Category — Reviews and Reading Lists

There is a wealth of literature available to help parents cope with the transition to college and the changes that occur throughout the college years.  We’ve offered some lists of recommended reading, and there is something for everyone. (Check out all three of our lists of sources: Recommended Reading, More Recommended Reading, and Still More Recommended Reading.)

From time to time, we like to review some of the books available for parents of college students.  This review considers The Praeger Handbook for College Parents by Helen W. Akinc.  This book serves well as a handbook of information about how college works and can be a wonderful resource for familiarizing parents with the college experience.

Perhaps two of the greatest strengths of The Praeger Handbook for College Parents are the wealth of knowledge shared regarding college policies, procedures and rationales, and its focus on the college experience as a time of learning rather than simply career preparation.

[Read more →]

This post includes a list of fourteen books of interest to parents of college students.  We’ve previously published a list of fourteen titles and then another list of twelve additional titles which you might want to check out. There are certainly even more resources available, but these lists should give parents a good start on material to support them through the college years.  All of the books have different styles and approaches, so it is important to find the books which resonate for you.

We are not necessarily endorsing these books, but we’d like to help you find material available.  You won’t want to read them all, but you might look for some titles and approaches that intrigue you.

Over the next few months, we will continue to review some of these books to provide a bit more guidance about their content and perspective.  Check our “Reviews” category to see what we’ve reviewed so far.  Happy reading!

[Read more →]

From time to time, we like to review some of the books available for parents of college students.  There is a wealth of literature available to help parents cope with the transition to college and the changes that occur throughout the college years.  We offered a list of recommended reading, and then added another list, and there is something for everyone.

This review takes a look at Professor Bill Coplin’s book 25 Ways to Make College Pay Off. The book’s subtitle is Advice for Anxious Parents from a Professor Who’s Seen It All. One basic premise of the book, as Professor Coplin states in the preface is, “. . . students don’t seem to know how to get the most out of their college educations.  Parents paying the freight need to provide guidance to their children on how to make the college years pay off.”  This premise is an important one, and this book gives parents much information and support for helping their students.  Parents reading the book should be especially pleased to see the “What Parents Can Do” section at the end of each chapter.  Professor Coplin gives specific strategies for how parents can implement many of the suggestions that he makes in each chapter.  Another wonderful feature of the book is the list of specific, relevant resources at the end of each chapter.  For parents who are interested in helping their college student, this book may prove to be just a jumping off point.

[Read more →]

There is a wealth of literature available to help parents cope with the transition to college and the changes that occur throughout the college years.  We’ve offered some lists of recommended reading, and there is something for everyone. (Check out our lists of sources here and here.)

From time to time, we like to review some of the books available for parents of college students.  In this review, we’re taking a look at Sending Your Child to College : The Prepared Parent’s Operational Manual by Marie Pinak Carr and her daughters, Katharine Carr, Ann Carr, and Elizabeth Carr.  This book, aptly named a manual, is full of practical information and helpful charts and forms for parents to use as they help their student get ready to head off to college.

[Read more →]

From time to time, we like to review some of the books available for parents of college students.  There is a wealth of literature available to help parents cope with the transition to college and the changes that occur throughout the college years.  We’ve offered some lists of recommended reading, and there is something for everyone.

Richard Light’s book, Making the Most of College: Students Speak Their Minds is slightly different from many of the other books we recommend for college parent reading.  This book was not written specifically for college parents, but is of value and interest to parents, students, and college faculty and administrators alike.  It is this universal appeal that is perhaps one of the most unique and valuable aspects of this book.

Making the Most of College does not specifically help parents with the college transition process or with dealing specifically with their college student.  What this book does do is give parents valuable insight into the world of college and into the minds of college students.

[Read more →]

From time to time, we like to review some of the books available for parents of college students.  There is a wealth of literature available to help parents cope with the transition to college and the changes that occur throughout the college years.  We’ve offered some lists of recommended reading, and there is something for everyone. (Check out our lists of sources here and here.)

