College Parent Central

#065 – Talking College with Transition Expert Dr. Andrea Brenner

May 18, 2022 by Vicki Nelson

Having the right conversations is an important way to help prepare your student for college. In this episode we talked with Dr. Andrea Brenner, co-author of How to College and creator of the Talking College Card Deck, a collection of discussion prompts for parents and students. Andrea is a seasoned college professor and former director of an award-winning first year experience program who recognizes the complexity of the transition to college. She shared ideas about how parents and students can use their pre-college conversations to learn from each other and anticipate the college experience.

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Graduation! Wisdom to Share

May 9, 2022 by Vicki Nelson

Your student is graduating! Congratulations!

Whether this graduation is from high school or college, it can be a bittersweet time for you as a parent. You’re proud and excited! But you also see your child growing up and taking an important next step in their life.

It can be an uncertain and nervous time for everyone.

Perhaps there will be a party. Probably there are gifts. Maybe a card or a letter. It feels as though this is one last opportunity to impart some wisdom – some life advice – to your student.

Really, you will continue to have opportunities to share your advice – some of it welcome and some perhaps less welcome – throughout your student’s life. But this is a moment. You want to get this one right.

We’ve suggested that one option might be to write your own commencement speech. What words would you like your student to hear? What would you tell them if you had the opportunity (challenge?) of writing the speech they would hear as they proudly sit in that cap and gown.

The wisdom you share with your student needs to be yours, of course, from your heart directly to the child you know so well. But it’s sometimes nice to have a little help getting started.

#064 – Supporting Students Who Struggle – Continuing the Conversation with Dr. Lynn Zlotkowski

May 4, 2022 by Vicki Nelson

Dr. Lynn Zlotkowski, Director of Advising at Southern New Hampshire University first joined us in episode #061 to talk about Advising and Student Success. We know that no matter how much support students receive from their parents and their college, no matter how much they take advantage of the college resources, some students flounder and fail. In this episode, we asked Dr. Zlotkowski to help us understand some of the reasons students struggle and how parents can respond and help them. Lynn shared her down-to-earth wisdom and advice that will help parents better support their student.

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College Parent News & Views – April 2022

May 1, 2022April 30, 2022 by Vicki Nelson

The more that college parents know and understand about the college experience, the less we worry and the better we will be able to help our students to succeed and thrive throughout their college career. However, there is an overwhelming amount of information out there on the web. We’d like to help you find some of the information that might be most interesting and useful to you as a college parent.

In News and Views we share recent college related news and sources we’ve found as we do our research. We hope that this feature will help to introduce you to new ideas and to help you keep up with some of the current issues that may affect your college student – and you.

We invite you to read some of the articles suggested below – and to let us know what you think of some of the ideas included here.

It’s Graduation Gift Season!

April 25, 2022 by Vicki Nelson

If you have a high school or college graduate this year, it’s time to think about a gift. Sometimes, the occasion seems so momentous (It is!) that we are paralyzed trying to come up with just the right gift.

The truth is that your student will probably be pleased with anything you choose to give them to mark this special occasion. And you know your student better than anyone else, so you’re the best person to make the decision.

But in case your creativity needs a jump-start, we’ve put together several lists of suggestions to get you started. Check out the lists below and then let your own imagination take off.

And maybe you’ll want to gift something to yourself as well. After all, this is a big event in your life as well.

Congratulations!

Check our these collections!

Gift Ideas for Your College Graduate

Gift Ideas for Your High School Graduate

Beyond Bedding and Mini-Fridges: 12 Dorm Furnishings You May Not Have Thought Of

10 Non-Essentials (But Fun!) for Your Student’s Dorm Room

7 Gift Books for Your College (or soon to be college) Student

And don’t forget to check out our holiday gift suggestions as well. Many of them would also make great graduation gifts.

Holiday Gift Ideas for Your Student – 2021

Over 100 Holiday Gift Ideas for Your College Student

#063 – Get Real and Get In: An Interview with Dr. Aviva Legatt

April 22, 2022 by Vicki Nelson

The college admission process can be overwhelming, anxiety-producing, and thrilling all at the same time. We had a conversation with Dr. Aviva Legatt founder of Ivy Insight College Counseling and author of the book Get Real and Get In: How to Get Into the College of Your Dreams by Being Your Authentic Self. Dr. Legatt shared advice for how students can avoid working to impress admissions officers and focus who they truly are in order to find the college that is right for them. This conversation will help parents think about how to be a facilitator in their student’s college search.

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#062 – Understanding College Senioritis and How Parents Can Help

April 9, 2022April 7, 2022 by Vicki Nelson

Although the transition into college in a common topic, we don’t talk enough about college seniors and their transition out of school. In this episode Lynn and Vicki explore the reasons so many college seniors feel paralyzed, disconnected, and anxious. Understanding the factors that influence a student’s ability to cope with the changes they are experiencing can help parents support their student through this time. Parents can help their student recognize this transition as a normal part of a whole developmental journey and encourage them as they take their next steps.

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College Parent Central Celebrates Another Birthday!

April 19, 2022April 2, 2022 by Vicki Nelson

April 1. April Fool. The ideal day to start a new, crazy adventure.

Thirteen years ago, on April 1, 2009, College Parent Central was born. It felt right. Launch something that seems as though it might be a good idea and see what happens. Who knows?

Now, on April 1, 2022, we’re proud to say that we still think it’s a good idea and we’re still here. Still growing. Still finding new and interesting ways to reach out to parents. Still providing information and support.

We’re celebrating our birthday!

When we began College Parent Central thirteen years ago, there wasn’t much of anything available to help college parents understand their role and how to support their student. There were a few books out there and a very few articles online. In the years since, we’ve been joined in this space by many websites, organizations and a host of books for parents and students. College parents matter and knowing how best to help your student can make a difference.

College Parent News and Views – March 2022

March 31, 2022 by Vicki Nelson

We invite you to read some of the articles suggested below — and to let us know what you think of some of the ideas included here.

#061- Exploring the Role of Advising in Student Success: An Interview with Dr. Lynn Zlotkowski

April 19, 2022March 16, 2022 by Vicki Nelson

We had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Lynn Zlotkowski, Director of Academic Advising at Southern New Hampshire University to talk about the role of academic advising in college. Our conversation was wide-ranging and covered the shifting role of parents throughout their student’s academic career. Lynn brought her tremendous insight, energy, humor and fresh perspective to the discussion of how both the college and parents can best support student success.

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