normal until April. He’d spent his sophomore year abroad so he really needed some catch up time, especially in math. As it played out, he had to drop the pre-calc he was registered for and do a year of fill-in algebra 2.5 (slightly more difficult that algebra 2 but not pre-calc).
I hope your daughter’s recovery is smooth and uneventful.
I was just checking on tuition insurance. It sounds like you may need it for your daughter. I read the policy terms at GradGuard.com and it sounds like there are no pre-existing conditions exclusions. So if she is well enough to start school she will be eligible for coverage. Otherwise it looks like most schools do not provide 100% refunds for tuition or academic fees - even for medical withdrawals.
The schools we have dealt with have insurance policies that do refund every thing paid and if you are on financial aid, you get that amount too, in other words, more than you paid.
I agree…this is a case I would get the tuition insurance