Category — College Academics

If your student is heading off to college for the first time, both you and your student are probably focused on what she needs to take with her.  Everyone is giving her suggestions.  She’ll see lists from the college, lists from her friends, lists from major retailers (of all of their products that she needs to purchase), lists in books and lists on-line.  You’ll overspend.  She’ll overpack.

We’re not suggesting that some of the things on those lists aren’t important. Look at all of the suggestions carefully and help your student think about her lifestyle, her needs and her priorities.  But amid all of the extra long sheets, the laundry bag or basket, the microwave, fridge, and matching comforters, there are four essentials that every college student really needs to be successful.  Make sure your student heads to college with these four things and she’ll be equipped for a good start to her college career.

[Read more →]

Your college student may never need to appeal any decision made by his college.  He may never find himself in a situation involving a dismissal from school, late withdrawal from a class, grade change, judicial decision, or other special circumstance.  If that is the case, good for your student!  However, a few students may feel that some policy or judicial decision should be reconsidered.  Those students may need to appeal the decision to the appropriate board or committee at the college.

Is an appeal wise?

Appealing a college decision is not always the best thing for your college student.  The purpose of an appeal is usually to allow the student to explain extenuating circumstances or to provide additional information that may not have been available at the time that the decision was made.  He may be able to demonstrate that some circumstance has changed – perhaps a health situation, work situation, family situation, or even a change of focus or field of study.  It is important that you and your student remember, however, that an appeal is meant as an exception and to demonstrate extraordinary circumstances.  It is not meant as an avenue simply because the student is unhappy with the decision of the college.  An appeal may not be in the best interest of the student. If nothing has changed, taking a break or accepting the decision may be in order.

[Read more →]

Tutoring can make the difference of academic success for many students.  Having a tutor can mean that a student has a stronger grasp of the course material and may receive a better grade.  Most of us understand why a student may want to get a tutor.

However, we may wonder why a student might want to become a tutor.  Of course, some students may become a tutor for some extra income, but tutoring is time-consuming and requires hard work, preparation, and effort.  Why would your student want to become a peer tutor to help other students with their coursework?

There are actually many benefits of tutoring – for the tutor as well as for the tutee.  [Read more →]

Working with a good tutor can make a tremendous difference in your college student’s success.  Most colleges offer tutoring or academic support in some form.  One commonly used form of student support is the use of a peer tutor.  Peer tutors are students who have a strength in a subject area and work with students who are having some difficulty or need support.  Occasionally, parents worry that their college student is working with another student and not with a professional tutor.  They are concerned that the tutoring help will not be sufficient.

Although professional tutoring is very valuable, and may work best for some students in some subject areas, peer tutoring also has great advantages.  As in any one-on-one tutoring situation, your student will receive individual attention and support for his academic needs.  Some peer tutors may work with a student on several subjects, or the tutor may have expertise in one particular area.

There are unique advantages of peer tutors, and parents need to be aware that peer tutoring is used by many colleges because it is effective, not because it is “cheap labor”.  Peer tutors are usually trained, some are trained extensively.  They are not teachers with professional qualifications, they do not give grades or control curriculum, however they do have expertise in their subject area and some expertise in how to help other students succeed in that subject.

[Read more →]

College parenting means being concerned about many things when your student heads off to school.  Naturally, one of the major areas of focus is your student’s academic success. You want your student to learn.  You want your student to get good grades.  You want your student to take the appropriate courses to be able to find a good job or get into a good graduate program.

Working with a good advisor will help your student make the course and schedule choices that are appropriate.  Learning in those courses and achieving good grades includes many factors. Some of the most successful students may be those who have mastered three important skills.  They understand the differences between high school work and college level work; they have learned the skill of good time management; and they seek the support or help that they may need early in the game.

