What vaccinations do freshmen need before stepping on campus?
Even before the 2020 pandemic, entering freshmen in colleges and trade schools have been expected to be up–to–date on immunizations. Students will not be allowed in class in most schools. Campus environments are intimate and turn into incubators quickly. So students must send proof of the mumps, MMR and tetanus DTP boosters.
It’s also recommended to receive the Meningitis B vaccine; many campuses experience a Meningitis B outbreak each year, and that strain can be deadly. The Meningitis B vaccine is usually a two-parter, so make doctor appointments now so that there is time to take the second one before moving on campus.
Keep yourself, your classmates, older professors and the entire school healthy! Semesters are short; don’t miss a day of classes!
Warning to Parents: Privacy Laws Keep Parents in the Dark
This policy of not letting parents see grades and not allowing parents to talk to administrators is imbecilic— especially with the financial investment. So what that the students are 18+?
Most parents will always care about their “babies”.
If high graduation rates and successful college grads provide good public relations for a college, why do they resist parent involvement in making it happen? Only if the student signs privacy releases:
Want to pay tuition through the school’s online portal? The student has to sign a Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act Release (FERPA). Otherwise, parents would have no idea if there are new outstanding charges, or if a loan needs another step. Some students misunderstand or ignore flags on their accounts until they’re threatened with being asked to leave school!
Depending on the school, the FERPA may also enable parents to view students’ grades. Unless a parent has due cause, don’t go crazy with checking the college transcript. Parents ought to give the student some space. Keep a closer eye if the student’s scholarship is dependent on keeping up a certain average. If a student is experiencing severe anxiety and might begin to skip class, for sure it’s advantageous to have the FERPA signed before trouble starts.
Student falls ill? Better have a Durable Power of Attorney, Healthcare Proxy and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act authorization (HIPAA). The college doesn’t have to notify the parent, nor does the hospital. Hospital staff are not allowed reveal medical status nor consult parents about treatment unless the paperwork is in order.
Trouble with a professor, administration or the dorm? Out of luck. Colleges do not want to talk to parents. Professors, depending on their personality and patience level, will decline to answer questions politely or rudely. Roommates violate dorm policy and the student gets in trouble, too? Parents can’t defend the innocent student. Reminding the college as to who pays the tuition bill will not result even in a bat of the eye. The student will have to be on the phone with the parent and the school staff, and give specific instructions that the parent be allowed to speak.
This applies to students who’ve reached their 18th birthday. Parents still have input with the affairs of younger college students. Relish the access for those few months…
What to do to make Freshman Year comfortable socially
REAL STORY: there was a young freshman who couldn’t eat in the dining hall for the first few days of college because she didn’t know she could sit anywhere! And this was a Brooklyn kid used to a huge cafeteria in public high school who had chosen to go to a small single-sex Pennsylvania college. Yes, this article is only about getting through the first week or so because the awkwardness and nerves a new freshman feels don’t last the entire year.
Don’t Expect Anything. Put all those movies, books and tv shows out of your head. Wrong, unrealistic expectations will cripple your adjustment and set you up for disappointment.
Locate Student Support Services! Your tuition pays for them to be there for you. They provide advice on how to manage time, campus life and anything that concerns you.
Locate the Tutoring Center! Even the brightest kids seek help. Do it the first two weeks.
Don’t Resist New Things! When kids are little and introduced to new foods, especially when visiting other people’s homes, one tactic to use is the “Three Tries Rule”: a) Take a full first bite b) Take another full bite to be sure c) Have another full bite to be polite. Celebrity couple Freddie Prinze, Jr. and Sara Michelle Gellar have a 10 Tries Rule, no negotiation! (https://www.huffpost.com/entry/freddie-prinze-jr-parenting-quotes_l_60467c1cc5b6e6abac81f4bf) As long as the activities don’t clash with your class schedule, attend a variety of organized events. Don’t wait for your favorite theme. You may find new friends in unexpected places.
You Are Not Alone. Most schools admit a thousand or more freshmen a year. Odds are not only is there someone else who likes the same last place-ranked professional team, or who reads the same Deep South gothic ghost stories — but they’re not going to fall into your lap as you sit in the dorm room. Or if you’re a commuter, you won’t find them if you go straight home after class.
Forget High School Humiliations. Put embarrassing moments behind you. That’s a more difficult to do for students who did awful things — social media and newspapers live forever — but the new people you’ll meet will not remember how you wore your gym pants inside out in 10th grade. Don’t enter college classrooms in dread of snickering and teasing. Those old students conditioned you and now they are not in your life any longer. Breathe.
You’re Not Weirder than Everyone (and everyone else is busy being too self-conscious to notice you). And to be truthful, any other student who thinks you’re weird is not worth trying to impress. Don’t waste your time; move on.
Be Yourself! Phonies are not fun to be around. Besides, if you are not yourself, who will be you?
Talk First! People can’t read your mind as to who you are and what you need.
Shrug it Off and Keep it Moving! If your jokes fall flat with one group, move on to another.
Be Flexible to Change. You may like to do work at last minute; be open to starting assignments earlier so that they’re polished before submitting. College is not high school; it is not supposed to be.
Don’t expect to become best friends with your roommate(s)! You may like lights out at 8 to begin your wind down; your roommate may like to stay up longer — or they’re a little afraid of the dark and don’t want to admit it (or the reverse!). Find a middle point with your roommate and ask for help from the residence assistant to mediate. Resident directors and assistants are trained and experienced in roommate issues.
Try try again! Rinse (please shower everyday) and repeat the previous steps.
