Category — College Lingo

It’s official.  The term “helicopter parent” has made it into the new Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary.  According to the publishers of the dictionary, the term has finally reached the “lexicographical tipping point.”  There are a lot of helicopter parents out there, and there is a lot being said about helicopter parents.

According to the new edition of the Merriam Webster Dictionary, the term helicopter parent was first used in 1989 and means: a parent who is overly involved in the life of his or her child. The term is not limited to college parents, but many college parents have clearly earned the title.  We find the important word in this definition to be “overly.” There is nothing wrong with being involved in your college student’s life, the difficulty is when that involvement is more than providing support on the sidelines.

We’ve written several earlier posts about college helicopter parents and the importance of the right kind of involvement.  We invite you to take some time to read our posts and think about whether the “overly” word applies to your involvement with your student.

Interestingly, at the same time that helicopter parent has entered the dictionary, so has the term “boomerang child.”  First coming into use in 1988, this term refers to a child who returns to live in the family home, especially for financial reasons. At a time when some estimate as many as 87% of college graduates are returning home to live, at least for a while, the term refers to an experience common in many homes around the country.

Read our earlier post on boomerang kids to help you cope and/or prepare for what has almost become an inevitable phase for many college graduates.

We’ve written four earlier posts about some of the college vocabulary it might be helpful for you to know. Be sure to check out Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4. Here is a fifth installment.

Clery Act

The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act is named for Jeanne Clery, a nineteen year old freshman at Lehigh University who was raped and murdered in her residence hall in 1986. The law requires any college, either public or private, which receives federal financial aid, to keep and disclose crime statistics on and near campus. Amendments to the Clery Act passed in 2008 require institutions to include a campus emergency response plan in their reporting.  Institutions are required to publish their report in the fall of each year, and it must contain information for the prior three years.

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If your child is beginning college at a community college or other two year institution, you may hear college officials talk about having an Articulation Agreement with one or more four year institutions.  An Articulation Agreement is an officially approved agreement between two institutions, which allows a student to apply credits earned in specific programs at one institution toward advanced standing, entry or transfer into a specific program at the other institution.

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We’ve written three earlier posts about some of the college vocabulary it might be helpful for you to know. Be sure to check out Part 1 and Part 2 and Part 3.   Here is a fourth installment.

Every profession, activity, or area of interest has its own jargon or set of specialized vocabulary.  College is no different.  College administrators, faculty members and students develop a set of short-hand terms that can be confusing to those not familiar with them.  As a college parent, you may be surprised at how quickly your college student will pick up the appropriate lingo.

If your college student slips into “college-speak” and you don’t understand what she is talking about – ask!  She may express impatience, but she’ll probably explain.  However, if you want to be able to at least begin to talk-the-talk, here are five more terms to get you started.  Please remember that there may be some variation in the use of these terms at various institutions.

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We’ve written two earlier posts about some of the college vocabulary it might be helpful for you to know. Be sure to check out Part 1 and Part 2.   Here is a third installment.

Every profession, activity, or area of interest has its own jargon or set of specialized vocabulary.  College is no different.  College administrators, faculty members and students develop a set of short-hand terms that can be confusing to those not familiar with them.  As a college parent, you may be surprised at how quickly your college student will pick up the appropriate lingo.

If your college student slips into “college-speak” and you don’t understand what she is talking about – ask!  She may express impatience, but she’ll probably explain.  However, if you want to be able to at least begin to talk-the-talk, here are five more terms to get you started.  Please remember that there may be some variation in the use of these terms at various institutions.

[Read more →]

A while ago we did a post about some of the college vocabulary it might be helpful for you to know.  Here is a second installment.

Every profession, activity, or area of interest has its own jargon or set of specialized vocabulary.  College is no different.  College administrators, faculty members and students develop a set of short-hand terms that can be confusing to those not familiar with them.  As a college parent, you may be surprised at how quickly your college student will pick up the appropriate lingo.

If your college student slips into “college-speak” and you don’t understand what she is talking about – ask!  She may express impatience, but she’ll probably explain.  However, if you want to be able to at least begin to talk-the-talk, here are five more terms to get you started.  Please remember that there may be some variation in the use of these terms at various institutions.

[Read more →]

Every profession, activity, or area of interest has its own jargon or set of specialized vocabulary.  College is no different.  College administrators, faculty members and students develop a set of short-hand terms that can be confusing to those not familiar with them.  As a college parent, you may be surprised at how quickly your college student will pick up the appropriate lingo.

If your college student slips into “college-speak” and you don’t understand what she is talking about – ask!  She may express impatience, but she’ll probably explain.  However, if you want to be able to at least begin to talk-the-talk, here are five terms to get you started.  Please remember that there may be some variation in the use of these terms at various institutions.

[Read more →]