Congratulations for accomplishing a significant milestone. Lap it up, you deserve it. However, if you are enrolling in college – you’re not done yet. Here are some tasks you need to consider:
Pay Attention to deadlines.
Check your emails and postal mail regularly for correspondence from the college. You may need to answer back to reserve/apply for housing, when your tuition payment is due, when to register for courses, communicate with your advisor, and more. Confirm move in day and make plans accordingly.
Order your final transcript.
Depending on your high school, you may have to order this through a third party such as Parchment. Check for the deadline that your future college needs to receive it (see below on deadlines). If you earned an IB diploma, order it to be sent to your future college.
Send AP scores if you have them.
Typically any exams you’ve taken in senior year will be out in late June or early July. You should order official score reports from the College Board and have them sent directly to the school you’ll be attending in the fall, for consideration of college credit for exams passed.
Complete legal documentation for medical and education matters.
When a child has turned 18, parents will no longer have the automatic right to make educational and medical decisions on behalf of their child. This can have real effects in case of a medical emergency or if your child is experiencing academic difficulties. Thus, you may want to have legal documentation signed that covers FERPA (access to education records), a HIPAA (health records and authorization to discuss with medical providers) release, Power of Attorney (POA), and/or a medical proxy. This is particularly important if your student is going out of state and away from home.
Please have a discussion as a family about this. Forms and releases details may vary with your state and the college attended.
FERPA Waiver and Other Legal Documents College Students Shouldn’t Leave Home Without
Have a great summer – and best wishes to you on your journey!