In this review, we’ll take a look at I’ll Miss You Too: An Off-to-College Guide for Parents and Students
by Margo E. Bane Woodacre and Steffany Bane.  This mother-daughter pair has teamed up to write a book that is useful for both parents and their students.  It is a good book to read together – and hopefully have it prompt some conversations.

The most unique feature about this book is its personal nature.  Neither author is a college expert, but both have lived the college experience – as parent and student.  Both mother and daughter describe how each saw, felt, and learned from the various experiences of the college transition period.  The two points of view represent both sides of the transition.  The book starts with the senior year of high school and continues through the senior year in college, focusing a chapter on each phase along the way.  Stories in the book draw on the personal journeys of both mother and daughter, as well as a few experiences shared by other families and college counselors. [Read more →]

From time to time, we like to review some of the books available for parents of college students.  There is a wealth of literature available to help parents cope with the transition to college and the changes that occur throughout the college years.  We’ve offered some lists of recommended reading, and there is something for everyone. (Check out our lists of sources here and here.)

This is a review of a fun little book put together by Suzette Tyler titled Been There Should’ve Done That – 995 Tips for Making the Most of College. This is a book for you to give to your college student – but to read first, before you give it away.   It contains tip after tip – from college students for college students about topics from orientation to dorm suggestions to clubs and activities to choosing courses to taking notes in the classroom.  Most of the topics of interest to students are covered somewhere in this book.

The format of this book makes it fun and easy to read.  The personality of the student comments make it personal.  Some of the contradictions in advice by different students highlight the fact that there is seldom an exactly right answer for many issues, although some of the mixed messages might be confusing to new students.  Much of the advice makes sense.  Student favorite web tools listed give helpful follow-up.

[Read more →]

We’ve made some earlier recommendations of books that make good reading for parents of college students. (See our Recommended Reading and More Recommended Reading lists.) But there is also plenty of good reading available for college students – or about to be college students – to help them navigate the college years.  If you’re looking for a gift idea for your college student or high school senior, consider one or two of these books.  Some are light-hearted and written for college students to enjoy, and many are full of helpful hints and tips for successfully transitioning to and surviving college. They cover everything from general advice to cooking, money management and career advice.

[Read more →]

From time to time, we like to review some of the books available for parents of college students.  There is a wealth of literature available to help parents cope with the transition to college and the changes that occur throughout the college years.  We’ve offered some lists of recommended reading, and there is something for everyone.

In this review, we’ll take a look at a book by one of the leaders in the field of college parenting programs.  You’re On Your Own (but I’m here if you need me) by Marjorie Savage is subtitled Mentoring Your Child During the College Years. This book is written by someone who has spent years working with both college students and their parents.  As both a college parent and a college services professional herself, Savage is able to understand both the world of parent concerns and the world of college.  She helps parents understand the new world their student is entering and also helps them take a new look at their child as he/she enters this stage of life.

Your On Your Own is a combination of common sense, reassuring and helpful advice, strategies and tips for parents and students, and straight talk about sometimes uncomfortable subjects.  It is clear throughout the book that Savage brings to her writing a tremendous amount of information and personal experience from working with both students and their parents.  She not only provides useful information and food for thought, but she intersperses her information with anecdotes and illustrations.  Many parents will read this book and see or hear their own experiences or their own child’s experiences echoed in the stories included.

[Read more →]

From time to time, we like to review some of the books available for parents of college students.  There is a wealth of literature available to help parents cope with the transition to college and the changes that occur throughout the college years.  We’ve offered some lists of recommended reading, and there is something for everyone.

In this review, we take a look at the book Parents’ Guide to College Life: 181 Straight Answers on Everything You Can Expect Over the Next Four Years by author Robin Raskin.

In order to write her book, Raskin surveyed deans, resident assistants, and administrators at nearly one hundred colleges.  She interviewed financial, medical and insurance experts.  Organized in question and answer format, her book shares advice and tips from the experts and professionals she interviewed, as well as from parents and both current and past college students.  The book covers a wide range of topics and is chock full of statistics and quotes.  She intersperses these statistics and quotes with personal experiences and anecdotes.  The result is an easy to read, down to earth book covering everything from parental roles, student life, sex, drugs, drinking, safety, health, academics, money, and dorm life.

[Read more →]