Out of the house and on their own. For many Texas families, this is their first time sending off one of their children to go live on a college campus. This is a new stage of life for the family and for the young adults who are entering the college life. One of the big things before sending off your college age child is to make sure they are fully prepared to start their own independent living.
There are plenty of commercials out there telling you what your college student needs for dorm life, but there are some things that the big retailers just don’t sell. So here are 4 things that every apartment renter or dorm bound college student needs that they can’t buy in a department store.
4 things your college student needs
- Family Recipes: You may find it strange to have this as a college readiness tip coming from an insurance company, but your chances are that your student will miss home at some point. Just think of this as missing home assurance. Your student can use it if they are missing home or just need an idea for dinner. Plus homemade food is a great way to make new friends, especially among university students.
- Renters Insurance: It doesn’t matter if your student is living in campus housing or renting off-campus, they are in need of renters insurance. With all of the random things that can happen in college, it is possible for property to get damaged. A good renters insurance policy is very affordable and protects the possessions of a renter. For a more detailed description of renters insurance take a look at the post titled College Students in Apartments Should be Insured.
- A Budget: Many college bound students probably haven’t had to think too much of budgeting before because they haven’t had too many bills to deal with. Work with your college student to help them look at what money they have to work with over the school year. Take into consideration tuition loans, textbook purchases, insurance costs and daily living expenses such as food, toiletries, bus fare or the like. Give your college student a realistic idea of what they will be able to spend on recreation, entertainment and social activities. This way you can hopefully prevent them from running out of money within their first month of their first semester.
- A Plan: Especially for students who are moving far away from home, it’s nice to have a plan of when they will be able to return home next. The when and how they will get home is important, particularly if they won’t be taking a car with them to campus. For some new college students, they might have anxiety about leaving home, but with a plan knowing that they will be coming back can help calm nerves and combat the fear and stress.
Getting your college bound young adult ready for this new chapter in life is more than just making sure they have all of the stuff they need for campus life. To be fully prepared they need to have their backup plans, insurance and budget in place to make sure all of the bases are covered. Should you have any questions about renter’s insurance, what it covers and why it is necessary, please contact Paula Smith Insurance at (281) 488-8880 as we want to be your insurance resource. If you have an insurance agent, be sure they know that your student is moving out of town so they can review any and all of your insurance policies accordingly.