College life is a major transition for parents, as well as new freshmen. Here's a guide to every aspect, from extra-long sheets to majors, transfers, roommates and new adulthood.
Readers share their favorite college traditions.
Sure, going to class is important, but here are 101 other things to do in college: college traditions that include hugging the mascot, playing inner-tube water polo and more.
College parents spend 18 years nurturing their children, bandaging boo-boos and helping, helping, helping. Now the kids are off to college and the first time something goes wrong, who do they call? Mom and Dad, of course.
You've dropped off the kids. Now what? Here are 3 things to avoid after you drop the kids off at college.
You've dropped the kids off at college. Now what? Here are 5 things to do after you drop the kids off at college.
Your child is off to college and now you're reading over the orientation packet and wondering, what's Parents Weekend?
Colleges That Change Lives: Fancy college rankings don't guarantee a great college experience, so Loren Pope set out to find 40 colleges that change lives.
Last minute advice for college kids: The eleventh hour is quickly approaching and parents everywhere are loading their cars with dorm gear. Now's the time for some last minute advice for college freshmen.
Study abroad programs have become a very popular option for U.S. college students. But studying abroad is a major undertaking. Here's a quick rundown on issues parents may want to discuss with their kids beforehand.
Study abroad costs can vary dramatically between institutions. How much can your family expect to pay in study abroad costs?
Whether your child travels via his university’s study abroad program or an education travel company, he'll need to plan his itinerary, choose housing and handle considerable study abroad-related paperwork, including insurance, visa and passport.
Where do students go when they study abroad? Nearly a quarter of U.S. kids who do study abroad programs head for English-speaking countries.
Many pre-med and music majors think they can't swing a study abroad program because they have too many requirements. Fortunately, there are several study abroad options tailor made for them, including a Redlands semester in Salzburg.
The new Post-9/11 GI Bill goes into effect in August 2009. How will the Post-9/11 GI Bill affect your family?
Beloit College: The Basics on Beloit
Redlands: The Lowdown on the University of Redlands
FERPA - What are these federal privacy or FERPA laws that govern my kid's records?
College orientation offers more than campus tours. It also gives parents a chance to get the lay of the collegiate land and figure out how to pre-pay textbooks, get birthday cakes delivered and other little niceties. Escape the college orientation tour and do a little exploring.
The applications are done, the fat envelopes have arrived and the big decision has been made. Now all that’s left are the piles of paperwork, frantic dorm shopping and plenty of anxious excitement – in short, four months worth of prep work, from doctor's appointments to roommate questionnaires, promissory notes, and orientation. Here’s a countdown to get you through the process.
These days, students aren't the only ones to go to college orientation. Parents and younger sibs do too. Here's what to expect during college orientation, including pros and cons on the timing.
College may be a whole new start, but some basic high school paperwork - transcripts, AP results and test scores - needs to come along when you're headed for college.
Going to college while living at home? If your child is headed for a junior college or commuter school, chances are he'll be living at home during at least the first two years of his college career. Here are tips on making this dorm alternative work for your family.
Campus Bookstore: College textbooks can drain a student checking account painfully quickly. Here's how to pre-pay your child's tab at the campus bookstore.
Most colleges run on quarter or semester systems, but some universities off a Jan Term or January Term, and others have something called May Term. What exactly is a Jan Term?
Countdown to College: From campus health forms to dorm shopping lists, here's a series of handy checklists for the college countdown.
Wondering what the differences are between a college semester and quarter system? Here's how the quarter system works.
Wondering what the differences are between a college semester and quarter system? Here's how the semester system works.
Wondering if your child should bring a car to college? Here are five issues to consider when mulling the wisdom of a car at college.
Selling Used Textbooks - College textbooks cost a fortune, but you can recoup at least a few dollars by selling used textbooks to other students. The only question is, what to keep and what to sell?
