College Parents

In her book The College Solution, top personal finance journalist Lynn O’Shaughnessy presents an easy-to-use roadmap to finding the right college program (not just the most hyped) and dramatically reducing the cost of college, too.

In addition to classroom studies, college life offers an array of activities for students to participate. Parents should encourage their children to take advantage of as many new endeavors as possible in order to broaden their horizons. Read more to learn why your college student should diversify their college activities – and ways to get them involved.

A college student’s freshman year of college is an exciting time. They are starting a new adventure, and the next four years are probably going to be some of the best ones of their life. The first semester of their freshman year in college is the most critical because it usually sets the pace for how the rest of their college experience will be. If they start off your first year of college the right way, they will be more inclined to stay on track and get their degree.
Here's how to help your student start off college the right way. Read more.

When you've spent all your time, attention and money devoted to raising children for twenty to thirty years or more, life can seem more than a little empty once those kids are grown up enough to leave home. There's actually a feeling of emptiness, loneliness, and loss that's known as empty nest syndrome. Many parents have a difficult time getting used to the children being gone, and sometimes it can take awhile to adjust. Read more about the symptoms and effects of empty nest syndrome and ways to cope after sending your child to college.

The journey away from home and off to college is just that, a journey. It's an excursion, a trip, a life altering experience that will be positive, negative, and a mixture of both. Within that mixture will be many feelings, one of which might be homesickness or loneliness. For most college students, this feeling only lasts a couple of weeks; however, in extreme cases it lasts much longer. Taking steps to reduce the affects of homesickness can improve your child’s college experience. Read this article for tips to help your student cope with and reduce homesickness.

Many students deal with stress and anxiety in college. In fact, due partially to stress, a surprisingly high percentage of college freshmen don’t go on to graduate. Stress and anxiety ranges from academic and social to simply managing their own life on a daily basis. Read this article on the stresses of college life to provide you with resources to help keep your child’s college years more relaxed, productive and just plain fun.

Today, the Associated Press announced that 100 college presidents have signed a petition encouraging lawmakers to reduce the drinking age to 18. View the full press release.

It can be terribly difficult to reach your child who is in the military and still trying to earn their degree. They are obviously very independent-minded individuals and will probably feel like they don’t need anyone’s help. It’s important that you realize they are still your children first and foremost. Treating them with the respect they deserve and letting them know how much you love them are the best things you can do for them to help them during these most formative years. Here are four ways you can stay involved in their busy lives:

Posted 8/8/08 in the West End Word

Sending your child off to college for the first time isn’t easy. But it can be especially tough on “helicopter parents,” those who tend to hover over their children and can have a hard time letting go.

But not to worry, says an expert on the freshman transition at Washington University in St. Louis. Even helicopter parents can make a successful break.

Now that you’ve said good-bye to your college student, how can you ensure they will properly handle the academic adjustment to college?

While they were in high school, you were able to help remind them of deadlines, review their homework and even assist them with studying if needed. Now, your student will be in charge of managing their own time. Obviously, they have shown some level of responsibility or else they would not have to gotten to this point. As each year of college is completed, new challenges and responsibilities will introduce themselves.

Specific types of collegiate adjustment involve changes in academic and social demands.

One of the most emotional moments in the life of a family takes shape in households across the country in late summer to early fall: the time when college-bound students begin to leave home.

What does this mean for the parents who remain behind? The home is suddenly empty of the life that filled it now that their teen departed for school and begins the transition to adulthood.

How can you help your student handle this huge transition and prepare them to be successful when they’re so far away?

This article explores the complicated feelings of saying good-bye, while also providing you, the parent, tips on how to help your student be successful in the first chapter of their adult life.

As students prepare to begin or return to college, making sure they have everything they need to be successful can be challenging.

But now as you wipe the sweat from your brow and pat yourself on the back—your child is going to college! Then it dawns on you - What should they bring with them? Where should you shop? What do they need? What don't they need?

Relax. While packing your student for college may feel like an overwhelming task, it doesn't have to be. In fact, you might even have some fun with it.

We’ve compiled the Ultimate Packing Lists for residence hall life, classroom and studying needs and personal items they should bring along too - so that you can get your student off to school and ready to learn! Read more for tips and tricks to ease the headache of the big move.

• Residence Hall Packing List
• What your student should have for Classroom and Studying
• Personal Items to pack for college

Spending aid money on a car and working too many hours can jeopardize academic success
By Kim Clark, US News & World Report

If there is one thing, and one thing only, that I think everyone should know it is…

Know two ways out, no matter where you are.

A few sources of information that might be helpful:

Questions to Ask

The best resource that has just been released is www.iGot2Kno.org. This is a website with a wealth of information and two riveting videos on it.

By: John Swartz, JobQuestU.com

College life is filled with class schedules, GPAs, homework, and those pesky final exams. However, it’s important to look beyond the textbooks and understand that the purpose of college is to begin building a professional foundation so that a quality job or graduate school is secured upon graduation.

By Marshall Loeb, MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- If you're heading off to college this fall, or are a high school senior about to apply, you'll realize right away that a college education doesn't come cheap. While scholarships and grants are good ways to get a break on tuition, they are not always easy to win.
Consider these three tips from Christina Couch of Bankrate.com on ways to cut college costs:

From the NY Times:
By RON LIEBER
Published: July 26, 2008

When college financial aid officers got into trouble last year for accepting gifts from lenders, the moral of the story was clear: You could easily overpay for your student loan by simply borrowing from a college’s recommended lender without first shopping around.
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While attending college out of state could reap a better financial aid package, just the cost of visiting schools away from home can be burdensome. However, using online services can easily whittle down a list of a dozen schools across the country to just two or three.

Charlotte, NC – April 18, 2008 - Since publishing “A New Beginning: A Survival Guide for Parents of College Freshmen” in 1998, author Kaye Bernard McGarry, M.Ed. has taken her message on the road speaking to parents about how they can successfully assist their child’s transition between living at home and moving into college life. In her third edition, McGarry has updated and clarified subject matter and added a new Q&A section which includes some of parents most asked questions. One question she gets frequently is what is most stressful for college freshmen. From her many interviews with students, the answer to that question can be ‘everything’. “Parents can help by keeping the communication lines open, be that listening ear, ask questions in a non-judgmental way, and praise them freely,” McGarry said.

Web-based organization connects prospective student-athletes and college coaches

New York, NY – July, 2nd, 2008 – Quiet Ember (www.QuietEmber.com) connects high-school student athletes, parents, and college coaches on a single internet-based platform by packaging the essential tools and resources to smoothly and successfully facilitate and enhance the college recruiting process. Robust web-based technology and a unique “Alumni-Athlete” program empowers student-athletes from all backgrounds to best market themselves while simultaneously offering college coaches unparalleled access to prospective student-athletes through easily navigable resources.