Category — College Academics

Amazon.com has just announced a new program of textbook rentals for its Kindle e-reader.  If you have a college student who is facing the purchase of textbooks this year, you may want to discuss this new program with him.  For students who already own an e-reader or similar device, this is especially exciting news.  Students who do not own a Kindle may now want to consider purchasing one.  The good news, however, is that textbooks rented through this rental program may also be viewed through Amazon’s “rent once, read everywhere” philosophy on other devices such as a PC, IPad, IPhone, Android, Mac, Blackberry, and others through the Kindle application.

Amazon’s new Kindle rental program claims that it will have “tens of thousands of textbooks” available for this 2011-2012 school year.  Most books are being offered for rental at up to 80% off of the list purchase price of the hard copy of the book. Students will only need to pay for the time that they need the book.

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Perhaps your soon-to-be college student has been invited to participate in a Summer Bridge Program at his college, or perhaps he is even being required to attend before he begins the regular semester in the fall.  Bridge programs may have varying names, but the purpose is similar at all colleges: to provide incoming students with the academic skills necessary to be successful in their college experience.

Bridge programs are designed to improve the preparation and ease the transition into college in the fall.  Students who attend, often students who are at risk or in need of remedial classes, may have a reduced need for developmental classes during their first semester of college.  According to a 2006 Journal of Higher Education, approximately 40% of students at traditional colleges and nearly 60% of students at community colleges take at least one developmental course during college.  According to the Economics of Education Review in 2010, fewer than 50% of students referred to developmental classes complete the recommended sequence. Students who are less prepared for college are less likely to return for a second year of college. Clearly, giving students a head start will help.

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Perhaps your college student would like the opportunity to get away from his campus and broaden his experiences.  But perhaps your student doesn’t feel ready or can’t afford to study abroad.  That doesn’t necessarily mean that there is no opportunity for him to have the experience of expanding his academic, cultural, and personal experiences.  Many colleges formally offer a “study away” experience which can include opportunities to spend a few weeks, a semester, or even a full academic year in another setting.

There are many advantages to exchange, abroad, or away programs.  Your student may learn more about diversity and multicultural issues, will learn to live more effectively with differences, will have experiences that may broaden her mind and help her learn more about new behaviors and ways of living.  Your student will experience a welcome break from her own campus and routine; will have new opportunities for networking, friendships, and experiences.  Costs for domestic study away opportunities may be less than a study abroad program.

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For as long as there have been college students and professors, some students have been unhappy with the grades that they receive in some courses.  Sometimes a student expects the grade he receives, and sometimes he may be taken by surprise.  Sometimes a student knows that a particular grade is coming, but he is unhappy with the grade.  Grades are intended to reflect the quality of the work produced and the level of understanding which the student has of the material covered in the class.

Occasionally, however, a student is not only unhappy with the grade he receives in a course, but feels that the grade is not appropriate; either because it does not fairly represent his work or understanding, or because a mistake has been made.  As a parent, this may be one of those situations when you want to jump in and help to make it better for your student.  Like so many other situations for your college student, this is one of those times when it is not appropriate for you, as parent, to step in.  If your student feels that he has been graded inappropriately in a course, he must consider his options and take any potential action himself.  As a parent, however, if your student shares his feelings with you, you can help him consider his options.

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Many, if not most, students headed to college will be required to take one or more placement exams at their school.  For many students, this may come as a surprise.  As a college parent, you can help your student anticipate, understand, and cope with these important tests.

What are placement exams?

Placement exams or tests are given to students, usually after they have been accepted to the college, to determine how ready students are for college level work in basic core courses.  They are most often given in subjects such as English and math.  Students cannot “pass” or “fail” placement tests since they simply measure a level or readiness in a subject.  They are used for placing the student in the appropriate level class.

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There are a lot of skills that college students need to learn and practice.  Perhaps one of the most essential of those skills is self-advocacy, knowing how to ask for and get the things that you need to be successful.  The term self-advocacy is very often used in the context of students with learning disabilities or learning differences, but it is an important skill for any college student.  In this post, we use the term generically, as a skill that is important for any student.  The more that your student is able to recognize and ask for what she needs, the better her chances of success.

