<p>Thanks for the tip, SDMom56! It definitely pays to protect some of these expensive items. We’ll definitely look into this! </p>
<p>I just looked at the [Medical</a> Services - Health & Counseling Services - Cal Poly](<a href=“http://hcs.calpoly.edu/health/health.html]Medical”>http://hcs.calpoly.edu/health/health.html) page and it’s nice that their basic on-campus medical needs are already covered by the fees they’ve paid. That’s nice to know!</p>
<p>As for off-campus medical facilities, we’re going to have to look into that, as well. Right now we have a Blue Shield HMO, but that might change in the future. Actually, it was a HealthNet HMO until recenty. My husband said the premiums are going up a lot higher, so they might have to find yet another company to go with. Whatever it is, I hope there will be somewhere in SLO who will take it. Better yet, I hope she’ll never need to use it. ;)</p>
<p>Great posts on all these topics - thanks. For us, the disability office recommended that I get outside specialist(s) for my son, to augment the expertise at the campus health center. This is apparently normal practice for kids with complex or serious medical issues. She also said to check out the local hospitals, to decide which we would want to have S taken to if he had to call 911. There is one hospital near campus that is apparently going to be designated a Level 2 trauma center in this next year, and they seem well equipped to handle serious medical emergencies. Looking at ambulance services, it seemed SLO ambulances are more likely to be equipped/staffed for advanced life support than they are where I live, in a bigger city with a Level 1 trauma center, so that was reassuring. Yes, the close-knit Cal Poly community will be a big plus!</p>
<p>The link in post #21 also has information about the local hospitals and ERs. It has some great advice at the bottom of the page:</p>
<p>Make sure your kid shows up at school with a copy of the insurance card, and knows how to use it. </p>
<p>For example, if they need a referal from a GP before seeing a specialist, they should know that. A good exercise, before they leave home, is to have them flip the card over and call the 1-800 number and ask a few questions about how their policy works, especially for those kids coming from out of state.</p>
<p>Good tips, riverrunner! My daughter may be independent about ***some ***things, but I have to admit, I’ve always just taken care of details such as insurance, medical, etc. I can see that we’ll have to sit down and have a “summer lesson”. </p>
<p>In fact, if anyone wants to start a list here of important things that our kids should know, that would be great. Little bits of trivia that some of us might not think of. I’ll go ahead and start a thread and feel free to add any pertinent tips. Those of you with current students at Cal Poly will be able to enlighten us all!</p>
<p>I am going to miss all of you! S was accepted over the weekend from the WL at UCSB and has accepted the offer. There are no parents on the UCSB forum that I can see.</p>
<p>S is very happy, but going from the Green Light Business Program at CP to undeclared at UCSB. He was a pre-econ major and switched during the WL period. He was so excited that he accepted before he could call and see if they would switch him back to the previous major. I think he is stuck now for 2 quarters. The adjective here though is HAPPY!</p>
<p>I told him not to decline CP until he has time to sleep on it…</p>
<p>^Congrats to your son for getting accepted into UCSB. It sounds like he really wanted to go there. I hope everything works out with his major and that you meet some nice parents. I hear it is a beautiful campus!</p>
<p>SDMom56-We will miss you too. Good luck to you and your son. It is all about where he will be happy. For my son, it is definately SLO! If you don’t see much parental interaction on the UCSB forum, try the parents’ forum. Many of the freshman issues you will be facing are universal.</p>
<p>Best wishes to your son at UCSB! It sounds like that’s where he was meant to be. It’s a little closer to home, too. Keep in touch with us Poly Parents to let us all know how he’s doing! And, I hope you find a similar group of moms and dads to chat with.</p>