Dorm Packing Supply List for Incoming Freshmen Part I
The Absolutely Most Important Items to Bring To College
Not all students want to save money and commute to school from home; some who want a special major must attend a school further away. What should students and parents be sure to do, obtain or plan before going away to college? Now this is a good list that we could post every month.
NO JOKE: THESE ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT ITEMS THAT FRESHMEN MUST BRING TO COLLEGE — NOT KIDDING.
Now for items that are so distressing to think about, but parents and first years MUST get:
• Get a Durable Power of Attorney – even though the college student is still claimed as a dependent on tax returns (and is also covered by their parents’ health insurance policy and they don’t pay their own tuition), when the student reaches age 18, parents have no say about them in the world. So if a student does a study–abroad semester or is in college and needs legal and financial services (ie signing tax returns or accessing bank accounts), parents cannot legally sign for their young adult children without having a POA. Each state has different regulations, so make sure the POA applies for the state where the young adult is located as well as the state where their family’s home is. The student’s “agents” (that’s what parents or whomever is designated on the POA are called) should also have copies of the POA on their own cell phones and computers.
• Get a Healthcare Proxy (aka Medical Power of Attorney) – we continue discovering all the scenarios in which parents have no authority and can’t speak on behalf of their 18 year old. If an adult student has a medical emergency, parents cannot decide what kind of medical treatment the student can have! Make sure the proxy works for the home state as well as the state in which the student is located. Notice how a parent’s wishes don’t matter even though the 18-year old will still be covered by the parents’ health insurance for another eight years…?
• Different from the Healthcare Proxy is the HIPAA Authorization (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). In addition to losing the ability to dictate medical treatment for an 18-year old, parents no longer have access to an 18-year old’s medical records and don’t even have to be told that something’s happened to the student. This means if a student falls ill, the nurse or doctor who picks up the phone cannot give parents information. The HIPAA Authorization can be customized so that certain private matters dealing with sex, drugs, mental health, or other issues can remain private. (for more details, use information here: https://www.consumerreports.org/health-privacy/help-your-college-age-child-in-a-medical-emergency/ )
• Must have a Living Will, which can be incorporated into either the Healthcare Proxy or the HIPAA. It gives instructions to the student’s agents as to what to do in a dire life or death situation.
These documents are upsetting to talk about (they’re upsetting to even write about here), but once filed and everyone has a copy, they never have to be discussed anymore until it’s time to change the POA agents on the forms.
Parents should consult an attorney for those documents, but there are sites that provide easy-to-complete templates so that parents can do it themselves, like Mama Bear Legal Forms: https://www.mamabearlegalforms.com/youngadult
• Make sure Vaccinations are updated, not just the COVID-19 series. This is mandatory. See link to this article for what students must have before stepping onto campus (no matter whether commuter or away, including traditional and non-traditional adult second career students). https://goodapplesnyc.com/prep-for-college-freshman-year-vaccine-boosters/
• Students should sign their college’s FERPA waiver to give parents access to the school portal so that parents can log in to pay tuition online and ensure the financials are in order. Without a specifically–stated FERPA, parents will never be able to see their child’s college transcript. Colleges can’t share it without student’s permission. But parents need to pay for school, so… you students must “FERPA them”.
While we’re talking about transcripts, let’s pause a moment and make sure this gets done right…
• Definitely go over the Course Choices for the semester. Each class costs a pretty-penny, and there is a specific number of credits to reach graduation, so unfortunately the kids cannot have schedule-fillers (i.e. don’t take ceramics in freshman year if doesn’t fulfill a core requirement). Find out which school core required courses that everyone must take; then check the required courses within the major, and pay special attention to when those courses are offered. If a course is only offered in the spring semester, or every two years, plan accordingly! No one wants to spend money on an extra year of college just to take ONE course because you didn’t register for it in junior year and it isn’t available until the semester AFTER you were supposed to graduate!
Okay, let’s dive back into the serious must-haves:
• Pack Medicine and a List of Prescriptions and make sure the student knows what each bottle is for, the correct dosage and how they work. Kids are probably used to you putting two pills on a napkin next to their sick bed or a measured mini-cup of purple stuff, but now they’re on their own.
• Make a copy of the Eyeglasses Prescriptions just in case the student has to get a new pair made while away from home. The frames and lenses will cost enough; don’t add the expense of having to get another eye examination, too!
• Get a Small Safe to put medications, passport, emergency cash, home keys, etc. Something like this will work:
Example: small safe with tether. Lock around the bed leg or something heavy!
• Contact an insurance representative and get an Insurance Policy for the dorm or off-campus housing. Check if your insurance company covers the dorm or off-campus housing. Add it to the family policy. You need an Insurance Policy that will cover protection from theft, fire, flood, accidental damage etc to your room, computer, game console, cell phone, EarPods and other property. Typical homeowner’s insurance may only cover amounts up 10% of of the limit of property at home, meaning if you’re insured at home for up to $100,000 at home, a student’s property while away in the dorm will be covered up to $10,000 — after deductibles. Also, the policy may only cover fire or water damage, not breakage or theft.
However, if your current home policy does not extend to school, then dorm insurance will still be needed.
• Off-campus housing requires its own Renters’ Insurance Policy. Anything can happen, no matter how responsible the student is… or their friends… or their school… or their landlord.
• Get the student a Credit Card with a low spending limit. Cash may not always be the way to go; don’t recommend keeping a wad of cash in the safe anyway. Discover Card is a common first card for college students. MAKE SURE THEY ONLY CHARGE WHAT CAN BE PAID BACK IN FULL WHEN THE BILL ARRIVES NEXT MONTH! Good way to build up a credit score also.
• Arrange for the student to get a Bank Account with Debit Card that parents can fill remotely. Teach the student how to use the debit and credit cards responsibly in order to avoid identity theft!
Finally, there are two more important things that are must–have — and this will help the student’s pals and roommates.
Print out, save a screenshot on the computer and phone, email the following and save in an email folder AND put in the Contacts app:
• Crisis Hotline Contact Information Your child may never need it BUT within a group of classmates, one of their friends may need it one night.National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text “help” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
• Roommates or pals should have their Friends’ Parent Contact Info. If something happens, they should contact school authorities and call the parents themselves.
Lastly, here is what University of Wisconsin-Madison asks for students to pack: “bring a sense of self, a sense of purpose, and a sense of humor.”
See next article for Part II of the College Packing List: The Bare Necessities for a more detailed list of items for the dorm that can be shipped ahead.
