Spring Break Warnings . . . For College Parents

March 25, 2017March 5, 2012 by Vicki Nelson

Spring break is just around the corner and college students everywhere are preparing for a much needed change of pace. For some students that change may simply be a week of rest and a chance to catch up with friends. Other students may be using the time to work to supplement their cash flow for the second half of the semester. But for many students Spring Break is synonymous with travel.

If your college student is headed to warmer climes over break, especially if he is heading to one of the more popular student destinations, we hope that you’ve already had some conversations about staying safe. As a parent, you may be entirely comfortable with your student’s plans, or you may worry about this significant “letting go” experience. Unfortunately, many scammers understand your fears and are ready to prey on them.

Colleges Working to Help Students Transition During the First Year

February 23, 2012 by Vicki Nelson

As a college parent, you worry about your student’s transition to college life. Perhaps you talk to your student about things he can do to help make the shift to being a college student and being away. You hope that all will go well and you hope that the college personnel who work with your student will help your him with the transition.

Most college personnel who work with first year and transfer students are very aware of the impact and importance of the transition to a new environment and way of life. As a parent, you should be reassured that there are designated people at most colleges charged with the responsibility of helping your student succeed during her first year.

Staying Safe and Healthy in College — A Roundup of Helpful Posts

March 23, 2017February 16, 2012 by Vicki Nelson

Perhaps one of the most basic things we think about when we send our student away to college is her health and safety. Yes, we want our student to succeed academically, make friends, be engaged, and prepare for a career; but first and foremost, we want to know that our student will be safe and be able to stay healthy — both physically and mentally. But it is not always easy to do this when we are miles away and may not see our student for weeks.

How Is Your College Student’s Work/School Balance? Four Factors You and Your Student Should Consider

January 7, 2022February 13, 2012 by Vicki Nelson

This article was updated in January 2022.

The increasing cost of college suggests that it may be necessary for more full-time students to work — and that more students who work are working more. College students may feel that they need to work more, and parents may wonder whether or not their college student should get a job while in college. But before you and your student make any decisions about whether or not to work while at school, and how much to work, have some conversations about the realities, the benefits, and the challenges of working while attending college full time.

One of the first things to consider is whether or not the perception is accurate that more students are working more. According to a study by the Bureau of Economic Research, the average weekly hours spent working by full time undergraduates decreased in the early 2000’s . This may seem odd during these days of higher and higher tuition costs. According to this study, between the 1970’s and the year 2000, the number of hours spent working at paid employment by full time college students rose steadily then leveled off between 2000 and 2008 at about 11 hours per week. From 2009 to 2013, the number decreased to about 8 hours per week and has now risen again. (These averages include students who do not work at all, so the number of hours worked by students who do work are actually somewhat higher.)

Getting to Know Your Emerging Adult College Student

January 1, 2022February 9, 2012 by Vicki Nelson

Kids today. Sometimes we love them. Sometimes we hate them. Most of the time we feel we don’t understand them. If you are the parent of a college student, you may wonder at times whether this person is still an adolescent or whether he is an adult. Your opinion may change from day to day or even hour to hour. You are not alone. Your student is likely entering, or solidly settled into, a phase of life now labeled Emerging Adulthood. The more you understand about this newly identified stage of life, the more you may feel that you begin to understand your college-age and post-college student.

Emerging Adulthood, as a distinct developmental phase, is most widely known through the work of psychologist Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Arnett’s book, Emerging Adulthood: The Winding Road from the Late Teens through the Twenties, was first published in 2004 and has received much attention. We recommend it to college parents. According to Dr. Arnett, ”kids” today aren’t the ”kids” that we were. Parents need to work to understand how different today’s students are.

According to Dr. Arnett, Emerging Adulthood begins at about the age of 18 and often continues until the age of 25 or 27. This is much later than many of us might think. So as your student begins college, she may also be entering this developmental phase. As she graduates from college (and perhaps boomerangs back home) she is in the midst of this stage. She may remain in this stage for several more years. It is not simply an extended adolescence, but a distinct time of less parental control and more independent exploration.

Consider the following five characteristics of this age and think about your student. You may be surprised at how accurate the description is.

College Parents’ Role in the Job or Internship Hunt

March 14, 2019February 6, 2012 by Vicki Nelson

In these difficult economic times, most college parents are anxious about their students finding an appropriate internship or first job. As parents, we want to do all that we can to help support our student through the search process. Often, there may be a fine line between providing support and guidance and stepping too far across that line to inappropriate involvement.

