Why College Parents Might Be Interested in Student Engagement

Are you familiar with NSSE (pronounced ”Nessie”)?  As a college parent, you may have looked at some NSSE results when your student was choosing a college.  Or you may have heard from your college student that he has filled out a NSSE survey at his current school.  More than likely, however, you may not be aware of NSSE.  NSSE stands for the National Survey of Student Engagement, and as a college parent, it might be helpful to know something about it.

NSSE is an approximately ten year old, eighty-two question survey, conducted each year by researchers from Indiana University, which measures how students spend their time at college and what they gain from their college experiences.  Over the life of the survey, more than 1400 colleges have participated at least once, and over 2.4 million students have been surveyed.  Each year the survey is distributed to first year students and seniors at schools who choose to participate in the program.  The results for 2009, released recently, come from students at more than 600 schools. The results of the NSSE survey are intended to help schools identify areas that may be improved in order to help students become more engaged in their learning.

Read more


What Can My College Student Do During Winter Break?

Most college students eagerly look forward to Winter Break as a welcome respite from their college life.  Whether your student has adjusted well to college life or is still struggling to find his place, the break from school and the chance to rest and regroup is welcome.  Although some schools may break just for the holidays, many colleges have a break that extends through mid-January or even until the end of January.  Once your student has been able to sleep and recover from final exams, once the activity of the holidays is over, the rest of Winter Break may loom ahead.

Some schools may have a January Term or Winter Intersession Term.  This winter session may be optional or it may be required.  Obviously, if your student is required to attend or chooses to attend an intersession term, then Winter Break will be shorter.

Read more


How Parents Can Help College Students Value Their Mistakes

No one likes to make mistakes. We know we may not be perfect, but we try not to make too many mistakes — especially what we might consider ”stupid mistakes”.  College students don’t like to make mistakes either, but they will probably make some — perhaps many — mistakes throughout their college career.  It is difficult, as a parent, to watch your college student make what you might consider avoidable mistakes.  The problem may not be the mistakes themselves, but the attitude that both parents and students have toward their mistakes.

Making mistakes is a way of learning.  We may make mistakes when we try new things, or stretch our limits.  Others may have made the same mistake before us, but we may need to make the mistake ourselves in order to learn from it. It doesn’t matter what others have told us, we need to have the experience ourselves.  College is, in many ways, practice for life.  College students may stumble and fall at times — sometimes in small ways and sometimes in more serious ways — but, hopefully, they will learn from their mistakes and become wiser.  As college parents, we can help our students make sense of these experiences.

This post is not about specific mistakes that students make in college, but rather it is about how parents can help college students accept their mistakes as a valuable part of their college experience and learn from them.  Sometimes the mistakes that students make in college may be very serious, and have serious consequences.  It is important that parents consider carefully when to intervene. (Hint: it may not be as soon as we think.) Parents need to continue to find the balance between letting go and allowing their student to make a mistake and bear the consequences, and intervening when the student’s health or safety may be at stake.

Read more


Why You Should Encourage Your College Student to Get Involved on Campus

Most students go to college to learn.  Most know, or at least soon discover, that their academic work at college will be different than the work that they did in high school.  They are expected to spend more time studying and there is a higher level of thinking demanded.  But the college years are also about other kinds of learning.  Often much of this other learning happens outside of the classroom.  College offers students opportunities to pursue old interests and to discover new interests.  Unfortunately, too many college students pass up some of the opportunities that they have in college because they are too focused on either their academic life or their party life.  Many worry that getting involved in activities or organizations on campus will distract them from their academic pursuits rather than enhance their academics.

Your college student is learning to find her own path during college.  She will need to make her own choices.  But as a college parent, you can encourage your student to take advantage of the many opportunities available on campus.  Help her think about the benefits of getting involved in groups and activities that the college offers.  Here are a few things to suggest that she consider.

Read more


Welcoming Your College Student Home for Break — What You Can Do To Prepare

Your college student is coming home for their first real visit since heading off to college.  You’re excited — but also a bit nervous about what to expect.  You know that they have probably changed — increased independence and responsibility are goals of the college experience.  But you may not be sure how this increased independence will affect your relationship.  Your college student is probably nervous, too.  They can’t wait to come home to show off their new found independence, but they’re not sure how they will fit in with the family now.

The first step in a successful visit with your student may be simply anticipating that things will be different, and possibly awkward.  You will need to get to know some new aspects of your student.  You may need to negotiate some ways of behaving and some expectations.  As has so often been the case throughout this process, brushing up on your listening skills and your patience will go a long way.  Here are a few suggestions that may help to ease the experience for everyone.

