Academics

Is your student struggling? Talking about dropping out of school? Here are a few tips to help.

It's not an easy issue to handle, especially not if you've been saving up for a good many years, scrimping and budgeting in order to send your child to college. So when you learn that he or she wants to drop out, it is definitely going to come as a severe shock. There's no easy way to deal with this problem, because your heart is going to be torn between wanting to support your child and trying to put some sense into his or her head. But, if you take a day or two to compose yourself and deal with the problem logically rather than emotionally, here are a few tips that might help:

As parents of college students, we want to make sure our sons and daughters have all the comforts of home: care packages, bedsheets (that fit!), and delicious meals. It's a bit more difficult, though, to figure out how we can help them achieve academic success.

A student subscription to The Wall Street Journal in print, online and mobile is a small price to pay for a big competitive edge.

What is FERPA?

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal privacy law that gives parents certain protections with regard to their children's education records, such as report cards, transcripts, disciplinary records, contact and family information, and class schedules. As a parent, you have the right to review your child's education records and to request changes under limited circumstances.

Regardless of how certain your student seems about their choice of college major, 50% of students will change their major at some point during their college education – and many of those will do so two or three times, according to Dr. Fritz Grupe, founder of MyMajors.com. How concerned should parents be when their student decides to change their major?

Choosing a major is one of the most important challenges for college students – and one that they may do more than once during their career. But, what resources are available to help them choose? The following list provides some of the resources available to help your student get more information about different majors and career options:

Exams are a time when stress levels are higher than usual. Many students feel stressed at exam time - having to revise a lot of information in a short amount of time and add to that not understanding course material can lead to added pressure. Some stress can be positive; helping your student stay motivated and focused. However, too much stress can be hurtful and unhealthy, making your student feel overwhelmed, confused, exhausted and edgy.

External pressures around exams can be huge – and it can be hard to deal with. Things that might help your child manage expectations:

The development of a student-faculty relationship is one of the most important things that your college student can do to achieve their overall objectives in their education. Encouraging your student to better know their undergraduate faculty is crucial to their academic and professional development.

The holidays are over and it’s time for your student to head back to school. How can you, as a parent, help her get the new semester off on the right track? Take the time to help her get organized now, and when things get hectic later on, she’ll be prepared.