<\/a>The beginning of college life can be difficult for students.\u00a0 They go from the top of the ladder to the bottom rung.\u00a0 Familiar faces are now unfamiliar.\u00a0 More is expected of them, and more responsibility falls on them to be at class on time and get work done.\u00a0 Maybe they thought they had people all figured out, as they found they could understand others in high school with similar backgrounds.\u00a0 Now, they are challenged even in this way as they meet people from various backgrounds and cultures.\u00a0 This transition can be difficult, and parental support is essential for your student to successfully experience ll that college has to offer.<\/p>\nHowever, don’t\u00a0 underestimate the difficulties going to college can have on you as parents as\u00a0you transition\u00a0into this\u00a0new support role for your student.\u00a0 If the student is living on campus, this may be the first time he or she lives away from home.\u00a0 Maybe the student only calls home for money or a favor.\u00a0 Maybe he or she doesn’t call much at all, or seems to notice all that you do for him or her.\u00a0 Rest assured, reasons may exist for these behaviors that are more than they seem.<\/p>\n
This is an important time for your student.\u00a0 He or she must think about things differently while building their support network of friends from scratch or nearly nothing.\u00a0 The first\u00a0six weeks\u00a0of the freshman year<\/strong><\/span> is the most critical time of a college year with regard to college retention\u00a0and a need for support.\u00a0 Students must quickly adapt to the coursework and newfound freedom, while meeting as many new faces as possible.\u00a0 How can you help him or her\u00a0during this first month?<\/p>\n\n- Call once in a while to find out he or she is doing, but don’t overdo it. Show that you care, but without having the student feel like you’re hanging over him or her.<\/li>\n
- Listen to what he or she is concerned about. Sometimes the student only needs you to hear his or her frustrations. Other times it might help to know a few places to suggest him or her to go for help such as an academic advisor or Counseling and Psychological Services.<\/li>\n
- Encourage him or her to get involved in something. Studies show that students who are involved in campus life, whether actively engaging professors or administrators, or getting involved in clubs, organizations, or intramural sports, drastically improves chances of success in college.<\/li>\n
- Don’t feel bad if he or she doesn’t call every night, or even every other night.\u00a0 Students will need this first\u00a0six weels to meet others\u00a0and gain that support network of friends, and often this takes precedence over many other issues surrounding them.<\/li>\n
- Ask the student how he or she does on that first exam or quiz. Tell him or her you’re proud, or give encouragement if the first result is less than satisfactory.<\/li>\n
- If\u00a0your student commutes, chances are that some of these transitions will be tougher because the student does not live directly on campus, and\u00a0may have a part time job on the side. So, the student\u00a0must make an extra effort to meet others and become adjusted to campus life. Encourage\u00a0him or he\u00a0to hang out on campus after class or visit others met in class or at events.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
As your student progresses through college, it is important to find the new balance that will exist between guiding your student and letting him or her make decisions.\u00a0 Sometimes it is better to let the student make a wrong decision so he or she learns from the mistake than to step in before anything happens, forgoing the learning opportunity.\u00a0 As freshman year progresses, here are a few new things to consider as you guide your student to success:<\/p>\n
\n- Don’t get upset when the student only seems to call to ask for money, but be sure to let him or her\u00a0know how things are at home.\u00a0 He or she does want to know.<\/li>\n
- Don’t take it personally if he or she does not come home often on the weekends.\u00a0 In fact, it is a better idea to encourage him or her to stay on campus more often on weekends to connect with the University and other students, especially in the first year.\u00a0 This interaction will lead to better connections for now and the future, and expanded learning opportunities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n
<\/a>No one can give perfect advice on how to deal with every situation.\u00a0 However, it is important to remember that your student probably has more to juggle than ever before in his or her life, with school, family, friends, maybe a part time job, and lots of unstructured time to decide how to use.\u00a0 Keep this in mind as you help your student complete college, a major accomplishment for one to acheive.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The beginning of college life can be difficult for students.\u00a0 They go from the top of the ladder to the bottom rung.\u00a0 Familiar faces are now unfamiliar.\u00a0 More is expected of them, and more responsibility falls on them to be at class on time and get work done.\u00a0 Maybe they thought they had people all […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":99,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-108","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/huangshizhaopin.com\/orientation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/huangshizhaopin.com\/orientation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/huangshizhaopin.com\/orientation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/huangshizhaopin.com\/orientation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/huangshizhaopin.com\/orientation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/huangshizhaopin.com\/orientation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/108\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":606,"href":"https:\/\/huangshizhaopin.com\/orientation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/108\/revisions\/606"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/huangshizhaopin.com\/orientation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/99"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/huangshizhaopin.com\/orientation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}