We’re past the halfway point of the academic year! Your sophomore or junior is now a seasoned high school student. You’re both used to the high school routine with all its joys and challenges. Each year has brought your student closer their goal of attending college. It’s time for your family to shift from dreaming
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If you’re the parent of a current college student, or of a high school student heading in that direction, statistics on student loan debt in the U.S. are worrisome. Here are the numbers: Total student loan debt: $1.52 trillion Total U.S. borrowers with student loan debt:2 million Student loan delinquency or default rate: 7% (90+
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College students who work part-time (15–20 hours a week maximum) during the school year get better grades than those who don’t.* They tend to be more focused, organized and conscientious about budgeting time for study. Many parents also feel that students who contribute financially to their education are more invested and less likely to take
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An interview can be a valuable part of the college application. It may also be your student’s first exposure to what a job interview might be like after graduation. Any interview can cause anxiety, but the college interview is especially stressful. Your student will be wondering: What questions will they ask? How will I answer? Will
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The application is the tool colleges and universities use to make their admission decision. No two students are alike, and therefore no two completed applications are alike. Your student’s strengths may be in their impressive test scores, superb transcript, community involvement or the ability to write a vivid personal essay. It will be up to your student to
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When it comes to personal safety, today’s college students live in a world that requires vigilance and awareness. Colleges and universities work to foster safe environments, but students share responsibility. By this point in the year, your student has acclimated to their new campus and life. That makes it the perfect time to check in about what they
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Expect the call. It’s going to happen. Your student may be at school for a week, a month or even a year, but they’re going to have a roommate issue. For most students, it’s short-lived and worked out with simple coping mechanisms and conversations. For others, it’s gut-wrenching and traumatizing — for them, and possibly for their
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With the cost of college rising each year, many families look to financial aid to help pay for their student’s education. In order to qualify for financial aid — both from the federal government and/or from the college — students must file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. Filling out the form
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I said goodbye and boarded a plane after moving my daughter almost 2,000 miles away from home to her new home at college. I didn’t cry when we parted, but I’m sure my fellow passengers may have wondered why I was crying the entire flight home. Not all the tears were tears of sadness; there
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Many parents have a predetermined positive or negative opinion of Greek life based on their own experience. When my daughter began her college search, she wanted a campus with an active Greek presence. I had reservations, influenced by stories I heard and read about partying, drinking, hooking up and more. My daughter was barely 18
Read moreYou nailed it! I was a full-time mom as well. Both my kids moved out and away. I speak to the all the time but it is not the same. I also started to try to adjust to the empty nest that was approaching about two years before it happened. We raise them to be good people who are successful and independent and then they go and do it!
[…] few acceptances from which to choose, but even those who are still waiting to hear are experiencing senioritis. Last week, my son had a three-hour delay due to bad weather and another day off for parent-teacher […]