Watch Out for Predators. There will be people who prey on freshmen:
Don’t leave campus with students you don’t know well yet! You don’t know who will be at that party off school property. If something happens off campus, the college does not have to take responsibility.
Always keep your hands on your drink and never take your eyes off an open cup or bottle! Pour out drinks left unattended. The cost of the drink is MUCH cheaper than the hospital bill (or worse). Don’t drink anything if you tend to get distracted.
Stay out of areas where you’ll be alone.
Articulate out loud and make a plan with new friends: arrive together, don’t leave without each other. Always know where they are.
If things are moving fast with a possible romantic partner, pause! You have the rest of semester; don’t rush things. You have no where to go until the term ends. If they are a good person, they will have enough sense to go slowly, too.
If they act as if their feelings are hurt — because they may only be acting, remember — then they are too unstable to be in a healthy happy relationship with you! Be firm; end it early before you get sucked into a twisted situation that takes longer to untangle.
IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING. Don’t let people leave if they’re going to be in a vulnerable situation. Toss the drink and promise to reimburse them when your allowance gets sent. Don’t worry about losing potential friends; bad people give school a bad reputation. Better to be rid of them.
Don’t Give Up on Your Classes; try not to let your anxiety interfere with attending lessons and completing classwork. Freshman year is usually a bunch of pre-requisite classes; what’s covered will be the same at any college. So during those hours that you’re in class, focus and do well to keep your grades up. Don’t throw the dreams and money away, but…
…Know when it’s time to go. Sometimes a school isn’t a perfect fit, even though a student’s job is to go to class, take the tests, write the papers and get the grades. After all, that’s what the thousands of dollars are going to! But if you’ve taken the Three Bites (or Ten Tries) and you’re not clicking with the school, it’s time to check in with the counselor for next steps.
Get to the Counselor at Student Support Services — of which you’re already familiar because it was the first thing you located, maybe even before stepping on campus — to help you decide whether to return the next semester, or even finish out the first semester. Then, try to get a second opinion from another counselor or advisor. Listen to them. Do not make this decision on your own. Listen to them. Do not make this decision on your own.
The best approach to a new environment is to remember that it is new. Be careful but not scared. Kick old self-destructive habits. Investigate from every angle before jumping to conclusions; you may be misinterpreting situations through old eyes. Breathe. Get advice. Listen to experts who know, who’ve encountered thousands of students like you before. Keep Calm and Carry On!
* ONE MORE THING: if you find someone in a tough situation, have this Crisis Hotline Contact Information handy. You may never need it BUT one of the people you know may need it one day. 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.
Dorm Packing Supply List for Incoming Freshmen Part III
Another Dorm Essentials Packing Article You Need to Read. Because you never know: it could be you.
A student may have to leave their dorm in an emergency.
Or leave campus.
Or they might have to lockdown in their dorm.
Well, lockdowns are distressing enough… and then you add 2020…
Evolution of the College “Go” Bag: The purpose of the pre-2020 Go-Bag was to get a student through a scenario that would cut electricity, or force a student to flee due to a weather event or building structure failure. Or hideout due to a criminal presence or other heightened military alerts.
New Go-Bags also prepare for a student having to leave their dorm and isolate in another location for medical reasons. Or be quarantined in their room. And don’t forget if the sick student stays, the healthy roommate(s) must go. Diagnosis can come fast, leaving a student unable to go shopping for essentials.
What to pack now?
Pre-2020 Go-Bag
Backpack or bag that contains emergency items
Prescription Medications
Flashlight (and extra batteries)
Cell phone Charge Cord and Portable Charger (these should never leave the bag, so take good care of your everyday chargers!)
Phone Earphones (again, not for daily use, so they don’t even have to be the cool earphones. Just make sure they fit your phone.)
Printout of Key Contact Information: phone numbers and emails of doctors, parents and other key relatives, roommates and roommates’ parents.
List of Medical Conditions, including allergies and current prescriptions
Hand Sanitizer
Rubber Gloves
Clean Zip-loc Baggies of various sizes (include some large baggies to store soiled items)
Bandages
Anti-Bacterial Ointment
Alcohol Pads
Painkillers Acetaminophen or Ibuoprofen (example: aka Tylenol and Motrin)
Thermometer (with extra batteries)
Facial Tissues
Toilet Paper (small roll, flattened to fit in the backpack) enclosed in a baggie
Pocket-sized Comb and Scrunchies
Feminine Hygiene Products
Toothpaste and Toothbrush (you may not have time to get the one you use — or it may be infected)
Travel-sized Toiletries: shampoo, soap, lotion
Snack Bars: a week’s worth is good (check expiration dates before packing and plan to switch out fresh ones as needed each semester)
A few changes of Socks, Underwear, Pajamas, soft comfy Pants and a couple of T-Shirts
Blanket: either a fleece throw or a stadium blanket like this one. Stadium blankets can also be used as a cape with a hood and fold into a small portable size:
Post 2020: New Additions to That College Go-Bag
Extra Face Masks
Playing Cards
WordSearch/Sodoku/Crossword Puzzle Book(s): days will be long, especially without electricity!
Electrolyte Powder to put in water (example: Pedialyte, Gatorade, Propel, Emergen-C, Ultima Replenisher)
Cough and Cold Medicine (example: Robitussin, Mucinex)
Cold and Flu Syrup (example: NyQuil and DayQuil)
Zinc Lozenges
Vitamin C Mega Dose tablets
Anti-Nausea Medicine (example: Pepto Bismol)
Anti-Diarrheal Medicine (example: Kaopectate)
Nothing is certain, so it’s best to prepare in advance for difficult times and hope that you never have to use the Go Bag!
