College Parent Central

Moving from College Into Career: Is Your Student Career Ready?

May 22, 2023 by Vicki Nelson

Remember four years ago when you may have wondered whether your student was ready with the necessary skills for college? Wondered whether they realized how different college would be from high school? Now, as your student graduates from college you may have similar concerns. Is your graduate ready for a career?

Being career-ready is more than simply learning academic and/or technical skills. It includes understanding the world you are about to enter.

Does my student have an accurate picture?

The transition from college into a career is a big one, but students may not be sure how the workplace will be different. School has been your student’s world for the past 16+ years and it is the world they know.

#088 – How Parents’ Fear of Failure Can Influence Students

May 17, 2023 by Vicki Nelson

As parents, it’s in our DNA to worry about our kids. In addition, the messaging about success and failure is all around us and reinforces our worst fears. In this episode, Lynn and Vicki discuss some of the reasons we worry, the effect parental fears can have on our students and how we can address these fears so that our students will own their experiences and believe they are capable.

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#087 – Exploring the Why and How of the Gap Year Experience: An Interview with Jay Gosselin of Discover Year and Marie Shea, Gap Year Parent

May 3, 2023 by Vicki Nelson

In this episode we had a wonderful interview with Jay Gosselin, Founder and Director of Discover Year, a year long program that helps young adults build essential skills for their career and life. We explored why students might need or want a gap year experience and the benefits of taking that year between high school and college off from traditional school. We were also joined by Marie Shea, whose daughter Grace chose to spend the year after high school as a Discover Year student. Marie shared the parent perspective and helped us realize that although each student’s story is different, we are all on a journey together.

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College Parent News and Views – April 2023

April 30, 2023 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 in the comments below.

Help Your College Grad Feel Better About Moving Back Home

April 24, 2023 by Vicki Nelson

If you have a student graduating from college or graduate school in the next few weeks, chances are you may be getting that bedroom or basement ready to welcome them home again. It can be an emotional time – and you and your student may have different emotions about the impending living arrangements.

The last few weeks of senior year, including senior festivities and all of those activities surrounding “lasts” and Commencement, are both exhilarating and exhausting. Your student will be moving from the ultimate high to coming face-to-face with the reality of determining what’s next. Or it may be possible that your student graduated a year or two ago, gave a try to a new job and living on their own and is now returning home once again to rethink whether that was the right move.

Your student has become one of the Boomerang Generation – returning back to where they started. They aren’t alone. According to the Wall Street Journal, the percentage of students living at home with parents is the highest it has been since 1940. The Pew Research Center in 2016 found that 32 percent of young adults 18-34 were living at home. Seventy percent of those were happy with the arrangement, 96 percent helped with routine chores, and 75 percent contributed to expenses.

#086 – Highlights from Jeff Selingo’s Book There Is Life After College

April 25, 2023April 19, 2023 by Vicki Nelson

Jeff Selingo’s book There is Life After College: What Parents and Students Should Know About Navigating School to Prepare for the Jobs of Tomorrow is a hidden gem. Whether you have a student in high school, in college, or a recent graduate, this is a wonderful resource to share with your student. We think higher education professionals will also find this book eye opening and motivating. In this episode Vicki and Lynn touch on some of the key themes and how they have seen these reflected in today’s students. Understanding some of the issues facing students as they prepare for a career will help you support and guide your student.

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College Graduation Gift Ideas

April 29, 2023April 17, 2023 by Vicki Nelson

It’s graduation season – and your student is graduating! Congratulations!

Your student may move on to graduate school or begin a new career. They may be moving home or into their own apartment.

No matter where your student is headed, this is a milestone and you want to mark the occasion with an appropriate graduation gift. Whether it’s large or small, practical or sentimental, it’s sometimes difficult to come up with just the right ideas.

Special gifts should be personal, and you know your student best. We’re offering some suggestions to help you start your imagination flowing. Think about your student’s interests, needs, and personality and see where it takes you.

We’re listing a dozen ideas here, but then be sure to check out our list of ideas from previous years. All together, you’ve got nearly 50 ideas to get you started.

#085 – A Pathway to Success for Students with Disabilities (and everyone else, too!): An Interview with Elizabeth Hamblet

April 5, 2023 by Vicki Nelson

Elizabeth Hamblet joined us for a second interview to share highlights of the new edition of her book: Seven Steps to College Success: A Pathway for Students with Disabilities. Elizabeth helped us unpack some of the complexities of college accommodations and student responsibilities that help students make a smooth transition from high school to college. The more parents and students know and understand about the differences in laws and the nature of college support the more successful students will be. We learned so much about how different colleges approach support and the questions students and parents need to ask to find a good match.

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It’s No April Fool’s Joke! College Parent Central Is Celebrating an Anniversary!

April 1, 2023 by Vicki Nelson

Each year, as April rolls around, College Parent Central celebrates an anniversary. We are always pleased, and sometimes a little amazed, that we’re still here a year later.

This year we celebrate our fourteenth year. Happy Anniversary to us!

When we first launched on April 1st in 2009 we weren’t sure what to expect. It seemed somehow appropriate to choose April Fool’s Day. Launch something that seems like a good idea and see what happens. Who knows?

We recognized that college parents (and high school parents, too) needed information and support, and we hoped we could help provide some of that guidance. Now, as we celebrate our fourteenth year, we continue that belief, and parents continue to let us know they appreciate the information we provide.

Thank you to all of those who have given us feedback and support and who have shared our information with others! Word of mouth is still the best way to reach those who can use this information.

Our Mission

It is always a good idea, from time to time, to reflect on your roots. Each time we look back to the purpose that drove us to launch College Parent Central, we reaffirm that our basic principles haven’t changed.

College Parent News and Views – March 2023

March 31, 2023 by Vicki Nelson

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 in the comments below.

Moving from College Into Career: Is Your Student Career Ready?

#088 – How Parents’ Fear of Failure Can Influence Students

#087 – Exploring the Why and How of the Gap Year Experience: An Interview with Jay Gosselin of Discover Year and Marie Shea, Gap Year Parent

College Parent News and Views – April 2023

Help Your College Grad Feel Better About Moving Back Home

#086 – Highlights from Jeff Selingo’s Book There Is Life After College

College Graduation Gift Ideas

#085 – A Pathway to Success for Students with Disabilities (and everyone else, too!): An Interview with Elizabeth Hamblet

It’s No April Fool’s Joke! College Parent Central Is Celebrating an Anniversary!

College Parent News and Views – March 2023

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