Sending your teen to college comes with a long checklist, and their health should be part of it.
Between dorm shopping, filling out financial aid apps, signing up for classes, and figuring out how many towels to bring, it’s easy to forget about health planning. But helping your teen learn to manage their health is just as important as picking a meal plan or packing their laptop. Once they’re on campus, they might need to make an appointment, get a prescription refill, or share their medical information.
Whether your teen is living on campus, commuting, or heading to school out of state, being prepared before move-in day can make the transition smoother and help them start the year with confidence.
Schedule a Checkup Before College Begins
The months leading up to college are a great time to schedule your teen’s yearly checkup.
Try to avoid waiting until the week before move-in day. Late summer is a busy time for pediatric offices, and your teen might need extra appointments, forms, tests, or vaccines before finishing their college paperwork.
During the appointment, your pediatrician can:
- Review overall health
- Discuss sleep, nutrition, stress, and mental health
- Update medications and prescriptions
- Check their vaccination record
- Complete required college or athletic forms
- Help your teen become more involved with managing their own healthcare
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends regular wellness visits throughout adolescence. These appointments include age-appropriate screenings, health assessments, and opportunities to discuss changes that may affect a teenager’s physical or emotional well-being.
Even if your teen feels healthy, a pre-college visit can help. It gives them a chance to ask questions in private, learn about their health history, and make a plan for handling healthcare on their own.
Review College Vaccination Requirements
Colleges and universities often ask students to show proof of certain vaccinations. Requirements can vary by school, state, housing, and program, so make sure to check your college’s policies carefully.
Look for vaccination info in the student portal, enrollment checklist, housing paperwork, or campus health services website. Students going into healthcare, education, or other clinical programs might have extra requirements.
Routine vaccines usually checked during adolescence include Tdap, HPV, and meningococcal vaccines. Your pediatrician can also tell you if your teen needs any catch-up shots or other vaccines based on their medical history, travel plans, or risk factors.
When it’s time to fill out those vaccination forms, Woodstock Pediatric Medicine or your pediatrician can provide an official copy of your teen’s immunization record. It’s a good idea to keep both a printed and digital version on hand.
Make a Medication Plan Before Move-In Day
If your teen takes medication daily or as needed, it’s a good idea to plan refills before the semester starts. This is especially important for students on meds for ADHD, anxiety, depression, asthma, allergies, migraines, seizures, or other ongoing issues.
Prescription rules, refill schedules, and pharmacy choices can get a bit more complicated if your kid moves away or heads to school in a different state.
Before your teen leaves, make sure they know:
- The name of each medication
- Why they take it
- The correct dose
- When and how to take it
- What to do if they miss a dose
- Possible side effects
- Whether it should be taken with food
- Which medications or substances could interact with it
- How to request a refill
- Who to contact with questions
Students should also know where they’ll fill prescriptions and understand that stopping some medications suddenly can cause serious problems.
Set up refill reminders on your teen’s phone. A heads-up a few days before a medication runs out is much better than finding the bottle empty at the last minute—and waiting too long can delay getting the prescription filled.
Students should keep their meds in the original labeled containers and store them somewhere safe. They should never share prescription medications with roommates or friends.
If your teen takes medication for ADHD, a little extra planning goes a long way. College routines shift quickly for students with ADHD, so talk with your provider before classes begin about how often follow-up appointments are needed, whether those visits can happen through telehealth, and what to do if a medication isn’t available at the campus or local pharmacy. Make sure your teen has access to their patient portal and the office phone number so they can reach their care team directly.
Practice Healthcare Skills Before They Leave
Learning to manage healthcare takes time; it doesn’t just happen when a student gets their dorm key.
Give your teen opportunities to practice while you are still nearby. They can:
- Check in for their own appointment
- Bring their insurance card
- List their medications
- Explain symptoms to the provider
- Ask at least one question
- Schedule a follow-up visit
- Request a prescription refill
- Contact the pharmacy
- Use the patient portal
- Complete a health form
During pediatric visits, teens can start spending more time talking directly with their healthcare team. Pediatricians often encourage teens to share important health info, be part of decision-making, and build the skills they’ll need as adults.
Parents can still stay involved without handling every single step. Think of your role as moving from healthcare manager to healthcare advisor.
Don’t Forget Mental Health Planning
Starting college is exciting, but it’s also a big adjustment. Homesickness, academic pressure, and new social circles are all normal parts of the transition, and talking about them before move-in day makes them easier to navigate.
Have an open conversation about how your teen usually handles stress and what it might look like if they need a little extra support. Together, look up the campus counseling center, save its contact info, and make sure your teen knows who to reach out to at home or in a crisis.
If your teen already sees a therapist or counselor, help them make a plan to stay connected—whether that’s telehealth visits with their current provider or finding someone near campus.
Most of all, remind your teen that reaching out early is a sign of strength. Support is always available, and they never have to figure things out alone.
Complete Your College Health Checklist Early
Getting ready for college is about more than buying bedding and picking classes. It’s also about helping your teen feel confident about caring for themselves in a new place. And your family doesn’t have to figure it out alone.
Woodstock Pediatric Medicine is here to help you review vaccination records, complete college health forms, plan prescription refills, and get your teen ready to take charge of their health. Book your teen’s pre-college wellness visit early so there’s plenty of time for any vaccines, refills, or follow-ups before the semester kicks off. We’re cheering them on right alongside you.
Exciting news!
Please join us in welcoming Casey Hughes, DO, to Woodstock Pediatric Medicine.
Dr. Hughes officially joins our practice on July 6, and we’re thrilled to have her with us.
