College Parent News and Views

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.

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The Delicate Balance of Support and Self-Reliance

So much of the college experience is about balance.  Students work at learning to balance social life and studying, independence and responsibility, seriousness and frivolity.  As parents, it is sometimes difficult to watch as our students practice the skill of balance — and sometimes fail.  But just as we had to finally take the training wheels off and let go of the bicycle, we need to step back and watch as our students take off.

One of the balancing acts that many students struggle with, especially at the midpoint in a semester, is the balance between self-sufficiency and relying on others.  New college students, especially, may need to learn that being independent doesn’t necessarily mean they need to do everything alone.  Knowing when to rely on themselves and when to turn to others is part of responsible decision making.

Why wouldn’t my student ask for help if they need it?

There are many reasons why students may not seek the help they need when they need it.

  • ”I didn’t realize that I needed help.”
  • ”I’ve never needed help before, why would I need it now?”
  • ”Things will get better if I just wait long enough.”
  • ”I’ll look as though I’m dumb if I ask for help.”
  • ”Isn’t it cheating if I get help?”

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College Parents Warned of Phone Scam — Don’t Be a Victim

The con artists are at it again.  But this time, it’s not college students who are the target, it’s their parents. This scam, a ”virtual kidnapping” scam, has been around for a couple of years, with the FBI issuing warnings in January 2015,  but authorities are warning parents that it seems to be on the rise again in the past few months.  Several colleges in several states, including Arizona State University, George Mason University and the University of Texas at Arlington,  have issued warnings to parents.

As with so many scams, knowledge is power.  Being aware that this scam exists is the best first defense against becoming a victim.

In the ”virtual kidnapping” scam, parents receive a phone call from a stranger who claims to have kidnapped their child.  Sometimes parents hear muffled screams or cries in the background. Someone who sounds much like their child may even get on the phone quickly, crying and begging them to pay whatever is asked.  Calls come from outside area codes, often 787 or 939 — Puerto Rican codes. The call may come from a blocked or private number.  The caller knows the child’s name and often many details as well.  These details are often gleaned from public information and/or social media sites.

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When a Little Something Can Make Graduation a Reality

College completion rates in the United States are not what they should be.  It is an important national conversation.  According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, the percentage of students who began college and completed a degree within six years is approximately 53%.  Just over half of those students who begin college finish – and that number is decreasing. It’s a growing problem and a growing national conversation.

Although we all need to be concerned about this number, and we all should part of that national conversation, if it is your student who can’t finish, knowing that there are many others also struggling isn’t much consolation. So although the big conversations and educational reforms are important, sometimes it is the small, personal actions that can make a difference.

More and more colleges and universities are recognizing that for many students, the barriers to completion- which may seem insurmountable at the time — are actually individual stumbling blocks that can be overcome with some help.  This is especially true for many first-generation and low-income students.  So schools are stepping in to help.

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