Insurance and Finance

College Prep List

By Kristy Alpert 9.3.14

Sending your child off to college is a huge milestone, and, unfortunately, it’s not always an easy one to cope with as a parent. Whether the transition feels like you’re setting your little bird free to soar or you’re sending your fragile one off to battle with the real world, there are some transition smoothing tools you can arm your student with to help make it an easy journey into independence.

Aside from teaching your student to do laundry and cook healthy meals with a microwave (like this black bean-smothered sweet potato), there’s some vital paperwork your student will need when he/she walks on campus.

Here are the documents to make copies of and keep safely stored away in a safe deposit box (because let’s face it, college kids are going to misplace stuff):

  • Copies of car registration and insurance information (the originals should be in the car)
  • Health/dental insurance cards
  • At least two copies of their birth certificate (keep the original at home)
  • Copy of their passport (keep the original at home)
  • Social Security card (but stress the importance of keeping it in the safe deposit box)
  • Copy of health records
  • Copy of financial aid records (if applicable)
  • Emergency hometown contact list (include your child’s physician, dentist, and your Texas Farm Bureau Insurance Agent)
  • Copy of renter’s insurance policy (if applicable)

Simply assemble the documents in the three-ring binder, and send your student off knowing they’re covered and prepared for whatever may come.