Read more


Welcoming Your College Student Home for Break — What To Expect

As college parents we worry about our student’s transition when they head off to college.  We know that it will be a big adjustment and that our student will be facing challenges and undergoing changes.  Sometimes, however, we forget that there will also be a big adjustment and some challenges when our college student returns home again for their first real vacation.  Whether it is Thanksgiving break or winter break, the first longer visit home will be a time of readjustment and reacquaintance for everyone.

It will help to consider some of the things you might expect during this first visit.  In our next article, we’ll consider some specific things that you might do to help that first visit go more smoothly.

Your student is probably anxious to come home and settle in, but they may also be worried about what things will be like when they get home.  You are excited about having your student home, but you may also be nervous about what to anticipate.  Parents who expect that everything will return to the way things were before your student left for college may be caught off guard and may have difficulty adjusting.  Here are a few things to consider before your student comes home for their first visit.

Read more


Cheering Your College Student on From a Distance

As parents, we want to support our college student in every way that we can.  We want them to know that we are aware that they are working hard.  We want them to know that we are proud of them.   We want to be present to see the fruits of their efforts, and to see them shine.  The problem is that sometimes we simply can’t get to campus and we need to do our supporting from afar.

What do you do if your student is participating in that important athletic event, playing or singing in that important concert, performing in that play, dancing in that show, being inducted in that honor society, or receiving that prestigious award and you can’t make the trip to the college to be there?  As a parent, you’re disappointed and you feel that you’ve let your student down.  Intellectually, you know that you have no choice, but emotionally, it is difficult.

Read more


Helping Your College Student Avoid ”How Do I Tell My Parents?” Fears

Things happen.  As college students work at their increasing independence and responsibility, as they learn that some of the choices that they are making are good choices and others are not, as they strive to find balance, as they struggle to accept consequences for their actions, things happen.  Some of these things are good things, affirming that your student is growing and maturing and making wise decisions.  Some of these things are not as positive, and some may have serious consequences.  Some students have poor or even failing grades, some face college judicial or even legal consequences, some face health issues, some face social problems, some face serious money issues,  and some simply feel that they’ve made all of the wrong choices at this point in their life.

Whatever may be happening for your college student, it may be magnified at the midpoint in a semester.  The reality of midterm grades may be a wake-up call.  The urgency of the remaining few weeks may hit.  The immediacy of a break or holiday at home with family may dawn.  The tensions are increasing as the semester progresses.

No matter what your college student may be experiencing or feeling right now, the second thing that many students worry about may be ”How will I tell my parents?”  As parents, we like to think that our college students can talk to us about whatever may be bothering them.  However, for many students, concern about family reactions to college difficulties may be adding to an already difficult time.  This may be especially true for families that are, or have been, close.  Our college students don’t want to disappoint us.  They don’t want to let us down.  They don’t want to fail at their new found independence.

Read more


Should My College Student Consider Withdrawing from a Class?

Your college student has received their midterm grades.  They may be pleased and feeling relieved, or may have some cause for concern.  Now is the time that your student needs to do some serious thinking about how they will approach the second half of the semester.  If all of their grades are good then your student knows that they are on the right track.  If some, or all, of their grades are weak, then it is time to think about a new approach.

Your college student may, or may not, share midterm grades with you.  If your student has some low midterm grades, they may view this as a failure.  You may need to help your student put these grades into perspective and make some decisions about the second half of the semester.

Withdrawing from a college class is not the same thing as dropping a class early in the term.  At most institutions, students have an option in the first few days of the term of dropping a class.  This is important for students who find that they are in the wrong level of a class, or that the class is inappropriate or of no interest to them.  Classes that are dropped at the beginning of the term generally do not show up on the student’s permanent record.  Withdrawing from a class later in the term usually results in a ”W” appearing on the student’s transcript.  The ”W” has no effect on the student’s GPA (Grade Point Average).

Read more


Book Review: Parents’ Guide to College Life

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.

Read more


Log In

or

Log In to Favorite articles and Post listings

Enter College Name to See Local Results

Log In

Contact Us

Forgot your password?

Your new password has been sent to your email!

Logout Successful!

Find Your School

You just missed it! This listing has been filled.

Post your own housing listing on Uloop and have students reach out to you!

Upload An Image

Please select an image to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format
OR
Provide URL where image can be downloaded
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format
Please enter First Name Please enter Last Name Please enter Phone
Please enter Email
Please enter Message

By clicking this button,
you agree to the terms of use

Please enter Email

By clicking "Create Alert" I agree to the Uloop Terms of Use.

Image not available.

Success, your registration has been submitted

An email has been sent to you with a link to verify your registration
Image not available.
By clicking Get Started or Sign In you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service