Navigating Academic and Campus Life: Starting a Conversation between the College-Bound Student and their Parents

High school graduations and parties have ended.  For the College-Bound, now is the time to not only buy the things they will need for their dorm room, but to learn the essentials needed to go to college.  The following NY Times Article Pink Underwear and Other Lessons for the College-Bound goes over helpful tips parents can discuss with their children on how to survive college life from laundry to banking.  I would add to this list that parents and their children should have a discussion about what it means to attend college including academic and college life and how it fits into the bigger picture of choosing a career and finding a job after college.  A lesson to the College-Bound student is to be pro-active.  If you haven't had this type of talk with anyone, seek this advice from your parents or another adult you trust.  Having this discussion can help ease the transition from high school to college.

The following are suggestions for topics to discuss.  You can choose to discuss some or all of these topics or come up with your own.

• Review course requirements together and discuss a possible four year plan on how to complete graduation requirements with the understanding this could change.
• Discuss what classes, majors and careers each of you find interesting and why
• Identify other people who can provide advice about academic and college life like Professors, Teaching Assistants, Resident Advisors and upperclassmen.
• Review the course book together and see what courses look interesting to take.
• Talk about how studying in high school is different from studying in college.  Parents or adults can discuss their own experiences or ask questions about how it might be different and what resources are available to get help, e.g. Teaching Assistants, Professor Office Hours, Tutoring, etc.
• Discuss expectations about grades, studying, socializing, dating and campus life.

If a starting point is needed for discussion, download my ebook A Cornell Carol available for purchase on smashwords.com, (there is now Kindle edition available on Amazon.com too).  This fictional story discusses one student's approach to studying and picking a career, and hopefully is an entertaining read.  Parents and students can debate the merits of this approach or what they would do differently.

Of course, once a student attends college and gains experience, he or she will grow and adapt from what was originally discussed.  The important thing is to have the discussion to be aware of the issues.  Having a discussion about academic and college life can help students become independent and make their own decisions.  It is never too late to have this discussion, and consider making it an ongoing conversation over the next four years of college.

Congratulations to the College-Bound and their parents on the start of an exciting journey!  What other topics do you think would be helpful?