<p>After a fall visit, I discovered that I’ll have to switch cell phone carriers next year since my current service doesn’t have coverage at all where I’ll be going to college (1700 miles away from home). My line’s contract doesn’t end til June and my whole family will end up changing carriers with me. Luckily I found this out in advance, since I never would have thought twice about it.
Is there anything else that may come up that I should keep in mind?</p>
<p>Make sure you have everything you need to deal with any sort of climate difference. That was the biggest adjustment I had to make, as I went from the tropics to the frigid tundra of northern Indiana.</p>
<p>I’m from the South and will be going to school in the NE. ):
Is there a particular jacket/technique you recommend?</p>
<p>It might be too expensive to go home for Thanksgiving.</p>
<p>Familiarize yourself with the weather/climate of the area and what you’ll need at those times of the year. That’s probably the other big thing. Also, know if you’ll be able to go home for breaks…like the previous post says, talk with your parents if you haven’t already about whether you’ll be able to go home for every break or only some. Being 1700 miles away, you’ll obviously have to fly home, so talk about whether that’s going to be affordable or not. If you watch the flight deals and check ahead of time, sometimes it’s not too bad (I fly home for breaks also, even though I’m 500 miles away, not 1700!!!).</p>
<p>Get long underwear and a really good jacket. I’m in the Midwest, which also has bad winter weather, and I have a down coat. That works well for me.</p>
<p>Medical Insurance–We have Blue Cross HMO and it did not cover my son OOS except for emergency services. Make sure you have coverage in the state where you will be attending school–most colleges do have plans available.</p>
<p>ATM Bank Charge Fees-My son has an account through Bank of America and there was not a local branch near his college. He was using his card at the ATM on campus and he soon realized that he was being charged for every withdrawal. Try to find a local bank and one near your home so your accounts can be synch’ed. BTW, the Bank of America’s on the west coast are not on the same system as the east coast, they really are not considered the same bank.</p>
<p>Driver’s License-My son lost his wallet while at college, a few days before he was suppose to be coming home for spring break. We went into major panic because he had no ID to get ona plane!! Make copies of your Driver’s License, School ID, Passport, Insurance and Credit Cards. Luckily his friend picked up his wallet and he was OK but he promptly made copies just in case it happened again. He also took back an expired Passport just to have some alternate form of ID (I didn’t trust him with the “real” passport–haha)</p>
<p>Good Luck</p>