If you are the parent of a high school student headed to college next fall, this post is for you.  There are so many things you can do this spring to help your student get off to a great start wherever they are attending.  The tips I am sharing in this post are a result of over a decade supporting first-year students and conducting student success research.

Seniors experience so many things the spring that they are graduating.  This time flies by quickly so it’s important to identify the things your student needs to do or needs help with before you find yourself in the midst of the spring chaos.  Things are particularly challenging this year since Federal Financial Aid reports have not been delivered to colleges.  This means that schools cannot process financial aid to share accurate cost breakdowns with families.  If you are waiting to make a decision until you know how much aid your student will receive, there are still things you can do to begin supporting your student through the transition from high school to college.

• Confirm your student’s college of choice and register for spring orientation.  While it’s important to take your time to thoroughly investigate schools in order to make an informed decision, it’s also important to get to spring orientation as early as possible.  Why does this matter?  It matters for many reasons, but the one that came up most frequently was class options.  Students who attend orientation early in the spring have a much wider variety of course times and delivery types to choose from for fall.  Another reason to attend orientation early is to connect with the school’s administrators who can answer questions that you might have about things like housing, meal plans, having a car on campus, course choices, financial aid plans and more.  Since I supported a large population of first-generation students, spending time with families to thoroughly discuss all of these different aspects of attending was important.  Since the parents of these students have not attended college, they often don’t understand many of the nuances that college officials assume they do.  Before attending orientation (which may be online these days), make a list of all your questions and concerns to make sure they get answered during orientation.
• Find out how your student can begin to connect with other incoming students over the summer.  Many schools now have campus apps that your student will have access to as soon as they register for classes.  Encourage your student to download the app and spend some time learning about the school and meeting students who are also enrolled for the fall term.  During my tenure in higher ed I began to notice the difference in outcomes between students who were active in the app over the summer before classes began and those who weren’t active.  Data analysis and student interviews helped my team to understand that incoming students who are active in a campus app over the summer begin to build the network of support we know is so critical to their overall success.  In other words, they begin the semester with friends and already know alot about the campus.  I was able to quantify summer app activity and correlate it with student outcomes.  I found that students who were more active in the app over the summer persisted through their first year at a significantly higher rate than those that didn’t.  Additionally, students who were active in the app over the summer were more likely to actually show up for classes in the fall than those who weren’t.
• Majors, minors, and course selection. Administrators frequently push students to declare a major and minor at the time of registration.  They do this because there is research suggesting that students who declare their major early in their college career are more likely to graduate.  However, there is a considerable amount of data that shows us that students are likely to change their major at least once during their studies.  I changed my major twice!  Changing majors is pretty normal which means that choosing the right courses during the first few college semesters is really important.  I encouraged students who were “undeclared” to take basic courses that would count towards any major at the institution.
• Financial Aid and cost to attend.  Make sure that you receive a complete breakdown of your student’s costs to attend.  The financial aid office at whatever institution your student hopes to attend should provide a complete breakdown for you that includes housing and meal plan expense (if these apply to your student), as well as tuition and fees based on the number of credits your student plans to take in the fall.  If credit count is unknown at this time, ask for estimates based on both 12 and 15 credits.  Additionally, this breakdown should include scholarships, grants, and any student loans your student intends to accept.  This should give you a good idea about any outstanding balance your student will be responsible for after all of his or her aid has been applied to his or her student account.  Review this thoroughly.  Many families mistakenly believe that financial aid packages will cover all of the costs to attend.  However, this is true only for a very small percentage of students.  If your student is planning to take out student loans to help pay for school, ask for an estimate of the total monthly student loan debt payment he or she will have upon graduation if full aid is accepted every year of their attendance.
• Fall orientation.  Many students skip fall orientation.  DON’T DO THIS.  Fall orientation (sometimes called “Welcome Week”) is full of activities designed to get students familiar with the campus, campus services, student organizations and more.  It’s an opportunity to meet new people and learn about things that may be critical to your student’s success in school.  In fact, fall orientation is so important in starting students off on the right foot that most schools make it a mandatory requirement for first year students.

Sending a child to college is an exciting and dramatic event.  After dropping my son off at school (my first to go away to school), I was very weepy the entire way home.  However, I soon got over my sadness as he made friends and took advantage of opportunities on his campus.  We’re very lucky to be living in an age where our children are only a phone call away (and that call doesn’t require a payphone or long distance fees!).  Treasure this time as your student evolves into an adult.