Future College Parent

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.

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.
Skip to next paragraph

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.

We’ve discussed whether or not parents should help grown kids with expenses like credit card debt, and even whether it’s appropriate for parents to foot the bill for a big wedding, but what about health insurance?

There is no easy or sure-fire way to make sure your child is fully prepared for college after finishing high school. Don’t worry; nobody ever is. Don’t fret if you feel like you’re not doing enough to launch your son or daughter into college life. There are things they’ll have to learn on their own, but we can make sure that we’ve done our best to ease the transition somewhat.

Your “soon to be” college freshman belongs to a generation now referred to as “millenial.” Even if you happen to be one of the lucky ones who has had a virtually stress free parenting experience, you might want to buckle your seat belt. This could get bumpy. Anticipate phone calls reporting, “I’m out of toilet paper…” their tone will assume you may want to do something about this. You won’t be alone.

For parents with children in college, or nearing college age, this video from NBC’s Today Show is worth watching.

Investing in collegiate housing is not for everyone, but if the angle interests you, don’t forget to purchase an accompanying personal liability insurance for injuries that may occur on-site.
For the full article, please go to:

http://tonygallegos.wordpress.com/2008/06/18/investing-in-your-college-s...

A recent study by Helen Janc Malone examined the relationship between parental involvement and students’ plans to attend four-year college.

For the full article please go to:
http://throughcollege.com/blog/parent-involvement-does-make-a-difference...

A choice to attend a postsecondary education is one of the most important decisions adolescents make during their high school career. Institutions, activities, experiences, and individuals can all influence students’ college choice. Parents contribute significantly to that decision. Parents can be a positive influence on students’ college choice by providing support for higher academic achievement and postsecondary trajectory.

For the full article, please go to: http://throughcollege.com/blog/the-role-of-parents-in-students%e2%80%99-...

The Age Of The Millenials

They are young adults and have been coddled by their parents to the point of being ill prepared for a demanding workplace. Morley Safer reports on the generation called "Millenials."

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=4126233n
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/08/60minutes/main3475200.shtml

From CNN.com:
Jen Wang of Short Hills, New Jersey, took her first SAT when she was in sixth grade, long before she would start filling out college applications.

Wake Forest University recently announced it would no longer require the SAT for admissions.

"My family thought it was very important for me to do well on this test, and I basically obtained nearly every SAT study guide out there by the time I was a junior in high school," she said. "For Christmas one year, I received an electronic device that allowed me to practice the SAT's 'on-the-go.' "

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/05/30/test.drop/

What is still considered a great high school honor does not carry the weight it once did with colleges, according to a national expert and recently released report. Locally, however, traditional benchmarks of academic excellence like class rank and valedictorian and salutatorian honors remain significant in the admissions process.

http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080604/NEWS/80...

More and more employers are falling victim to the 'helicopter parenting' phenomenon. How can HR make the best of family ties? Virginia Matthews reports.

Read More

Area student high school athletes who are considering to enter college and continue their athletic career, along with their parents, are invited to attend an informational meeting in Moberly to learn more about college recruiting, college eligibility requirements, applying for athletic scholarships, and making sure prep athletes follow proper NCAA or NAIA guidelines before entering college.

Colleges and universities, selective or otherwise, should continue using SAT/ACT scores in their admissions process even if it affects campus diversity. Standardized tests are not a perfect measure of a student's ability, but they offer an acceptable method of universal screening that should not be discounted. To eliminate this admissions criterion, as Wake Forest College is planning to do, would be shortsighted and would possibly create a pool of students whose knowledge base makes them ill-prepared for college level courses.

College administrators say they have noticed an emerging trend over the past couple years – overly involved parents who remain highly influential in their children’s lives, from class selection, to their social life to their problems at school.

Early reports on the phenomenon, dubbed “helicopter parents,” suggested the behavior had mostly negative consequences, mostly keeping young adults from learning to solve problems on their own and taking responsibility.

San Francisco Chronicle, B3
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Carrie Sturrock, Chronicle Staff Writer

American undergraduate education needs to change if college students are going to learn more than just practical skills for chosen careers, according to a report by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

If the United States wants highly educated people who understand how to engage in their communities and act responsibly in the world, the undergraduate curriculum must do more than teach them how to carry out a profession competently, conclude authors of "A New Agenda for Higher Education: Shaping a Life of the Mind for Practice."

Tom Kovic
April 11th, 2008

The college experience is, in many cases, the most important four years in our children’s lives, as it will shape their future personal and professional direction. That being said, securing admission to a college or university that best match a student’s desires, strengths, and aspirations is essential.

Colleges Restrain Spending: Blame rests with State Lawmakers Who Squeeze Education Funding
By Daniel J. Hurley

It's that time of year when newspaper headlines across the USA announce the latest tuition increases at the local public college or university for this coming fall semester — increases that could well be in the high single digits and, in some cases, double digits.

The steady stream of tuition increases raises the question: Can't colleges rein in their spending?