Category: New Students

The Transfer Window: Living in Interesting Times

You know the oft-repeated Chinese curse that goes, “May you live in interesting times?” Well, the first year of college is interesting times for just about every student – and their families.

Many, if not most, new students and their families reasonably assume that the hardest part – the most interesting of times – is going to hit sometime in September or October. Or maybe during the fall exam period when students get their first real taste of academic stress on a large scale. It stands to reason that new students would struggle most at the moment the big changes are hitting for the first time, right? Continue reading “The Transfer Window: Living in Interesting Times”

Home for the Holidays

In our house the countdown starts on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. The day our kids go back to college/school after Turkey Day is when we start thinking about having them home for the extended holiday break. We circle their respective dates of return on the calendar and allow our spirits to be lifted by the promise of three weeks of family dinners, game nights by the fire, trips to the movies, and when the weather cooperates maybe even a day or two on the ski slopes at nearby Sugarloaf. Continue reading “Home for the Holidays”

Phoning Home: Reflections on Sunday Night Calls from College

When our boys are away at school we are practitioners of the Sunday night phone call ritual. In the age of cell phones, I’m not entirely sure how or why this age-old tradition has taken hold for us, but it has.

Most weeks John, our college senior, calls somewhere between 7 and 9 p.m. He updates us on the week that was. His mother passes along the news from extended family, fishes for random bits of information about his social life, and covers the transactional business (e.g. banking, online shopping, doctors’ appointments that need scheduling, etc.). I ask about the weekend, we talk sports (usually the Red Sox as well as some other seasonal happening – how his fantasy football team fared, March Madness, etc.), and make travel arrangements for when he comes home on breaks. Continue reading “Phoning Home: Reflections on Sunday Night Calls from College”

Survive and Thrive: Navigating the End-of-Semester Crunch

December is officially here. Snow is falling in central Maine. It will be dark by 4:15 – just one of the many benefits of living within spitting distance of the arctic circle. The last of the Thanksgiving leftovers are either gone or inedible. And the fall academic term is drawing to a close at colleges across the United States.

With end-of-term assignments coming due and exams fast approaching, campus coffee consumption and late night pizza sales are on the rise, sleep and laser printer cartridges are in short supply, and literally millions of students are taking part in the centuries old tradition of putting off their school work by cleaning their dorm rooms for the first time since parents’ weekend. Continue reading “Survive and Thrive: Navigating the End-of-Semester Crunch”

Something for Everyone: Sophomore Slump, Care Packages, and Adolescent Brain Development

Here are a few crumbs of college knowledge for the first weekend in October.

  • As the leaves begin to turn and the nights get decidedly cooler, we are moving into the height of parent/family weekend season at colleges across the US. If you’re visiting your first-year student on campus for the first time since the start of the year, my advice is to be cautious not to over-plan or be too rigid in your approach to the weekend’s activities. For sure, you should go ahead and make a dinner reservation if you are set on going to a particular restaurant or worried about the crowds on a busy weekend. But be prepared to take your cues from your student on how to spend most of your time with them. He may want you to join up with a number of his friends (and their families) for meals, the soccer game, or an a cappella concert. None of those things may be what you had in mind. But even if it’s not your thing, try to go along. Your student is trying to invite you into her life at college so you should suck it up and do what she wants. Conversely, you may want to bust out your new “College” hoodie and head to the football game, but your student suggests a walk in the campus arboretum or getting lunch off campus. There will be plenty of football games. If your student wants to spend alone time with you, make sure you pay attention and make it happen. You’ll find that there are lots of ways to enjoy parent/family weekend and what really matters is the time with your student.

Continue reading “Something for Everyone: Sophomore Slump, Care Packages, and Adolescent Brain Development”

More of This and That: A Few Tips for First Year of College Success

We are right smack in the middle of college opening season and I know that most of you are incredibly busy with all that entails so I’ll be brief. Here are a few thoughts to consider as you (or your child) starts college.

  • There was an interesting piece by Lisa Heffernan and Jennifer Breheney Wallace in the New York Times last week about risks that new college students face. No doubt, personal health and safety is a fertile topic for discussion. While the tone of the piece is a bit foreboding and heavy-handed for my taste, every one of the subjects highlighted in the article is important. And, I enthusiastically second Heffernan and Wallace’s recommendation that students and families discuss these issues both now and throughout their college experience.

Continue reading “More of This and That: A Few Tips for First Year of College Success”

On Starting College: The First Day Parts I & II

Prologue

With the first day of college fast approaching for members of the Class of 2020 I wanted to share a few thoughts that I hope will prove helpful to both students and parents.

To begin, I would encourage you to go into that day understanding that it is going to be hectic and emotionally charged. Students are excited and nervous. Parents and families are excited and nervous. You’re navigating a new place in an overcrowded car that you’ve been wedged into for too long. Someone is yelling that you missed the entrance to the parking lot. Someone else is looking at his watch and sighing audibly because he knew you should have left a half hour earlier. Another someone almost certainly has to go to the bathroom – again. And the guest of honor is rolling his/her eyes because you people are SO embarrassing. Continue reading “On Starting College: The First Day Parts I & II”

On Starting College: You’re Supposed to Make Mistakes

You’re about to start college and you’re excited.

There is a whole new and exciting world that is about to open up for you. You’ll be living in a new place and taking fascinating classes and making new friends. It’s going to be awesome and you’re going crush it.

Really.

But here’s the thing…

You’re also going to make mistakes.

You’re going to do stupid things.

You’re going to do poorly on a homework assignment or a paper or an exam. Continue reading “On Starting College: You’re Supposed to Make Mistakes”

On College Drinking: Be Smart. Be Safe. Be Respectful.

Let’s talk about alcohol.

Benjamin Franklin said, “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” He might have been right. Or he might have been full of… well, let’s just say it.

You will hear a lot about alcohol and alcohol policy at your college and some of it will be true and some of it will be full of it. As with most things, more often than not important points get lost in the translation when things get paraphrased and repeated casually. Continue reading “On College Drinking: Be Smart. Be Safe. Be Respectful.”

August “To Do” List: 5 Steps to a Successful College Transition

Okay it’s August and it’s getting real for all you students about to start college. The post-graduation buzz has subsided. Your summer job has moved past “so-so” and is rapidly closing in on “please-make-it-be-over.” You’re done filling out housing forms and medical history forms and course registration forms and every other freaking form they sent you during June and July. And while you are definitely getting excited and anxious for college to please just start already, it’s still too early to begin packing. So at this point all that’s left is to hang out with your friends and wait, right?

Well, sure, you could do that. Or not. Continue reading “August “To Do” List: 5 Steps to a Successful College Transition”