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 created lists of recommended reading, and there is something for everyone. Check out our Resources and Tools page for suggestions.

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.

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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 created lists of recommended reading. Check out our Resources and Tools page for suggestions.

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.

You’re 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.

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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 created lists of recommended reading, and there is something for everyone.  Check out our Resources and Tools page for suggestions.

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.

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There are many good books and resources available for college parents.  Each book takes a slightly different approach to the process of sending your child off to college – and surviving the transition.  We’ve provided a Resources and Tools page for suggestions.  However, in addition to providing titles, we’d like to introduce you to some of the books.  We plan to review one book each month over the next several months.  We hope this will give you some insight into the books, and provide guidance as you choose some titles to read.

In this first review, we’ll look at one of the seminal titles in college parenting: Letting Go: A Parents’ Guide to Understanding the College Years by Karen Levin Coburn and Madge Lawrence Treeger.  This book is a comprehensive, thoughtful, and practical guide for parents of college students or soon-to-be college students.  In fact, it would be most helpful to read this book during a student’s junior year in high school as it covers the college application process as well as the transition to college itself.

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