After all the planning and organising involved with preparing your son or daughter for higher education, you may think that the end will never be in sight, but once they are finally there with everything they need, you will see how important the preparation actually was. It is amazing how much is involved when you consider it, but helping to plan your son's or daughter's life at university or college bit by bit makes the whole process a lot easier to manage. Below is a checklist of things to remember.

Finances: e.g. loans and awards, parental contributions, student bank account
Make sure their finances are sorted before they leave for university or college, otherwise they could end up with serious difficulties regarding paying for essentials such as their accommodation (if not taken care of already), food, bills, and course equipment. Take a look at our student finance section and budget calculator to help you plan.

Legal: e.g. insurance, TV licence, tax
It may not seem like a big deal to some people, but this is one of the most crucial and yet forgotten aspects of higher education. Being burgled or fined £1,000 for being caught without a TV licence can have a serious effect upon a student's finances, security and confidence.

Accommodation
Have you checked the suitability of their accommodation and has it been paid for? Do they know if the cost of their accommodation includes electricity, gas, insurance, food, etc? It's a good idea to check if the room is ensuite or has a communal bathroom.

Transport
Knowing how to get to and from university or college is important, because being late for seminars or practices will not make a good impression on the lecturers. Your son or daughter can check bus and train timetables or use a map to find a good route if walking. Although walking may save money, please be aware of the safety issues surrounding this. Until they find a safe route and/or someone to walk with, driving or using public transport may be better options.

Communication: e.g. email, phones
If financial problems or homesickness look bound to strike, contacting you may be of the utmost importance to your son or daughter. Most teenagers will already have a mobile phone or plan to take one to university or college, but if not, a landline is recommended for safety reasons, as well as for communicating with each other. It would also be wise to set up email accounts where both of you know the other's address, so you can keep in contact in more ways than one.

Things to take: e.g. course books/equipment, TV, stereo, bed linen, toiletries
Your son or daughter is almost certainly going to forget something they need, especially if they don't plan, so starting to write a list of things to take in advance can help to diminish this problem.

Eating, drinking and cooking
You may know about the all-important rescue packages constantly sent from parents to students when they run out of food and money, but having something to cook the contents with is also quite important!

Preliminary reading/practice
There can be nothing worse than turning up for a course unprepared, whilst everyone else knows what they are doing. To save any embarrassment, it's a good idea to check with your son or daughter if there is anything they need to do before attending the first lecture or practice. This information should be sent to them by their chosen institution.

Safety: e.g. alarms, locks
For your peace of mind as well as your son's or daughter's, check that their accommodation has fire/smoke alarms and that doors and windows have secure locks on them. It is surprising how many students are burgled, but cannot claim on insurance because the locks are not of the required standard.

Electoral register
It may be the first year that your son or daughter is eligible to vote or they may have voted before, but they will need to register at their term-time address in order to get the appropriate voting information.

There will probably be many other aspects of attending higher education that need much thought, but this should be a good starting point. Being prepared protects your son or daughter from unexpected problems at a time in their lives when they should be focusing their attention on studying hard and enjoying themselves.