Advice to Help Parents Help their College Freshmen

Labor Day - the day when summer vacation officially ends and the school year begins. No matter if school started 3 weeks ago, or two weeks from now, transitions surround Labor Day.

Seniors are making final decisions about where to apply to college and maybe working on essays.
Juniors are starting what some describe as 'the hardest year in high school' and maybe preparing for their upcoming PSAT test.
Sophomores are starting the year as an experienced high school student and maybe taking their first AP class.
Freshman might be described as resembling 'deer in the headlights' as they navigate a new school and maybe develop confidence as they survive.

What about those kids who excitedly walked across the stage last June tossing their mortar boards in the air, proud that they accomplished their high school requirements? Transitions abound for them too. Some are heading for work, some are taking a year off as a 'gap year' traveling or studying, and most are likely heading for a new educational experience - COLLEGE.

I was motivated to post this blog because of an interesting week we had. We help high school students and their families through the college search and application process, looking for the right match college for each student. Last week, we heard from lots of parents who had just dropped off their new college freshman child. Some parents were sad, some were happy, most were relieved, one or two were hysterical. Letting go brings on a variety of reactions. Some parental reactions are related to the child's needs, some to college life in general, and some to a specific characteristic of the college. Lots of reactions can be directly traced to parent concerns or insecurities.

Those new college freshman have lots of challenges, and maybe, some fun facing them. I was impressed by some advice for parents I read recently, advice about how to help kids make the switch from high school student to college freshman and how to make the change from living at home to living away. The advice is for how to help students, but I like the message it sends to parents. I consider this a great article that Helps Parents Help their College Freshman. That's the title I would have given it. The Washington Post newspaper gave it a different title. If you have a college freshman or know someone who does - this one's for you.

College Visit - University of Montana

1^st stop on the Montana College Tour itinerary: University of Montana in Missoula, Montana. Patrick Grueller is the admissions representative for the state of Minnesota.

The campus is within easy walking and easier biking distance to the downtown. We watched folks enjoying the sunshine and Big Sky as they tubed down the River. The mascot is the mighty Grizzly Bear.

I was most impressed with the campus attention to student success. Academic Deans presented highlights of their programs to us. Unprompted, they acknowledged low retention and graduation rates and presented not only programs they’ve established to improve student success, but also set and published an easily measurable quantitative goal. This brave action, rare on the part of academic administrators, implies that they’re serious about improving and willing to let the public, parents, and students hold them accountable for achieving this goal. The Early Alert system will identify, within the first few weeks of each semester, which students are having academic difficulties. Those students will be contacted by an adviser and offered the assistance they’ll need to turn around their low grades. I know that other schools try to do this. The difficulty in accomplishing a successful Early Alert system is that many faculty don’t provide feedback to students until mid-semester when it’s very difficult to successfully intervene. The University of Montana officials assured us that the faculty will provide feedback after the first few weeks of the semester, in plenty of time to be helpful.

Most surprising to me was the high quality of the Journalism program as measured by student achievement. Montana offers wonderful educational and internship opportunities to journalism majors and those well prepared students have won numerous awards for their proficiency and professionalism. I consider this program a hidden gem.

At the PEAS farm (Program in Ecological Agriculture and Society) we learned about sustainability programs the Education program at the University, the City of Missoula, and the local Food Bank, jointly sponsor. The definition of sustainability they use is simple to understand and remember and powerful when implemented. Of course, it includes recycling and careful attention to energy use, but in it’s broadest sense, they believe we’ll sustain our world when all of our decisions take into account that: We’re bonded to each other and we’re bonded to the earth.

We met with a panel of students who offered this advice to all incoming freshmen:

Believe it when they tell you that in college you have to study!

The campus has a strong commitment to providing opportunities to Native American students, probably the strongest program I’ve seen on any campus. The level of understanding of the needs of Native students and the respect for the many local tribes provides for a high quality program.

Next Stop - Carroll College.