College Family Weekend or Parents’ Weekend Provides Multiple Opportunities for College Parents

September 27, 2018September 22, 2009 by Vicki Nelson

You’ve probably already visited your child’s college several times. You may have had one or more admission visits, an orientation visit, and then you dropped him off at the beginning of the school year. However, each time you visited, both you and your student were still outsiders at the college. College Family Weekends offer parents an opportunity to be hosted at college by their college student. It is an important step for your college student and for you.

Most, but not all, colleges offer a Parents’ Weekend or Family Weekend — most often scheduled in late September or early October. Family members (often including grandparents and siblings) are invited to come to campus to visit for the weekend, or for a long weekend. The college plans numerous activities for family members, students actually clean their rooms, at some schools families may visit classes, and families and their students spend important time getting reacquainted.

Should My College Student Come Home for Weekends?

September 5, 2019September 20, 2009 by Vicki Nelson

When your college student first leaves for college you may be anxious to have them come home again for a visit. You want to be able to touch bases in person, cook their favorite meal, reassure yourself that they are fine, and find out how things are going. If your student attends college reasonably close to home, weekend visits home may be an option. Can they be a bad thing?

Getting home to visit family, catch up on sleep, get a few home-cooked meals, and even get some laundry done is not a bad thing. Occasionally, it may be just what your student needs. If your student is feeling serious homesickness, they may need to reconnect with family and recharge. However, there are some things you should consider before encouraging your college student to spend many weekends at home.

What Do I Do If My College Student Is Homesick?

January 6, 2018September 17, 2009 by Vicki Nelson

Of course, not all college students will get homesick when they go away to college. Many students adjust well, settle in, and have a wonderful experience. Some students may experience some homesickness, but their parents will never know about it. It may last a few days or a few weeks, the student will adjust and move on. But for some parents, the fear becomes reality. Their college student is homesick, miserable, and perhaps asking to come home. What is a parent to do?

Students may experience homesickness to varying degrees, although most probably have at least some of those feelings of longing for home. It is helpful for parents, and students, to understand that a certain amount of homesickness is completely normal. Students are dealing with unfamiliar situations, possible lack of routine and structure, loss of close friends, and readjustments of expectations. Some factors may increase the likelihood that your child may experience some degree of homesickness: no previous experiences away from home, difficulty making transitions to new situations, roommate issues, leaving a boyfriend or girlfriend at home, possible concerns about family members at home, or academic difficulties. One Dutch study, conducted in 2007, suggested that students with more involved parents tend to experience more homesickness; however, they may also have more effective coping strategies.

Helping Your College Student Living at Home: What Can You Do?

July 22, 2018September 16, 2009 by Vicki Nelson

This is the second of two posts considering college students who live at home during the college years. Parents of these students face a unique set of issues. In our first post, we looked at some of the reasons that students may choose to live at home, and some of the issues that might arise. In this post, we consider some things that parents can do to help make the experience a rewarding one for everyone involved.

Recognizing that your college student living at home may have reservations about the experience and will face a unique set of issues is an important first step in helping your student make the most of the college experience. Recognizing that your ”letting go” process will be more complex with your student living at home will also help you to analyze the experience. However, it is important that parents, and their college students, recognize that there are things that they can do to make this experience go smoothly — and ensure a rewarding four years.

Helping Your College Student Living at Home: What Are the Issues?

August 30, 2022September 13, 2009 by Vicki Nelson

This is the first of two posts considering college students who live at home during the college years. Parents of these students face a unique set of issues. In this first post, we look at some of the reasons that students may choose to live at home, and some of the issues that might arise. In our next post, we will consider some things that parents can do to help make the experience a rewarding one for everyone involved.

The college years are a time of growing independence for most college students. When students leave home to go away to college, they learn not only what they are being taught by their professors, but they learn many life skills. College students living away from home learn to manage their time, balance priorities, budget their money, hone their life skills, maintain relationships, and conduct the logistical necessities of their lives.

