We send our students off to college to get an education. We know that, in addition to their academic pursuits, they will be learning about life and the “real world”. So why should we need to teach them anything before they head out the door? Because there are some skills that will help them survive on their own as they navigate the world of college. Here are eight skills that will help your student succeed in “College 101”.
Supporting Your Student
Why Doesn’t My College Freshman Want To Attend Orientation?
Most colleges conduct some kind of orientation for incoming students. The orientation session may happen during the summer, or just prior to the beginning of classes. Orientation is valuable and helpful for incoming students. Your student is excited about beginning her college career. But you are taken by surprise when it comes time for orientation and your student says she doesn’t want to attend – and may even say she’s changed her mind about attending college! What’s going on?
The entire summer before the first year of college is likely to be a pendulum for your student between excitement and terror, longing for independence and clinging to home. He may not even realize what a roller coaster ride he’s on, but the more that you remember the enormity of this transition, the more that you can help – even if it is just through your patience. Although orientation may seem just the natural next step toward college, it may be one of the biggest steps.
Helping Your College Student Find Support On Campus
As a college parent, you want to support your college student in any way that you can. You talk on the phone (but hopefully not too often), you send mail (students love to find something in their mailbox), you send care packages, you listen when they share joys or worries; but there is a limit to what you can do. In your attempts to help your student find their increasing independence and sense of responsibility, you need to help your student find and use appropriate on-campus support systems.
Your college student may continue to turn to you for help. Or they may feel that being grown up means that they need to do everything for themselves. In either case, your student may not be finding and taking advantage of the resources available on campus. Be there, but help your student consider who else might best help. Ask questions and suggest that your student investigate some of the possible support available on campus. Here are fifteen possible sources of help.
Connecting With Your College Student By Phone — Part 3
This is the third part in a three part series about phone conversations with your college student. In the first post, we considered the nature of our phone conversations with our student. In the second post, we considered how your phone conversations might change as the semester progresses. In this post, we offer some suggestions for maximizing your phone conversations with your student.
You’ve made the phone conversations with your student routine. You’re ready to listen, and you’re prepared to listen to her college adventures and share something about life at home. But sometimes the conversation just doesn’t flow. How can you encourage your college student to share her thoughts with you? Sometimes it’s all about the questions you ask – and the responses you make.
Here are five suggestions for those more awkward conversations.
Important Academic Conversations with Your Student Throughout the Semester
All conversations with your college student will be different. Sometimes your student will have lots to tell you or ask you, and other times you will both be searching for things to say to each other. However the conversations go, they are important times for sharing news, sharing feelings, making plans, and encouraging each other. Most of these conversations will probably not be about academics. However, there may be sometimes during the term when you will want to “check in” about how things are going in classes. Here are some possible suggestions for conversations at various times throughout the semester.
About a week into the semester:
By now your student has been in classes for one week and has probably had at least one class meeting for each of their courses. This is a good time to ask how they like them and whether they have read all of the syllabi carefully. If the college has a Drop/Add period, that deadline may be coming up soon. This is a good time to ask whether your student needs to drop or add any classes. (Remember that they may need to maintain a minimum number of credits to be considered a full time student – important for residence life, athletics, financial aid, and possibly health insurance.)
Connecting With Your College Student By Phone — Part 1
This is the first post in a three part series about phone conversations with your college student. In the next post, we’ll consider how your phone conversations might change as the semester progresses. In the final post of the series, we offer some suggestions for maximizing your phone conversations with your student.
Regular phone conversations with your college student are a great way to stay in touch with what is happening in your student’s life – and for her to stay in touch with life at home. Even if you keep up with each other via e-mail, Facebook, or some other electronic medium, there is nothing quite like hearing each other’s voice. However, just because the technology allows us instant contact, it doesn’t mean that every conversation will be satisfying. Here are some suggestions that will help to maximize your conversations with your college student.
Make it routine.
Consider setting up a regular time for your student to phone you. Let your student phone you, rather than you calling him, so that he will choose a time when he is available for a conversation. Reaching him on his cell phone while he is at dinner with his friends may not yield the most meaningful conversation.
Twelve Things You Can Do To Help You Listen To Your College Student
Communication between parents and teenagers is often difficult. As parents of college students we have lived through most of those difficult years. Now that your student is headed off to college and you may not have the same kind of daily contact with them, you want to make good use of the times that you do communicate with them. Although you may not see your student for several weeks (if they are living away), you may talk more often. Daily phone conversations may not be the best way to encourage independence, but you may want to establish some regular phone contact to help you stay connected. You also want to take advantage of those conversations that happen when your student does come home for a visit.
So now that communication with your college student may happen less often, you want to maximize the opportunities that you have. What can you do? The short answer is to talk less and listen more. You may be surprised at how much you will learn about your student simply by listening. Here are twelve suggestions that will help you listen more carefully to your college student.
What To Do If Your Student Is Academically Dismissed From College
When you send your student off to college you hope and assume that he will be successful. Most students are successful and do well. However, some students struggle – either socially or academically. No parent wants to receive the news that his or her student has been academically dismissed from college because of poor performance. It is distressing and disheartening news. But it does happen, and parents need to help students deal with the situation. Although you may be disappointed, and possibly angry, your response may be a large factor in helping your student move forward.
Here are some things to consider if your college student is academically dismissed from college.
Ten Things To Do If You Need To Call Your Child’s College
As a college parent you’ve listened to all of the advice and you’re working hard to help your college student gain independence and responsibility. You encourage her to handle her own problems and talk to the appropriate contact people at the college when she has questions or problems. But something has come up and you feel that it is absolutely necessary for you to step in and talk to someone at the school. What do you do now?
Here are ten things to consider that will make your phone call effective.
College Parent? Inspiration for Your New Coaching Role
If you’re a new college parent, you’re shifting to a new role as a sideline coach: still involved in your student’s life and success, but with a new approach. It’s time to get inspired about your new role!
Many of the world’s greatest athletes credit their success to the influence of their coaches. They recognize that, while they may have certain abilities, they need the teaching, insight, and training that a quality coach can provide. You may have thought of yourself in this role before – or this may be a new image for you. Either way, let’s explore some of the wisdom of the world’s greatest coaches and consider what it means to be a great coach.
