Minors away on campus?

[MamaSprout]

I ran into a health situation with dd that gave me pause. She went to get her flu shot the other day and the nurse (who knows me well enough to text me) said, "Nope, you've got to be here, she's under 18."

Since dd won't be 18 at all her freshman year (late spring birthday), how is that usually handled? I asked around campus where I work and was told that she would be treated as an 18 year old, but clearly that doesn't hold for off campus health care.

We automatically do FERPA waiver for all students on our campus when they are in "sign everything" mode at check-in so we can talk to parents, but I know that's not common.

How have you handled this? Dd does have non-life-threatening health issues.

[JenneinCA]

The medical provider calls and I give verbal consent over the phone.  It happened with my middle child more than once.  It wasn’t a big deal.  For the flu shot, the nurse wrote on a form that consent was given over the phone and gave him the flu shot.  When he got an infected wart on his foot, my husband did the consent and then took pictures of the insurance card with his phone and sent them too because the child didn’t have his.  
In a college town, the doctors know how to deal with it.

[Dmmetler]

I have a 16 yr old living on a residential college campus 6 hours away.  So far, it really hasn't been an issue. There have been a decent number of documents that L has emailed to me, I've printed, signed, scanned, and e-mailed back, and in one case, I did need to originally set up an appointment and pay method with an outside provider, but after that L has set follow ups without an issue. College towns are definitely used to underage students. 

 

L will be traveling internationally as part of the first year leadership program in the Spring, and, again, we've signed a lot of paperwork, and we'll make sure that we have everything recommended by the US consulate for kids traveling without a parent for that specific country, even if the college doesn't recommend it, just in case. 

 

 

[mom2scouts]

I had one child who graduated at 16 and was still a minor when he went away to college. It didn't cause too many problems. Verbal consent or providing signed paperwork in advance was usually enough.

[Lilaclady]

Not really been an issue for us. My dd won’t turn 18 till her second year. She just got the flu vaccine on campus no issues. The only concern I didn’t anticipate was that she won’t be able to do study abroad until after 18 but she didn’t seem to mind too much after Covid upended things. 

[J-rap]

8 hours ago, Lilaclady said:

Not really been an issue for us. My dd won’t turn 18 till her second year. She just got the flu vaccine on campus no issues. The only concern I didn’t anticipate was that she won’t be able to do study abroad until after 18 but she didn’t seem to mind too much after Covid upended things. 

Out of curiosity, why is that?  Is that a program or college rule?  Just wondering because our dd studied abroad in a one-year program (independently of a US college) after she graduated from high school, at age 17, and it was no problem at all.  But perhaps studying abroad through a US college requires that the student is 18?

[MamaSprout]

5 hours ago, J-rap said:

Out of curiosity, why is that?  Is that a program or college rule?  Just wondering because our dd studied abroad in a one-year program (independently of a US college) after she graduated from high school, at age 17, and it was no problem at all.  But perhaps studying abroad through a US college requires that the student is 18?

Not Lilaclady, but a graduated student is still a high schooler or gap year student.

The college programs often specify being 18 by a certain date (which dd won’t make the cut for the ones run the the Department of State, even though she’ll be 18 the summer after freshman year. She loses a year of eligibility in the transition between high school and college unless she does a school year program as a gap year student. (My dad’s Rotary club is encouraging this. I think Rotary is low on outbound students for next year).

Different programs have different rules, but the college based ones often assume only adults are traveling. 

Edited November 6, 2021 by MamaSprout

[Dmmetler]

It depends on the program/school. At Agnes Scott, it is normal for first years to do a cultural experience, with most international, and the only change for under 18 students is that a parent/ legal guardian has to sign everything, too. 

 

We have run into age based eligiblity for things where HIPPA and FERPA come into play. L has been unable to do observations and field experiences in certain settings for that reason, and one reason for doing a dual BS/MAT is that the fieldwork for an MAT can be done in the last two years, after age 18 but a BS/BSE would have pushed it earlier in the process. 

 

 

[2_girls_mommy]

When my dd was starting  college she was still 17 for about a week.  When she had to take the C-19 before dorm move in, they were doing a spit test over Zoom, and when they heard she was only 17, they made her get one of us on the Zoom call to give permission.  But we had to be there.  Our harder problems have come in once she turned 18, and has to make her own appointments, deal with her own prescriptions and such, and they can't give us any information, even though we have to handle the insurance.  So when she is having a problem, doesn't follow through on something, and I need to get something cleared up, it's a hassle trying to get everything lined up because they have to hear from her on anything, not me. 

[Lilaclady]

16 hours ago, J-rap said:

Out of curiosity, why is that?  Is that a program or college rule?  Just wondering because our dd studied abroad in a one-year program (independently of a US college) after she graduated from high school, at age 17, and it was no problem at all.  But perhaps studying abroad through a US college requires that the student is 18?

I think it is the college and they just made a blanket rule. If she has really wanted to, we could have looked into it but she realized most of the places she wants to go won’t have any courses that she can take so it became a mute point.  

[TheSchoolintheHills]

This is a timely post! My 16 yo dd is applying to college for Fall 2022 admission.  She will be just barely 17 yo.  Any advice?  How should we prepare her (and ourselves!)?

Edited November 7, 2021 by TheSchoolintheHills

[MamaSprout]

On 11/7/2021 at 3:42 PM, TheSchoolintheHills said:

This is a timely post! My 16 yo dd is applying to college for Fall 2022 admission.  She will be just barely 17 yo.  Any advice?  How should we prepare her (and ourselves!)?

No specific advice here other than “know thy child”. Dd picked out and visited her first choice school in 8th grade with an eye to graduating early. She’s our youngest so has been on the campus of twenty some colleges and universities. She has opinions, lol.

She’s taking close to a full load this year (and working). I really want her time management to be above average. That’s my only area of concern. That, and just staying on top of health and wellness.

Edited November 9, 2021 by MamaSprout