Getting ready for college.

Our son is just around the corner for the college chapters in his life. He has done the schoolwork to be prepared with good grades, no funny stuff and pretty darn trustworthy. Now comes the preparation for these last few months so the transition will be smooth and less stressful. I don't have the answers, but I do have a few suggestions that have worked thus far for us.
1. Make sure you are on the email list at the guidance counselor's office. You will receive imp info regarding deadlines, fees, upcoming events, and student life.
2. The summer before their Senior year, sit down and go over a budget with them. What their expenses are. Open a checking acct. Obtain a debit card. Take your teenager with you and let them talk with the bank representative. Let the back representative explain overdraft charges, acct practices, fees, etc. This encourages independence and accountability. We decided on an amt that would be deposited in our son's acct on the first of every month. He must budget, save and buy with this amt. We provide his essentials. As long as his grades stay up, his behaviour is trustworthy and he is accountable....the money continues and he is not required to work outside our home. So far this has worked for us.
3.Encourage independence as your senior deals with college applications. I did not fill out our son's applications. I was aware of deadlines, info needed, where he was interested in attending and went with him to look at Auburn Univ. In the end, he was the one who decided where he was going. I want him to make that choice.
4. Obtain a file box. This is where you will put every bit of info from school, the mail, universities, reference letters, everything. This keeps you from losing or throwing away something important.
5. Encourage your teenager to be fluent with typing skills. Call me a bad parent, but I have never typed one paper for our children. They are not stressed when a paper is due because they already are confident they can write it and type it. I offer support by making sure they have food, clean clothes, computer paper, supplies, listening and being there. Doing their work for them sets the stage for disaster. If you have done this....I don't know what to tell you to do.
6. Be an involved parent regarding meetings, volunteering, paying fees on time, and becoming involved if your teenager has a problem that he/she cannot handle. Model dependable behavour.
7. Remember, a young person is still a young person until around 25 years of age. If we have not helped them become responsible while in high school, it isn't going to happen just because they are going off to college. That isn't the answer for problems we should have handled before now. But, I believe in open, honest communication with teenagers, unconditional love, support.
8. The grace, forgiveness, mercy, wisdom, protection and love of Jesus...called upon daily, consistently and humbly.