20 Tasks Teens Need to Know Before They Leave for College

I recently read a blog that listed 31 tasks that teens should be able to do before they left for college. I agreed with most of the items, but then I realized that I needed to add/subtract/amend some of them. So here is The College Lady's list of what teens should know how to do before they go to college.

In no particular order:

1. Manage a bank account (using a check card, checking your balance, and generally, not going into overdraft!)
2. Pay a bill (either in person, or using a website, or through your checking account. This includes using a credit card)
3. Make travel arrangements (you have to travel back and forth from college, right?)
4. Navigate an airport, train or bus station, take a cab or ride the subway
5. Talk to a stranger, whether it is a cab driver, a professor or the college dean
6. Plunge a toilet (an important life skill)/clean a bathroom (especially after you have been sick)
7. Car maintenance, change a tire, check the oil (especially important if you will have a car at college, but helping a friend out if they need it is valuable, too)
8. Pay for dinner, including appropriate tipping skills
9. Self-prescribe over the counter meds (what to take for muscle pain, headache, etc. without calling Dr. Mom)
10. Call a doctor (knowing when to call is an art, but there are general guidelines)
11. Cook a meal (especially if you don't want to eat at dining services all the time!)
12. Cancel a membership or an account
13. Buy clothes/Return a purchase
14. Pack a suitcase
    
15. Do the laundry/use an iron/sew a button/remove a stain
16. Comparison shopping and staying on a budget when you are buying your own food (using coupons and shopping the sales is important, too)
17. Negotiate a deal (it can't hurt to ask for a discount, as long as you aren't being pushy or obnoxious)
18. Make a bed (impress your roommate or prospective partners!)
19. Enjoy a drink responsibly and know when to stop drinking before you get too drunk or sick (and know how to take care of a sick roommate or friend)
    
20. Say "no" with confidence to roommates, panhandlers and unwanted sexual advances.