College Parent News and Views

January 31, 2019 by Vicki Nelson

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.

Does Your College Student Have a Case of the Junior Jitters?

September 10, 2019January 21, 2019 by Vicki Nelson

Most students will agree that the junior year of high school is the hardest. Junior grades are important for college applications. Students are taking difficult courses this year, perhaps upper level math and science, AP or Honors courses. Students are also busy considering and visiting colleges, working on admission essays, interviewing, and beginning to get busy on college applications. It can be exhausting for students — and their families.

But what about the junior year of college? Although junior year of high school may be legend, many students find themselves unprepared for a parallel experience in college.

Much attention is given to the first year of college, the transition, and sometimes the mistakes, that students make. There is growing interest in the second year of college as students settle in and choose a major and/or career path. But after the year of Freshman Folly and the potential Sophomore Slump, there is less often attention paid to the junior year of college, the year of the potential Junior Jitters. But this is an important time in your student’s journey through college.

New Year’s Resolutions for College Parents – and Their College Students

January 7, 2019January 7, 2019 by Vicki Nelson

OK, have you ever had the same resolution for more than one year? You know you have . . . Sometimes it’s because you just didn’t make it happen last time — and sometimes it’s because it’s such a good resolution that you need it again.

This year we’re revisiting some resolutions for college parents and for their students that we posted way back in 2009. We’ve updated some – life has moved on after all. And some are just gems that should still be on our resolution list.

We invite you to take a few minutes to review our list, adopt some suggestions, and add a few of your own. The New Year is a time for new beginnings, so whether you’re about to be a college parent, you’re a new college parent, or you’ve been at this for a while, it’s the time of year to take stock and make a fresh start. And don’t forget to share a few of these with your student as well. A new year also brings a new semester for many students – the perfect time for their fresh start as well.