Students who may have relied on others to advocate for them in the past now have to learn to communicate their own needs to others.  They need to learn to speak up for themselves and to be assertive.  Taking responsibility and control is not always an easy thing to accomplish.  As a college parent, you may need to help your student learn this important skill.  Although it may seem easier to do things yourself, and you may feel that you are better able to get the results that you feel are necessary, helping your student to learn how to advocate for himself may be one of the best things that you can do for your college student.

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For many students, college life is a wonderful time living an ideal existence.  It is, in some ways, an escape from the real world.  In spite of the stress that many students experience over various issues, real financial worries, occasional social drama, and worries about career decisions once they graduate, college life has some benefits.  For many students, meals are prepared for them in a dining hall, someone cleans up after them in residence halls, someone else is responsible for shoveling, raking and mowing, their commute may consist of walking across the quad, friends live just down the hall and are available 24/7, and much entertainment is free on campus.  College life for some students is an idyllic bubble that lasts for a few years.

However, most college students do graduate, and then they face the reality of the world of work.  Is there anything in that idyllic life of college that prepares them for the expectations that will exist once they graduate?  For students who give some thought to a work ethic and to their college experiences, there are many lessons they can take away.  As a college parent, you may be able to help your student equate some of his college experiences to his future work life.  Students who recognize these college experiences as preparation and practice for later work expectations will not only experience more success in college, but will be better prepared later.

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Many students have difficulty choosing a major in college.  Some of those students who have difficulty cannot decide on a single major in which they are interested.  Others may have difficulty narrowing their choices down to one major.  Those students with multiple interests may consider opting for a double major or dual major.  You may be wondering whether this is a good choice for your student.  The answer is, it depends.  As with so many other decisions surrounding college, there is no clear answer.  It is important that your student consider carefully her reasons for the double major option, and the implications of choosing this path.

Why is your student making the double major choice?

Students may opt for a double major for a number of reasons.  Not being able to make up your mind between two majors may not be a very good reason – but it might be.  Your student should ask himself why he can’t make up his mind.  Is he truly, equally interested in both?  Does he feel an obligation to major in one area, but a passion to major in another?  Do the two majors fit together or complement each other?  Would a major in one area and a minor in the other serve the same purpose or satisfy the same needs?  (A minor often involves half of the number of courses of a major.)  Is your student considering a double major because one major satisfies his head (intellect) and one satisfies his heart (passion)?  Is he making this choice because he is considering graduate school and wants multiple options?  Will the double major give your student a broader perspective and added flexibility?

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The short answer to when your college student should choose a major is when she is ready.  However, as we all realize, it may not be as simple as that.  Some students may be ready to choose a major early in their college career, or even well before they get to college.  Other students may have great difficulty settling on a single major.  And still other students may be ready to choose a major, but may not realize it.

Perhaps one of the first and most important conversations you should have with your college student about choosing a major is that choosing a major is not the same thing as choosing a career.  Many students are reluctant, or even fearful, of choosing a major because they worry that this choice will lock them into a career.  Students think career first, and then major.  You may need to help your student understand that a specific major may lead to many careers, and that several majors may lead to the same career.  Students should also be reminded that most people today may change careers several times during their working life, and may finally settle on a career quite far removed from their college major. If your student does not yet have a specific career path in mind, that should not inhibit him from choosing a field of study in which he is interested.  The more he studies and learns about his area, the more career direction he will have.

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The question of whether your college student will graduate on time is a loaded question.  It’s an important question, and it’s a tricky question.  As parents, we send our students off to college hoping that all will go without a hitch and that they will graduate in the expected four years.  We often do our careful financial planning based on the four-year timetable.  As we examine the question of graduating on time, there are two important things that we need to consider before we discuss time to graduation.

• The first thing that we need to consider is what we mean by “on time”. Although most of us still consider four years to be the norm for an undergraduate degree, according to the U.S. Department of Education National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES), the percentage of students who graduate in four years is approximately 36%.  The percentage who finish in six years is 57.5%.  This is approximately 10% less than the figure for the 1960’s.  Colleges have historically measured graduation rates which include those who graduate in 150% of the normal time – 6 years for a “4-year degree.”  With the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act in 2008, colleges now measure graduation rates with 200% of time – 8 years for a “4-year degree.”  So we may need to question whether a “4-year degree” is the norm. [Read more →]