Write for Us

CollegiateParent showcases a wide range of professional literary voices:

• Freelancers and expert guest contributors with professional experience in higher education, student affairs, best parenting practices, health and wellness, career preparation and more
• Blog essayists sharing personal stories

We consider original, previously unpublished submissions and are happy to link to your personal blog or website in your author bio. We require samples of published writing and a professional biography that demonstrates your qualifications to speak to our audience of college parents and families.

Requirements for CollegiateParent posts:

1. Understanding self-promotion:
   1. If your goal is to promote or sell a product or service through CollegiateParent, you can learn more about sponsored content/native advertising opportunities by clicking here.
   2. If self-promoting within a content-rich article, please do so discreetly and remember that your author bio is a good place to include your details and links. We reserve the right to edit your post if it is too self-referential.
2. Self-disclosure: Please disclose any relationships or partnerships you have when providing content (e.g., if you are a paid spokesperson or if you are including information about your client or company, please indicate this in the post).
3. Original concepts, compelling arguments and high-quality writing: We will not republish anything that’s been published elsewhere. And due to Google’s algorithms, you may not republish your guest post in its entirety anywhere else after it appears on https://www.collegiateparent.com. Typos or grammatical errors immediately disqualify a post from consideration.
4. Article reflects the writing style and tone of CollegiateParent’s content and it is a topic needed by our readers: We aim to be informative, relatable and helpful.
5. Demonstrated expertise: What is your background in higher education, health and wellness (specifically for teens/young adults), career preparation, financial planning (specifically for families of college students), academic success and parent-child relationships? Provide a professional CV as well as links to previously published articles in your field.
6. Proper attribution of data, quotations and outside content referenced in the article: Give credit. Check all your facts and quotations. Cite your sources.
7. Word count: Most of our articles are 800–1,200 words. Make your piece long enough to engage and enrich our readers, and no longer.
8. Biography: Your bio should be approximately 100 words and can include your social media handles as well as any other relevant links you wish to display. If you are connected to a specific college or university, or are the parent of college students, please include this.
9. Supporting images, interactive content and videos:
   1. Copyright Free Images (png, jpg): Provide any high-resolution images you’d like to include within your Word doc. Royalty Free and Copyright Free images are required. When saving your images, please provide a descriptive name (e.g., student-parent-money-conversation).
   2. Infographics, videos and interactive content: Include the embed code for the infographic within your Word doc.
10. Social sharing: We ask that you share your published content through your social media channels with links to https://www.collegiateparent.com and tags to our social media platforms.

What makes a good CollegiateParent post?

• To develop a sense of what we publish, we recommend you read our content and follow us on social media, as well as subscribe to our eNewsletter, the Loop to get our most recent posts.
• Write to provide value to our readers, who are the parents of college students looking to better understand the experiences of their student and support their success from move-in through graduation.
• Include a catchy and click-worthy title. Use headers and key words.
• Have, and hone, a main message. Edit your intro so that the point of your post is completely clear.
• Be prescriptive. Don’t tell readers to do something; explain how. Provide examples, anecdotes and metrics. Deliver “a ha moments” for readers.
• Tell a story like a journalist. Cover who, what, where, how and why. Make it personal. Share tips you’ve learned, new discoveries in your field of expertise, resolutions to problems you’ve solved, etc.
• Be thoughtful when including links. Posts with too many links look spammy and will be rejected. Link to other CollegiateParent articles as appropriate.

What topics is CollegiateParent looking for?

We welcome posts from expert voices in the following categories:

Higher Education

• Student success and engagement
• First-year transition
• Academic support
• Campus resources
• Parent and Family Programming
• Housing and residence life

First Generation Students and Families

Health & Safety

• General student wellness
• Emotional health
• Healthy relationships
• Personal safety

High School

• College search and application process
• Admissions trends
• Healthy balance
• Advice for parenting teens
• SAT and ACT testing tips and strategies

Finance

• Affording college
• Student loans/managing debt
• Financial aid/FAFSA
• Budgets/financial literacy
• Insurance

Career Prep & Extracurricular Experiences

• Summer jobs and internships
• Volunteering and service learning
• Mentors
• Networking
• Student involvement on campus
• Leadership

Off-campus Housing & Life

Parenting Perspectives

• Changing roles
• Empty nest
• Relationships with teens/young adults
• Sandwich generation (caring for aging parents)
• Personal reinvention
• Ideas for family fun and connection
• 1st person essays

If you are interested in joining our community of writers, please complete the form below.