'AJLT''s Nicole Ari Parker's To-Buy List for College: Microwave for Dorm, Kleenex for Parents (Exclusive)

The actress is getting ready to send her daughter, Sophie, off to Howard University

And Just Like That… Nicole Ari Parker is sending her daughter off to college.

Parker, 52, and her husband, Boris Kodjoe, 50, share 18-year-old daughter Sophie, who is headed to Howard University in D.C. in the fall.

Though Parker feels confident that she’s prepared Sophie — who was born with spina bifida — to take care of herself on her own, nothing will change the fact that there’s going to be a “hole in our hearts and in our home” with Sophie away at school, says Parker.

“We’re going to just pack the Kleenex and buy a microwave for the room and just sit there and cry,” the Sex and the City revival star tells PEOPLE.

Related: Adorable Photos of Nicole Ari Parker & Boris Kodjoe

And, while Mom isn’t afraid to admit that there will be tears aplenty between her and Kodjoe, there’s another family member who may be even more sad without Sophie around.

“I'm just going to miss her. And her little brother, who’s 6'6", so he's the big little brother, it's going to be a big adjustment for him. Their rooms are right next to each other. We moved into this house when they were little, so they still share a Jack and Jill bathroom,” says Parker. “I feel sorry for Nicholas now with all of her makeup and hair products on his side of the bathroom, but he's going to miss that.”

The good news is, Sophie will be a more than self-sufficient freshman when she's off on her own at Howard.

Related: Where Celebrity Kids Are Going to College in Fall 2023

“She's learned discipline [from her condition],” explains Parker. “She has a level of self-care that I don't even have in terms of her daily regimen, her food and her water intake to keep her kidneys healthy. It’s shaped her level of responsibility. At 5, she had that squared away.”

Still, with all the “confidence” in the world in her daughter, Parker admits she won’t be able to help but check in.

“I'm definitely going to call more,” she says, “but I’ll know by the sound of her voice if she’s lonely or ecstatic.”

And, if all else fails?

“I might get a studio apartment [in D.C.] and just not tell her,” Parker quips.

For more on Nicole Ari Parker, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribe here.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.