Your college student has almost made it through that tricky first year of college!  Congratulations to her and to you!  She’s anxious for summer break and you are looking forward to having her home.

But wait, you have a flash of memory of moving her to college last September!  You remember the bulging car, maybe with cartop carrier or trailer attached, and you remember all of the things she’s taken back to school or bought since then.  The thought of doing this whole thing in reverse is causing a small panic attack.

The first thing to consider is whether or not your student needs to bring everything home again for the summer.  If she is returning in the fall, are there some things that could remain at school and be ready for her when she gets back?  Probably.  But you’re not sure how to go about storing things.

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When your son or daughter was in the midst of the search process for college, chances are that he or she (and possibly you) spent countless hours poring over college websites.  College websites have become an extremely important admissions tool.  Many students who visit colleges say that they were drawn to a particular college because of its website.  Admissions professionals work hard to make their sites not only informative, but also appealing and representative of the institution.

Once your child heads to college, you should begin to look at the college’s website differently.  As a parent of a college student, you’re no longer looking at a website to evaluate the institution, but using it to gather information, and to have a sense of the place where your child will be spending significant time during the coming years.  Use this tool to it fullest advantage.  Spend time browsing the site, look beyond the “For Parents” section.  Enter the site through the “Current Students” portal as well as the “For Parents” area.

The following are ten suggestions for parents on how to look at the college website to gather the most information:

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