Transition from High School

The transition from high school to college is significant for any student, but students coming from home school have a unique situation – with a few more logistics and emotional factors to consider.

College orientation is the first taste of what life will be like for your student in just a few months. For students and their parents alike, it's an exciting and important time - often required by the university. While you will part ways with your student early on in the orientation, you each will learn about the school's traditions, expectations, academics, athletics, financial aid, residential life and social life.

Most importantly, orientation is a time for students to break away from their parents and meet new people. For multiple-day orientations, students should stay on campus, away from their parents. Encourage your student to attend social activities during orientation, eat meals with friends and explore the campus.

Students may also take placement tests and register for classes at orientation. Help your student prepare by making a list of priority classes, having questions ready for an academic advisor and bringing pencils and a calculator for testing.

Going away to college is a monumental event in a young adult's life. Behind most incoming students are supportive, excited and attentive parents or family members. To ease the transition - and put parents at ease - college orientations must include sessions for parents that consider their needs and concerns.

At University Parent, we partner with more than 130 colleges and universities to provide parents with a support network and comprehensive information about their child's school. Our parents also look to us to provide general tips, encouragement and the advice of other parents.

We tell our parents that college orientation is a taste of what life will be like for their students, but it's also a time for parents to ask questions and voice concerns, while giving their child space to break away from them to meet new people and experience campus life.

As second semester of senior year hits for your high school student, senioritis may start to look more like a terminal problem than a temporary one. While some students are applying and accepting admission to colleges, others see one semester of school as an insurmountable feat - let alone four or five more years. If that sounds like your student, maybe a "gap year" - or a year between high school and college - is the solution.

According to DiGiovanni, parents can manage this transition by recognizing, accepting and adjusting to the inevitable changes to their lives.

Despite extensive research into picking the "right" school, students may find that the reality of the college they have chosen is not what they had expected. They may even decide that transferring may be the right option for them. It's very likely that they chose their initial school with no intention of transferring but found that something didn't quite fit. It's okay if they have to transfer—nearly 30% of college students actually do.

However, there are certain aspects of transferring to a new school that your student should spend some time considering and be prepared to handle.

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