GUEST POST GUIDELINES

Thank you for your interest in writing for CollegiateParent. We love connecting with experts, authors and bloggers who can offer valuable, engaging experiences for our readers.

However, we receive far more guest post submissions than we can accept. Before submitting, make sure you are a good fit for CollegiateParent. Please read all of the information in the tabs below.

Requirements

Requirements for CollegiateParent posts:

  1. Understanding self-promotion.
    1. If your goal is to promote or sell a product or service through CollegiateParent, please review the Sponsored Content Guidelines 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 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. No more than two links to your company’s website in the body of the post.
  8. Word count: Most of our articles are 600–1,000 words. Make your piece long enough to engage and enrich our readers, and no longer.
  9. Bio: 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.
  10. 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.
  11. We ask that you share your published content through your social media channels with links to CollegiateParent.com and tags to our social media platforms.

Post Recommendations

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.
  • 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 who may be scratching their heads.
  • 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 will look spammy and will be rejected.

Topics

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 AND 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

What we won’t accept:

  • Anything that may be construed as a link-building scheme.
  • Anything that’s too promotional for your company or organization.
  • Anything that’s overly critical of individuals or companies — this is not a site to air grievances.
  • Anything that’s offensive or inaccurate.

 

Making a submission

Submissions must meet the CollegiateParent editorial team’s quality standards in order to be published. We expect content to be submitted publication-ready. We reserve the right to edit and adapt your guest post as we see fit, and update it in the future for accuracy and comprehensiveness. To start the process, please fill out the form below.