Category — Campus Life

The Freshman 15.  It’s a classic myth about college. Students who head off to college will gain approximately 15 pounds during their freshman year.  The stories have been around for a long time.  They are persistent.  Are they still true?  Maybe.  Sometimes. While some studies do support the 15 pound theory, another suggests that the number may be closer to 4 pounds, and yet another suggests 5-7 pounds during the freshman year followed by 2-3 during the sophomore year.

You have many things to worry about as your student heads off to college, and whether or not she gains a few pounds may not be on the top of the list.  However, it is worth giving some thought to this myth – and its sometimes truth – because it may reflect some additional truths about college students’ health in general.

Why might your student gain weight just because he’s going to college?

If college students gain weight during freshman year, the reasons are as different as the students themselves.  It’s impossible to pinpoint any single reason, but the cumulative effect of several possible reasons may add up.

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College spring break activities are legendary.  Many students travel – often to warmer climates – and party, drink, and generally carry on.  Many parents take these activities in stride, and many parents worry about their students during this time.  However, in recent years, many students are talking about, and engaging in, an “alternative spring break”.  This is the phenomenon of spending the week of spring break participating in some type of organized volunteer effort.

The idea of spending spring break in a volunteer effort has been around for a while, but it gained popularity and publicity following hurricanes Katrina and Rita.  Many college students spent their spring break traveling to hurricane torn areas of the country to help clean up and rebuild.  One estimate is that by 2006, more than 30,000 students participated in some sort of alternative spring break experience.

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Is your college student taking full advantage of his opportunities in college?  As with so many things during the college years, students struggle to find balance in many areas of their lives.  They face many challenges, opportunities, and growing responsibilities.  College experiences come in many forms, and your student needs to determine how to negotiate these experiences.  In several areas, students may need help in discovering how to find the “extra value”.

Academics

The Norm:

Students come to college expecting a new level of schoolwork.  Most rise to the challenge of different types of classes and increased homework.  They know that they are required to spend more time outside of class doing schoolwork.  They know that their thinking may be challenged on a new level.  Many students do the work required and gain tremendous knowledge from their classes.

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If you feel as though you don’t know much about what life is like at your child’s college, there may be a reason.  A recent study conducted by the Brookings Institute discovered that only 1.4 percent of news coverage in this country deals with education.  Of that 1.4 percent, only about 27 percent deals with colleges and universities.  Twenty-seven percent of 1.4 percent isn’t much coverage!

The Brookings study covered the first nine months of 2009, and by comparison found that the 1.4 percent of coverage during this time was twice the amount of coverage in 2008, when it was 0.7 percent.  In addition to the fact that education was covered minimally, this study found that little of the coverage that there was dealt with school reform, teacher quality, curriculum or other educational policies.  In other words, the actual work of the schools was hardly covered.  Topics covered most during the period of this study were the H1N1 flu outbreak, budget problems, and school crime. Coverage of higher education topics centered largely on admission to college and paying for college.  Little coverage had to do with college life, college curriculum or college policies. This study concluded that “education news coverage suffers from problems related both to quantity and to quality.”

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Most students go to college to learn.  Most know, or at least soon discover, that their academic work at college will be different than the work that they did in high school.  They are expected to spend more time studying and there is a higher level of thinking demanded.  But the college years are also about other kinds of learning.  Often much of this other learning happens outside of the classroom.  College offers students opportunities to pursue old interests and to discover new interests.  Unfortunately, too many college students pass up some of the opportunities that they have in college because they are too focused on either their academic life or their party life.  Many worry that getting involved in activities or organizations on campus will distract them from their academic pursuits rather than enhance their academics.

Your college student is learning to find her own path during college.  She will need to make her own choices.  But as a college parent, you can encourage your student to take advantage of the many opportunities available on campus.  Help her think about the benefits of getting involved in groups and activities that the college offers.  Here are a few things to suggest that she consider.

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As parents, we worry about our children when they head off to college.  No matter how much we trust them, and respect them, and know in our minds that they will be fine, we are concerned about them.  In some cases, we may be especially worried, or we may not completely trust them, because of a history of unwise behavior or questionable habits in high school.  In either case, we worry because our children are not only away from us and on their own, possibly for the first time, but we also worry because we may not know when they are in trouble.

In 1974, Congress passed the Buckley Amendment, commonly referred to as the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which gave parents certain rights to their child’s educational records.  When a student turns eighteen, those rights transfer to the student, which means that information goes directly to the student, rather than the parents.  Congress revised the law in 1998 and further clarified it in 2000, to allow (but not require) institutions to notify parents if students under the age of twenty-one violate campus alcohol or drug policies.

One of the first things that you can do as a parent is to be clear about the notification policy at your student’s institution.  You may ask about the policy on an admissions visit.  The information may be available on the college website.  You may need to call a Dean of Students or Parent Relations Office to find the answer.  Be clear about the policy.  Don’t assume that all is well with your student because you haven’t heard anything if you find that your student’s school has a no notification policy.

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When your college student first leaves for college you may be anxious to have her come home again for a visit.  You want to be able to touch bases in person, cook her favorite meal, reassure yourself that she is fine, and find out how things are going for her.  If your student attends college reasonably close to home, weekend visits home may be an option.  Can they be a bad thing?

Getting home to visit family, catch up on sleep, get a few home-cooked meals, and even get some laundry done is not a bad thing.  Occasionally, it may be just what your student needs.  If your student is feeling serious homesickness, she may need to reconnect with family and recharge.  However, there are some things you should consider before encouraging your college student to spend many weekends at home.

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If there were absolute, no fail secrets to college success that worked for every student, every student would know them and follow them and be successful.  The reality is that there are no sure-fire secrets that work for every student.  Each student is an individual with unique strengths and weaknesses, coming from a unique background and placed in a unique situation.

 However, there are some tried and true tips that help most students.  We’d like to offer our three favorite tips.  We hope you’ll pass them on to your college student.  We welcome you to share your responses and suggestions.

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This is the third of a series of three posts about college students and studying abroad.  In the first post we looked at some of the reasons why a study abroad program might make sense for your college student.  In the second post, we considered how to help your student prepare to go abroad, and in this final post we look at what to do while he is away.

 Your college student has headed off confidently (or perhaps with a bit of trepidation) on her study abroad experience.  You are proud of her, excited for her, and perhaps, a bit concerned for her.  You know that the experience is important and wonderful for her, but you are a parent and you worry.  Here are a few suggestions of things that you can do to help ease the transition – for her – and for you.

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This is the second of a series of three posts about college students and studying abroad.  In the first post we looked at some of the reasons why a study abroad program might make sense for your college student.  In this post, we consider how to help your student prepare to go abroad, and in the final post we’ll look at what to do while he is away.

 Now that your student has decided to study abroad and has chosen an appropriate program, the real preparation begins.  There is much to do to get ready for this new and exciting experience.  As the college parent, your role will be largely supportive, but your involvement will be crucial.  Working with your student to ensure the best experience possible can be rewarding for both of you.  Remember, though, that your student needs to be in charge of preparations.  This is good practice for the independence that he will need while he is away.

 Here are some suggestions of ways in which you might be helpful.

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