But what about students who attend college while continuing to live at home? Will they develop the independence that their classmates living on campus do? What about the parents of college students living at home? How will they cope with having an emerging adult in residence at home? How can parents help their at-home college student to gain independence while still maintaining a household in which everyone is comfortable?

Should My College Student Look for a Job On-Campus or Off-Campus?

March 15, 2017September 10, 2009 by Vicki Nelson

Having a job while in college is a common experience for many students. This is the second of two posts examining some factors that students might consider as they seek college employment. In the first post, we looked at some general, but important, questions your student might think about. In this post, we look more carefully at some of the differences between on-campus and off-campus jobs.

Once your student has decided that he needs a job and has time to commit to a job, the next decision will be whether to look for an on-campus or off-campus job. This is a complex question. There are advantages and disadvantages to both situations. You can help your student explore which type of job may be best for her by considering some of the following factors:

Should My College Student Get a Job At School?

August 30, 2022September 8, 2009 by Vicki Nelson

Having a job while in college is a common experience for many students. This is the first of two posts examining some factors that students might consider as they seek college employment. In this post, we look at some general, but important, questions your student might think about. In our next post, we’ll look more carefully at some of the differences between on-campus and off-campus jobs.

Many college students today have a job while they are in college. As we all know, the costs of attending college are high. In addition to tuition and room and board, there are extra fees, expensive textbooks, and living expenses. Many students head off to college knowing that, in addition to their academic work – and possibly their sports or other activities – they will need to have a job. As college parents, we can help our students think through some factors to consider as they decide what kind of job they may want – and a major question of whether to work on campus or off campus.

Helping Your College Student Be a Better Student: Twelve Questions to Ask

March 12, 2018September 3, 2009 by Vicki Nelson

Your college student may have been an outstanding scholar in high school, or he may have struggled throughout his academic career. His patterns of being a student have been set for years. However, college provides a new academic start for students. Students who breezed through high school may find themselves challenged for the first time. Students who found themselves labeled as poor students in high school may find that the fresh start gives them new energy and perspective on their studies.

Whether your student is encountering academic difficulty for the first time in college, or has fought this battle before, you may receive the phone call in which your student worries about her grades, complains about the amount and difficulty of the work, is aggravated at the professor, and is generally discouraged. Academics in college are very different than in high school and they often require a new approach.

What is a parent to do? First of all, listen. Let your student vent. Sometimes, that may be all that is necessary. But second, ask some questions to help your student try to figure out what he can do to make things better. Help him think about taking action. Here are twelve questions that you might ask your struggling student to help him think through the issue.

Be Prepared For the ”Meltdown” Phone Call From Your College Freshman

January 2, 2019August 30, 2009 by Vicki Nelson

It may not be inevitable, but it is common and it is normal. It’s two weeks into your college freshman’s first semester, (or three weeks, or one week, or five weeks) and you get the phone call. It may be three o’clock in the afternoon, but more likely it is midnight. Your student is miserable. He hates school, he is overwhelmed academically, he has no friends, he hates the food, he’s ready to come home. As a parent, you panic. This was all a mistake, he should have gone somewhere else, or stayed home, or commuted to a local school. You are ready to leave home immediately and go to school to collect him and bring him home. At the very least, you are up half of the night worrying about him.

But wait, you are not alone! Understanding that this phone call may be a normal part of the adjustment to college for many freshmen may help. Being prepared for the situation, while hoping that it never arises, will help. Here are some suggestions for what to do if you get that phone call from your miserable college freshman.

Are There Secrets to College Success?

July 28, 2021August 27, 2009 by Vicki Nelson

If there were absolute, no fail secrets to college success that worked for every student, every student would know them and follow them and be successful. The reality is that there are no sure-fire secrets that work for every student. Each student is an individual with unique strengths and weaknesses, coming from a unique background and placed in a unique situation.

However, there are some tried and true tips that help most students. We’d like to offer our three favorite tips. We hope you’ll pass them on to your college student. We welcome you to share your responses and suggestions.