10 Things Your Graduate Should Know Before College
Is your high school graduate ready for college? Did your child everything she needs to know? These worries are common for most parents with a child bound for college.
Helping your child get ready for college is a process. Sometimes graduates are eager to prepare, but others are hesitant. Whether your child is more of the perfectionist or the procrastinator, knowing these 10 things can help prepare your graduate for the days ahead. Be sure your child knows each one!
1. What her social security number is
Up to this point in your child’s life, she rarely needed to know her social security number. She likely does not have it memorized, nor has she had to have it memorized. Know that she is bound for college, she will encounter more and more occasions where knowing her social number for memory would be helpful.
These 9 numbers are important, so encourage your child to memorize them. Not only will it save you the trouble of remembering them for your child, but it will also help give responsibility to your new graduate. After all, she is entering adulthood.
In addition, be careful that your child knows just how important these numbers are. She should not be sharing her social with just anyone. Be sure that learns what scenarios should and should not require her social, so she can protect her identity.
2. How to pay bills electronically
Your newly graduated child probably has little experience with paying bills. You know that college will be full of expenses, but your child may be fairly clueless about the cost of college. How can you help prepare her?
Ensure that your child knows how to pay bills electronically. Knowing payment due dates, passwords, and bank account numbers will help her take ownership of her money. Although she could learn by making mistakes, you want to help her smoothly transition to this new phase of life without costly fines.
Walk your child through the process of paying bills electronically. Allow her to complete this process on another occasion while you are close at hand. Teaching this skill now will prevent panicked phone calls later in her freshman year.
3. How to manage a bank account
Connected with paying bills is bank account information. Routing numbers, account numbers, balances—these can all be confusing terms. Up to this point, you may have been in complete control of your child’s bank account. Help her transition to this new stage of life by guiding her.
Be sure your child knows her bank account username and password. Help her locate her routing number and account number on her own account. Show her what numbers are needed for electronic payments.
In addition, I would encourage you to help your child learn how to use both a checkbook and electronic payment methods, like PayPal or Venmo. While checkbooks are not used frequently anymore, knowing how to write a check can still be helpful.
Sharing this information will help you pass on the ownership of her finances to your high school graduate. While she may not have hardly any money to manage, learning how to manage her money now is important. Prepare her for the future by teaching her before she goes to college.
4. Who to contact in an emergency
If an emergency were to take place while your child was at college, would she know what to do? You certainly hope so. How can you know this for sure?
In this digital age, few people (especially newly graduated high school students) know phone numbers by heart. If an emergency were to occur and your child’s phone was not working properly or dead, knowing your number by memory would be helpful. Encourage your child to memorize you and possibly another parent’s phone number. Ensuring she is prepared for the unlikely emergencies will give you and her peace of mind.
In addition, be sure she knows who to contact at her college if she was in danger or seriously ill. Hopefully this circumstance will never occur, but being prepared for the worst is always a good idea.
5. How to use insurance information
Connected with emergencies is insurance. Medical and auto insurance information is confusing to an inexperienced high school graduate. In the past if an incident occurred, you were likely there to take care of paper work.
At college, you will not be so accessible. Helping your child learn how to deal with incidents after they occur will help her. Ensure your child knows how to locate and use insurance information after an illness or an accident.
During the many doctor appointments before college, have your child fill out the paperwork with you close at hand to ask questions. Doing is often the key to learning these skills. In addition, encourage her to always carry her identification and insurance information in her wallet. This practice will help her always be prepared.
6. How to apply for a job
Some parents discourage their child from working during the first semester or year of college. Other parents have little choice but to require their child to work. In either case, your child needs to learn this valuable skill.
If your child applied to a job in high school, you likely had to help with some of the paperwork. Your child needs to start learning this skill for herself. Help her learn how to fill out an application this summer.
Even if she is not applying for a job, helping her to see what kinds of jobs she can and cannot apply for is helpful. This skill is taught some in college, but your child learns much of the job huhting and applying process from you. Helping her write a letter of introduction or a cover letter will teach her valuable skills.
This summer is short. Your days are full, but don’t let them fly by without helping her prepare for the journey ahead. Your help is invaluable, even if she doesn’t fully appreciate it now.
7. How to keep things clean
You want your child to know how to clean well, but sometimes housecleaning is easier to do yourself. Even if your child’s cleaning lacks thoroughness, learning how to keep things clean is an important life skill. Be sure your child knows the basics of cleaning.
Your child’s future roommate will likely struggle with her messiness like you do now. However, the future roommate does not have the authority that you do. Teaching your graduate to clean properly will help her be a good roommate.
During this summer, create opportunities for your child to learn how to do laundry, clean dishes, vacuum, and tidy her space. Create deadlines for her. Provide some consequences if she does not stick to those deadlines.
8. How to respond to criticism
No one likes criticism, especially not your newly graduated child. Your child probably does not like criticism, even when it’s well-meaning. Helping her learn how to respond well to criticism (valid or invalid though it may be) is important. Why? She will receive it all her life.
Sometimes criticism is warranted. For example, her college professors will give her feedback on her work. Sometimes their critiques will be kindly worded, while other times their words will seem too harsh. Her response can make all the difference about what happens next.
Believe it or not, one of the best ways you can teach her how to respond well to criticism is by modeling it yourself. You certainly encounter criticism at your job and at home on a frequent basis. Your child watches and listens to the way you respond, and she consciously or unconsciously imitates you.
Help your child learn the correct way to respond to criticism by showing her. Your actions often communicate much more than your words. Use this summer to model correct behavior.
9. How to address an authority figure
This summer your child will likely struggle some with your authority. Hopefully, she tries to treat you with respect. This next school year your child will likely have the same authority and respect struggles that you see at home. Help her learn how to address an authority figure now.
In my teaching, I have to say that respect is a big deal. I am not naive enough to think that some students only treated me with disrespect, because I know they probably treated their parents with as much disrespect at home. Disrespect, even when it’s unintentional, will not help your child build relationships with professors and professionals. (Not to mention, it shows poor character.)
Help your child prepare for her future by learning what behavior and language is and isn’t appropriate when talking to an authority figure. Help her learn what her words and attitude communicate. This summer is the perfect time to address the issue of respect.
10. How to ask for help
In high school, your child was probably used to teachers or coaches tracking her down. If she forgot to turn in an assignment, you might have gotten an email. If she arrived late to a practice, she likely had to run extra laps. But in college, life will be different.
One of the biggest adjustments for college freshmen is the hands-off demeanor of teachers. Because of the large class sizes, most college professors have little time to send personalized emails to struggling students. If your child needs help, she will have to initiate a conversation.
Learning when and how to get help is important. Remaining silent will almost certainly lead to horrible grades. Prepare her for this adjustment in the coming months. Take some time to converse about this adjustment next school year.
In college, your child will have more freedom but also more responsibility. Most graduates look forward to the freedom but think little about added responsibility. Help your child prepare for college by ensuring she knows these 10 things.