[Read more →]

College parenting begins, for many parents, during the application and admission process.  We help keep track of deadlines, we arrange college visits, we support through the SAT exams, we read admissions essays, and we support our students through the acceptance wait and the final decision.  Then we enter the next phase of helping our student get ready to head to college and make the transition.  We know our role changes during the many phases of the college years, but we assume that we’ll settle in and enjoy the ride – even if there are a few bumps along the way.

However, for an increasing number of students, the college experience may come with a certain amount of disappointment, disillusionment and dissatisfaction. Things simply may not be working.   Students may turn to parents once again to help decide what to do next.  For some students, the problem may be in making the adjustment to college life or in being unprepared for the experience.  For others, academics are overwhelming and help is needed. Still other students may question whether they made the “right” choice of college or major.  They may feel that a change will help.

[Read more →]

Your soon-to-be college student may have received her first homework assignment well before she showed up on campus.  For many incoming freshman, their first assignment is a bit of summer reading. Your student may be asked to read an assigned book prior to Orientation, or she may be given the assignment at a Summer Orientation and asked to read the book before school begins in September.  At some schools students are given a copy of the book, while at other schools students are asked to purchase their own copy.

If your student was not expecting a summer assignment, he may be surprised – and even annoyed at having to do work over the summer.  As a parent, you may also be wondering why your student needs to get this “head start” before the first semester even begins.  Colleges have many different reasons for assigning summer reading and different approaches for dealing with the book once the students arrive on campus.

[Read more →]

Colleges and college parents have at least one thing in common – they want college students to succeed.  For some students, that success may depend on accommodations to help them accomplish their goals. If you think that your college student may need some alterations to his living or learning environment to be successful, then it is important that you understand the framework in which colleges operate concerning accommodations.  You may feel that you are already familiar with regulations if you have dealt with accommodations throughout your child’s academic career, but it is possible that there are variations on the college level.

Some students, and their parents, are familiar with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which may have governed how their elementary or high school handled their needs.  However, this act does not apply beyond secondary education.  At the college level, two laws affect legal rights and requirements.  The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 applies to every public and private institution except those affiliated with religious organizations.  The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 applies to any entity that accepts federal financial assistance for any program or service.  Both laws were enacted to prevent discrimination against individuals with disabilities.

[Read more →]

As a society, we want to label each generation.  We’ve labeled generations as Baby Boomer, Generation X, and Millennial.  Some have labeled the current generation as Generation Apathetic.  Whether or not you think these labels apply globally, many of today’s current college students are apathetic about their college experiences.  They see college as a phase through which they must move or an archaic pre-requisite for getting a job. They see college as a “spectator sport” which should require little of them. They approach college with a consumer mentality or market thinking – they see education as a product which their (or your) tuition dollars are purchasing.  They are interested in a fast, cheap, degree.

These are some tough accusations.

Of course, there are many students who do not fit into any of the above categories.  They are engaged, active, and truly vested in their education.  They want to get the most that they can from their education, and they want to contribute to the world.  Unfortunately, however, there are more students who suffer from apathy than we may realize.  As a parent, you might consider whether your student fits into this category at all – and whether you can help him adjust his thinking.

[Read more →]

Congratulations!  Your college student has worked hard, you’ve stood by and supported him, and he’s almost made it to the finish line.  Commencement is around the corner.  But what if he’s almost there, but not quite?  Does that mean that participating in graduation ceremonies is out of the question?  Or that he’ll need to wait another year?  The answer is – that depends.  It depends on what your student still has left to do, and it depends on the college or university policy.

Each college establishes its own policy regarding who may participate in commencement ceremonies.  Some institutions will allow students to participate if they are within a very few credits of completion, and other schools will not allow students to participate until they have completed all requirements.  In some cases, it may depend on how soon the next ceremony may be.  Schools that have only one graduation ceremony a year, rather than an additional summer or winter ceremony, may be more willing to allow a student to participate if he is close to finishing.  Most likely, a student would need to be within three to six credits of completing his degree.

[Read more →]