Denise offers insights on what accepted students need to do before leaving for college

You’ve received your acceptance letter– CONGRATULATIONS!

We know there has been a lot of anxiety that comes about while waiting to receive those letters. However, now that you have been accepted, you are not finished with the process. There are still a number of items that need to be completed and most families have no idea what to do or how to respond!

Here’s a checklist to help ease the burden:

Log-in to your college portal  then review each tab and all of the information, including your financial tab, academic/registration, etc. There will be one for personal information such as address, email, phone: this will help make sure you are getting all the information that colleges are expecting you to know.

Make sure to request any concurrent enrollment records, such as transcripts from schools where you may have been given college credit…the institution you will be attending will then hopefully give you some credit for those courses. Just a reminder you will need to pay for these so have a credit card handy !

Sign up for housing, if you haven’t done so already, do it now! This is your opportunity to choose what type of living accommodations you might want, (if options are available, which, lets face it, they often are). For example, you may want a traditional double with group bathrooms or maybe you like the idea of suite-style living with three of your newest friends and some shared common spaces. The options on some campuses are endless! Additionally, you might have the opportunity to sign up for special-interest living such as substance free, honors, major specific, added college support, etc. Review your choices carefully as many colleges have an abundance of options. If you automatically think you want a single your freshman year because you have your own bedroom now, keep in mind, first-year college students in singles tend to report feeling more isolated and lonely than students who share space with one or more roommates.

Sign up for and ATTEND orientation. Attendance at orientation is absolutely the best way to start acclimating to the college environment . It’s a great opportunity to really understand campus culture, academic expectations and social norming. It can also be a great opportunity for you to develop your support systems and for your family to meet other families and start to build their own support networks. During orientation, i f necessary, complete placement tests . If you have not done so already you will likely need to complete some type of placement test. This may be one of the activities that takes place during orientation so be sure to check your college portal or email about completing this step.

Complete the College Opportunity Fund (COF) registration . If you are going to college in Colorado and you have also attended a high school in Colorado, complete the COF registration which provides you with a discounted tuition at Colorado schools. If you’re reading this and don’t live and go to school in Colorado , check with your high school counselor to see if there is a similar program in your state.

Lastly:

Establish some financial independence!  Find a job so you can help pay for college and/or have some money for extracurricular activities.

Don’t sit around playing video games all summer, keep your mind active…and try to make some money while you’re at it! I promise you’ll thank me when you get to college and you have a little flexibility!

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