College · College Planning

Ready for the dorm,
and for week five.

The first weeks of college are less about the classes than about doing everything yourself: asking for help, handling money, getting over a bad grade. Rate six skills honestly, practice the low ones this year, and set up care before you go.

Make a planWhat you get

Your plan

The worked example is made up: a senior heading to a residence hall a flight away who rates asking for help and setbacks as 2s. Saved on this device only, so it stays private to you.

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What you get

College · College PlanningFree

What you finish with
A record per student: start date, living situation and distance; six readiness skills rated 1 to 4; if-then plans for hard moments; six things to set up before leaving. Averages readiness, names the two areas to practice and counts the days to campus; flags each skill rated 1 or 2 with something specific to practice, care not yet moved, accommodations not yet requested and the distance plan.
Who it is for
High school juniors and seniors, gap-year and transfer students heading to college, and the parents and school counselors helping them.
Format
Browser planner with a saved record per student. Prints the plan, every plan in a table or a blank copy; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file. Kept private on your device.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The College Planning space in Caveat College.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Rate each skill as you do it today.
  2. Pick the two lowest and practice them this year.
  3. Write if-then plans for the hard moments you can picture.
  4. Set up insurance, care and accommodations before you leave.
  5. Look at it again in the summer.

Make a plan

The first-year curve

The first-year curve most students ride1ExcitementMove-in, new people, freedom2The first dipWeeks 3 to 8: homesick, firstexams, money3SettlingA routine, a few friends,knowing where things are4Winter returnSecond term can dip againafter break5BelongingBy spring most feel this istheir place6Ask earlyAny point on the curve is afine time to use helpThe first-year curve most students ride1ExcitementMove-in, new people, freedom2The first dipWeeks 3 to 8: homesick, first exams,money3SettlingA routine, a few friends, knowing wherethings are4Winter returnSecond term can dip again after break5BelongingBy spring most feel this is their place6Ask earlyAny point on the curve is a fine time touse help
A dip is common and usually passes. If it lasts two weeks or more, or anyone might not be safe, that is the time to talk to the counseling center or call or text 988.

Why if-then plans work

Deciding in advance what you will do when a specific thing happens makes it far more likely you do it. “If I fail the first exam, I go to office hours that week” is easier to follow on a bad day than a general promise to ask for help.

Care and accommodations

A therapist or doctor at home may not be licensed where the college is, so ask early about records and a provider nearby. College accommodations come from the disability services office after you ask and send documentation; a high school IEP or 504 plan does not transfer by itself.

Sources

  1. 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Call, text or chat 988 (988lifeline.org).
  2. The Jed Foundation and Steve Fund. Set to Go: transition to college resources (jedfoundation.org).
  3. Gollwitzer, P. M., & Sheeran, P. (2006). Implementation intentions and goal achievement: A meta-analysis of effects and processes. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 38.
  4. U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights. Students with Disabilities Preparing for Postsecondary Education (ed.gov).

The worked examples are made up. This page is for planning; it is not counseling, a diagnosis or a crisis service. If you might not be safe, call or text 988 or call 911. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.