One of the biggest consolations for students rejected from the college of their dreams is that they can always do a college transfer later. But that's not always the case. If your child is interested in a college transfer, read these caveats first.
Packing up your kid for the big move to college? Send her off in style with this DIY Dorm Laundry Bag - or at least ready to hit the dorm laundromat without leaving a trail of dirty laundry.
Spring break can be a time to unwind, to forget about midterms and essays, and just have fun in the sun. But that glorious week can also pose significant dangers for the unwary, for college kids too naive to realize that there are dangers, that alcohol clouds good judgment or that there certainly can be too much of a good thing. Here's a guide to help parents discuss spring break safety with thei…
Got a college kid going on spring break? Here are five tips on spring break safety to share with your child.
Somehow a college kid's possessions always seem to double over the course of the year. Here's how to find summer storage near campus for all that extra dorm stuff.
Tens of thousands of college students each year opt for alternative spring breaks. They volunteer their time in farflung locales or further their education with field work, instead of partying on some beach.
Tips parents can use to protect their teens from hazing rituals on college campuses.
Getting ready to mail a care package to your favorite college student or loved one far from home? Here's everything you need to know about baking, packing or mailing the perfect care package.
A Q&A with Campus Calm founder Maria Pascucci, who talks about teens, college kids and stress.
Exam week stress calls for a different sort of care package for your stressed out college students - something heavier on the protein and health quotient, and lighter on the sugar factor.
There's only so much ramen a human can eat. At some point, even a college kid or 20something has to learn to cook something. Here's a round-up of cookbooks to help.
How do you celebrate someone's birthday when you're not there? These chocolate sugar cookies, shaped and decorated like 2-dimensional cupcakes, make perfect little birthday greetings when they're tucked into a college care package.
Host a care package cookie exchange and you're not just getting pretty treats, you're socializing with friends going through the same emotional, empty nest leave taking. And the box that eventually arrives on campus tells your college kid that it's not just you who misses him, it's the whole neighborhood.
Looking for good care package fare? Cookies that are moist enough to delight but sturdy enough to withstand the three or four day trek from your loving hands to college mail room and dorm? These berry-filled, chocolate-kissed blondies are just the ticket for college care packages.
It's difficult enough to tell when your child is being hazed in high school, let alone off at college. But here are the five warning signs of hazing.
Even grown-up kids get the homesick blues. Here's how to pack the perfect care package, one laden with cookies, whimsy and plenty of love.
The best care packages include baked goods, but finding recipes that are sturdy enough to travel - and survive the lag time in a college mail room - can be a challenge. Here are tips on packing and mailing college care packages.
When it comes to college drinking, it's not just your college kid's actions that will affect her. Her friends' drinking impacts her too.
Pumpkin bread is already pretty fabulous, but take down the sugar and add some chocolate chips and it reaches new teen-pleasing heights. And its moistness makes it a natural for college care packages.
This sturdy, care package-perfect cookie packs plenty of chocolate punch, but it's also easily adapted for different holidays. Use white chocolate chips and candy corn for Halloween, mint chips for St. Patrick's Day, or dried cranberries for Christmas or Valentine treats.
Everything you need to know to help your new high school graduate become a happily settled college freshman, from AP scores to extra-long sheets.
Psychology studies say college kids who get enough sleep have higher GPAs than those who pull all-nighters. Got a night owl? Here are tips on turning college kids into healthier morning people... who get better grades.
Parenting young adults - 5 great books for families with college-bound kids and young adults.
Got an anxious new college freshman? Here's a list of the top 15 freshman fears and what to tell your new college kid to help soothe his anxieties.
For some college kids, a transfer makes a lot of sense. But it all depends on why they want to change universities in the first place. Here's a quintet of good reasons to transfer.
And sometimes college transfers are a really bad idea.
If your child is planning to transfer from a community college to a 4-year university, the end of his second year is not the time to start planning. Here's a guide to what he needs to think about from the start.