Parents today are increasingly involved in all aspects of their children’s lives from birth through adulthood. As a generation, we are earning the title of ”helicopter parent” and schools, colleges and employers are all recognizing that our involvement has great influence on our children and young adults. CERI, the Collegiate Employment Research Institute sponsored by Michigan State University recently surveyed 725 employers regarding parental involvement with job applicants and employees. Their findings hold up a mirror to us as parents of college students and recent graduates. Unfortunately, the majority of employers see parents as a negative ”interference.”

Approximately 23% of employers see parents involved in the job search sometimes or very often. When involved, parental involvement breaks down in the following ways:

12 Topics Parents Should Cover to Help College Students Gain Financial Literacy

July 19, 2020January 26, 2012 by Vicki Nelson

Paying for a college education requires a lot of financial planning. Most parents begin thinking about how to finance college many years before a student is ready to embark on a college career. Your college student may or may not be involved in this planning. But whether or not your college student is involved in the bigger financial issues such as tuition and other college expenses, it is important that your student become financially literate in order to survive financially during and beyond the college years.

A growing national problem

Financial literacy involves the ability to read, manage, and communicate about personal finances and to have the skills and knowledge to make competent financial choices about banking, credit, insurance, taxes and investments. How does your student stack up? Most high school graduates don’t do very well. High school student spending may create an unrealistic lifestyle. Iowa State University tested high school seniors’ understanding of money management. The average score was a 57% – a dramatically failing grade.

Is Your Student Heading to College for the Right Reasons?

June 22, 2022January 23, 2012 by Vicki Nelson

High school seniors have been doing their research on potential colleges, taking the appropriate high school classes, participating in plenty of extracurricular activities, making college visits, writing college essays, completing college applications, and finally awaiting the college verdict via acceptance or rejection letters. Whew!

The college admissions process becomes a way of life for many high school juniors and seniors. But amid the rush to get into just the right college, has your student taken time think about why they want to go to college?

A college education is expensive. No one would argue otherwise. Depending on the college, the expense may feel manageable or overwhelming. A college education for the right reasons is an investment in the future. Heading to college for the wrong reasons may potentially be a monumental waste of money.

The Smartest Word Your College Student Can Use — How Your Student Can Ask for Help

November 26, 2022January 19, 2012 by Vicki Nelson

This is the third of three posts about college students asking for help. In our first post we considered why students sometimes have difficulty asking for help. Our second post looked at who students might turn to for help. In this post we’ll consider how students can most effectively seek the help they need.

Many high school students planning to go to college spend a lot of their time reviewing vocabulary words for their SAT College Board exam. They learn big words, important words, roots of words, and definitions. But if your college student is going to succeed in college, there may be one important word that he needs that never shows up on his entrance exam. It may be the most important word that he can use in college. What is that word? ”Help.”

Your student is very likely to need help at some point in his college career. Hopefully, you’ve helped him understand that it is important to seek the help that he needs and encouraged him get past possible barriers to seeking that help. Your student has worked to learn what is available to him on campus and thought about the most appropriate source of help for his problem. Now your student needs to think about how to most effectively ask for that help.

Asking for help is often very difficult for students. For many of the reasons that we discussed in our first post, students are reluctant to seek help. However, even if your student understands that he needs to ask, actually approaching professors or college staff members may be intimidating. This can be especially true if your student has missed some classes, or has any other reason to be concerned about what the professor or staff member may think of him. Having a plan for the appointment may help your student to anticipate what might happen and to feel he has more control over the encounter.

The Smartest Word Your College Student Can Use — Part 2

January 3, 2019January 16, 2012 by Vicki Nelson

This is the second of three posts about college students asking for help. In our first post we considered why students sometimes have difficulty asking for help. In this post we’ll look at who students might turn to for help and in Part 3 we’ll consider how students can most effectively seek the help they need.

One of the first steps in encouraging your college student to ask for help when he needs it is helping him understand some of the factors that may be holding him back from seeking what he needs. Once he works his way past those barriers, however, it is important that he know what help is available to him. We’ve written earlier posts about helping your student find support on campus. It is important that your student know when he needs to ask for help and know where to find that help on campus.