Change schools or graduate
Leaving a school can close your student email and school cloud storage. Move accounts and files out first, then sort out loans, coverage and records.
Official sources last reviewed · How we review
Build your personalized plan
A few questions, revealed as they become relevant. Your answers stay in this browser.
Start with the basics
Optional.
We never ask for phone numbers, card numbers, passwords or codes. Names of providers or nicknames are enough.
Your plan so far
6things this change touches
- critical0
- high0
- moderate2
- low4
Updates as you answer. Every item will explain why it’s there.
What could break
In a typical school change plan, these are the most serious things to get right.
Accounts and discounts tied to your school email
High · Sign-in & recovery
You could lose access to accounts registered with your school email, and to messages about grades, fees or loans.
Files in your school Google or Microsoft account
High · Data & files
Coursework, photos and files in a school Drive or OneDrive can be lost when the account closes.
School health and dental plan
High · Health & care
A gap in coverage that leaves you paying for prescriptions or care yourself.
Student loans: contact details and repayment
High · Banking & payments
Missed payments can affect your credit, and you could miss repayment help you qualify for.
Forward school email until it closes
Moderate · Sign-in & recovery
Missing an important message after you stop checking the school inbox.
Transcripts, course outlines and records
Moderate · Work & school
Delays in a job or school application while you request records, and course outlines can be hard to get years later.
Moving home too
Moderate · Home & utilities
Address-related updates fall through the cracks.
Registrar: keep your contact details current
Moderate · Work & school
Missed fee notices, alerts or documents.
References from instructors and supervisors
Low · People to tell
Struggling to find a reference for a job or program later.
Student ID, transit pass and campus accounts
Low · Work & school
An unpaid fine or balance can hold up transcripts or a diploma.
Before and after the change
Before you change it
- Accounts and discounts tied to your school email
- Forward school email until it closes
- Files in your school Google or Microsoft account
- Transcripts, course outlines and records
- School health and dental plan
- References from instructors and supervisors
- Moving home too
After the change
- Student loans: contact details and repayment
- Registrar: keep your contact details current
- Student ID, transit pass and campus accounts
- Tuition tax forms
- Student software licences and pricing
- Alumni email and services
Your own plan adds or removes items based on your answers, and explains why each one is there.
The safe order
Doing things in the right sequence is what keeps you from getting locked out halfway through.
Before the change
Step 1: Move accounts off your school email
The school decides when student email closes.
- Accounts and discounts tied to your school email (high risk)
- Forward school email until it closes (moderate risk)
Step 2: Save your files and records
Copy what you want to keep while you still have access.
- Files in your school Google or Microsoft account (high risk)
- Transcripts, course outlines and records (moderate risk)
Step 3: Check awards, coverage and references
Some of these change the moment you stop being enrolled.
- School health and dental plan (high risk)
- References from instructors and supervisors (low risk)
Step 4: Prepare everything else before the change
Other items to handle while the old details still work.
- Moving home too (moderate risk)
Immediately after
Step 5: Update loans and contact details
Repayment notices and transcripts need to reach you.
- Student loans: contact details and repayment (high risk)
- Registrar: keep your contact details current (moderate risk)
Clean up
Step 6: Wrap up with the old school
Return items and settle balances so nothing is held against your record.
- Student ID, transit pass and campus accounts (low risk)
Later
Step 7: Follow up later
Tax forms, student pricing and alumni services.
- Tuition tax forms (low risk)
- Student software licences and pricing (low risk)
- Alumni email and services (low risk)
Why this change needs a plan
For students, the biggest risk is the school account. Student email and school cloud storage belong to the school, and it decides when they close. Accounts registered with that email, and files stored in it, can disappear with them.
Money and coverage come next: student loan repayment, scholarships and student health plans often change when you stop being enrolled.
For parents moving a child to a new school, the work is mostly records and people: registration, report cards, immunization records, learning or medical plans, and who's allowed to pick your child up.
Why it matters
School accounts can close on the school's schedule, not yours. Loans, health plans and awards can change as soon as enrolment ends, and a child's supports don't always follow them to a new school automatically.
What makes it risky
Risk is highest when personal accounts or important files live in a school account, when student loan repayment is about to start, and when a child has a learning plan, medical needs or allergies the new school must prepare for.
Common mistakes
- Assuming student email and school cloud storage will stay open after graduation.
- Leaving personal accounts, like shopping or streaming, registered to a school email.
- Not updating the student loan servicer with a personal email and address.
- Letting a student health plan end without new coverage lined up.
- Assuming a child's learning plan or allergy plan will transfer to the new school automatically.
Frequently asked questions
What happens to my student email after I graduate?
It depends on the school. Some close student email soon after you leave, some keep it for a while, and some offer alumni accounts. Check your school's policy and move personal accounts to a personal email before access ends.
How do I keep my files from my school Google Drive or OneDrive?
Copy them to a personal account before the school closes yours. Google lets students transfer Drive and Gmail content to another Google Account when the school allows it, and Microsoft explains how to copy school files to a personal OneDrive.
When do I start repaying student loans?
Usually some time after you stop studying full time, depending on your loan program. Check with your loan servicer, and make sure it has your current contact details.
What does a new school need when my child transfers?
Usually proof of address, ID, previous school records and immunization records, plus any learning, medical or allergy plans. Ask the new school or district for its exact list.
Regional notes
General information, not legal advice. Check the official source where you live.
- Canada
- Canada Student Loans are managed through the National Student Loans Service Centre. Download your T2202 tuition form from the student portal.
- United States
- Schools issue Form 1098-T for tuition. Keep your federal student loan servicer's contact details current.