While the summer before college shouldn’t be a drag filled with tasks and appointments, taking care of business in the summer goes a long way toward setting up your child (and you!) for a great freshman year. Pencil these in over the course of the summer.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR FAMILY & FRIENDS WEEKEND

September 20-22, 2024 – You will want to bring the entire family, plus the grandparents, for Family & Friends Weekend! Celebrate cultural diversity with international food, music and dance at Celebration of Nations, experience campus life with your student, and cheer on the Miners football team! Register and learn more about Family and Friends Weekend.

GET OUT THE VOTE

Make sure your freshman is registered to vote and will get an absentee ballot.

IT WILL BE HERE BEFORE YOU KNOW IT

You don’t want to rush the summer, but it doesn’t hurt to figure out logistics for move-in day (taking time off from work, coordinating siblings’ attendance, etc.). Learn more about Miner Mover-in.

GET THE LAY OF THE LAND

If you are not able to attend orientation (or even if you are), try to tour campus before school starts. The whirlwind of college visits isn’t the same as purposefully walking through the campus when you know you are going to be there soon. Consider attending Miner Welcome Bash.

CLEAN-UP TIME

On social media in general, your freshman is likely all over this, but summer would be a good time to do a review of his or her social media presence. New friends, roomies and classmates will immediately hit social media to learn about the new people they are coming into contact with.

TAKE CARE OF FINANCIAL ITEMS – PARENTS

Parents, this means pay tuition and housing. One thing I was not expecting was the lack of access to educational information for parents.

Colleges are required by educational privacy laws to keep student information (even tuition bills!) private even from parents. Your freshman will have to grant you access through Additional Authorized Access for this, and can authorize access to academic, financial aid, account, and directory information, if they choose to do so. I was expecting to get notices that payments were due and did not, creating a late fee situation. After I got everything set up through my daughter, that was not a repeat problem.

TAKE CARE OF FINANCIAL ITEMS – STUDENTS

The summer is the ideal time to get your freshman’s finances set up in general. If your student does not already have an ATM card, make sure that is taken care of before leaving. If a credit card for emergencies (or pizza….) is something you want your child to have, take care of that as well.

Does your child know the basics of managing a bank account? If not, now is the time.

GET THE SCOOP

Continue your research by spending some time on Missouri S&T’s website. There is so much information available and while neither you or your freshman want to stress out about knowing everything ahead of time, it can ease those first week nerves having the low-down before you go.

GETTING AROUND

Missouri S&T’s campus is quite walkable. Limited public transportation is available in the Rolla community. Students may request to join the Missouri S&T Rides and Roommate Connection Facebook group to connect for ride sharing. Students desiring to bring their own car should request a Student Parking Permit and become familiar with parking information and rules.

GET IN THE GAME

Is your freshman a sports fan? Visit Missouri S&T Miner Athletics website to get a head start checking out teams, schedules, stats, and all things Miners! There is nothing like cheering for the Miners with your new friends at your new campus!

PACK EARLY, PACK OFTEN, BUT DON’T PACK TOO MUCH

See the full list of “What to Bring”, and just as important, “What Not to Bring”. While I do not advocate obsessing over early packing, I can absolutely promise the chore of shopping and packing is much more pleasant when done in manageable chunks over the summer.

TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS

Knock out those dental cleanings, eye appointments and physicals during the summer. It’s so tough to organize medical appointments during your freshman’s brief visits home. Better to go into the school year fully prepared and with all prescriptions (including those for contact lens refills–those are always a bear) set up and ready to go. Become familiar with services offered by Student Health Services, and research local pharmacies.

LIFE SKILLS

If your freshman does not know how to do laundry, balance a checkbook, make a medical appointment or the like, now is the time to learn.

THE TALK

Talk with your freshman about financial expectations. Will you provide spending money during the school year? If so, how much? Will your child be expected to cover certain expenses? Talk through these issues before you get a panicky call about an overdrawn bank account.

THE CHOW HALL

View the campus meal plan options to make the best choice in selecting a meal plan. Many vegan and vegetarian food options are available, as well as individualized consultations with dining staff for students with dietary restrictions.

Source

Article adapted from https://summerbeforecollege.com/to-do-checklist/. Please Note: Missouri S&T does not endorse or have a relationship with SOURCE and articles are provided for information purposes only.  Missouri S&T and SOURCE do not assume responsibility for error or omission in materials.  

Parent & Family Relations

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Phone: 573-341-6323 • Website: http://family.mst.edu/ Facebook: Parent & Family Relations at Missouri S&T