How to Help Your Student Transition to Off Campus Living

On most college campuses, students start out living in a dorm. Many universities require students to live on campus during their freshman year. Lots of students stay on in the dorms for their sophomore year, and by junior year they are ready for the independence of an off campus apartment.

On some campuses, a shortage of dorm space propels younger students into college apartments, where they are forced not only to adapt to life away from home but where they become responsible for setting up house off campus.

Parents of college students can help make the transition to off campus apartment life easier for their student with these simple tips:

1. Help your student furnish his or her apartment with second hand furniture from home. Surrounding themselves with familiar items can make students in apartments feel more comfortable right from the start. Getting them moved in, or hiring movers for them can also be a great way to let them just focus on school or registration.
2. If your child doesn’t know how to cook, now is the time to pass along those simple family favorites. Teaching your son or daughter to make the “basics” in their own kitchen will help with the transition to off campus living.
3. Suggest, but don’t dictate, ideas for making the apartment comfortable. One of the most exciting things about moving into an off campus apartment is the ability for a student to create his or her own “space.”
4. Help your student outfit the kitchen with all the essentials by providing duplicates from home. There’s usually no need to spend a small fortune on dishes, flatware, or pots and pans. Let Mom upgrade her dishes and give the kids the old ones.
5. A great housewarming gift is a box of cleaning supplies. Most students are not going to run out and buy those, and yet getting back their deposit upon move out will depend largely upon how clean they’ve kept their place.

Students adapt to new situations much easier than adults, but with a little help from Mom and Dad, the transition to off campus living can be a breeze.