Here’s some advice from Ellie Kay, America’s family financial expert, geared specifically toward parents about how to help their students graduate from college debt-free. As we all know, student debt is a major problem for recent graduates across the country. Currently the total student loan debt in America exceeds 1 trillion dollars! It can be difficult to graduate debt free, but if you have the right advice and common sense it can be done!
Hearing from a financial expert is great, but hearing from a parent who has been able to apply wise financial advice and help her kids graduate debt-free is even better!
“Don’t you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address.”
Newly sharpened pencils always remind me of back to school days. And when fall comes around, I think about that movie (mostly wishing I were in New York in the fall!); but it also reminds of the promise and expectation of a new school year.
Armed with the right online tools, parents and students can face the new year with anticipation and promise. Having the right tools can mean the difference between organization and frustration. These tools would help students succeed as they enter college. Here are some excellent links that I shared with my newsletter subscribers today that I thought you might find helpful:
42 digital resources for students and parents
http://mashable.com/2011/08/16/back-to-school-student-tech/
7 Great online resources for students
http://www.jobacle.com/blog/7-great-online-resources-for-students.html
Coolest Free Online Resources for Students
http://www.radicalparenting.com/2008/04/17/coolest-free-online-resources-for-students/
9 Hot Web Tools for Students
http://www.hepg.org/hel/article/497
Educational Quiz Games, Homework Help
http://quizhub.com/quiz/quizhub.cfm
How to find great apps
http://theonlinemom.com/secondary.asp?id=1952&t=how-to-find-great-apps
How to get free books online
http://theonlinemom.com/secondary.asp?id=1949&t=how-to-get-free-books-online
25 Amazing web tools students can’t live without
http://listofonlinecolleges.org/2011/25-amazing-web-tools-online-college-students-cant-live-without/
Here’s hoping you and your student have a fabulous school year as you look toward college preparation and the future.
Encourage responsibility –While you are still the parent and have an important role in your future college student’s life, promote independence. For example, set boundaries with your child if you will be sending money regularly. Also, determine consequences if your child abuses money that you send such as by not sending additional funds until the next semester. Let your child know that you will be available to listen and offer suggestions, but the ultimate responsibility lies with them. There has to be a balance between being a parent and treating your child as an adult.Encourage your child to avoid getting into debt, when possible –Many students and their families receive financial aid packages that include grants and loans. With this in mind, encourage your child not to incur further debt such as credit card charges or overdraft bank fees. Offer suggestions for your child to save money and establish a budget to cover the expenses that come with the college life. Examples of suggestions would be to work part-time on campus, purchase food at the grocery store, and limiting entertainment expenses.Encourage your child to use the resources available on campus –The college experience is more than attending classes, but will hopefully allow your child to learn new things and meet new people. So, when your child needs help with talking to a professor, dealing with a rude roommate, or finding an internship, advise him or her to seek out the appropriate organizations and individuals for assistance. While you maybe tempted to speak to someone to help your child, keep in mind that ultimate responsibility remains with your child.Encourage your child to maintain balance –Don’t be surprised if your child calls you from college and mentions his or her increased stress levels from classes. Remind your child to seek out attending counseling, participating in fitness courses, eating properly, or taking a brisk walk around campus with friends. Certainly, preparing your child for college will be a time of anxiety for you because you ponder over whether you taught your child and equipped them with the tools necessary for survival in the world. Now is the time to trust yourself that your child is ready to attend college and be available to encourage him or her along the way!
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Today’s guest post is from Ashley Hill, founder of CollegePrep Ready . Ashley brings her knowledge, expertise, and compassion to helping junior and high school students and their families to successfully prepare for college. She founded CollegePrep Ready in July 2010 in response to her personal journey to achieving success in her undergraduate program. She is dedicated to developing an individualized plan of action for every student and family because no two students are alike.
Today’s guest post is written by Lori Domingo, whose son in scheduled to start college in the fall. I’m glad to provide you with her “birdseye view” of college orientation in the hopes it will help other parents know what to expect and gain some insight into this part of the college admissions process.
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North Georgia College is one of 6 senior military colleges, not to be confused with the academies such as West Point, in the US and to quote the commandant, Col (RET) Palmer: “We don’t want to be the largest senior military program in the United States, just the best.” The college is open to civilian students as well as those who come up to be cadets in the Corp. They offer a wide variety of majors to cover any incoming freshman’s career goals but they are known for commissioning officers into the US Army upon their graduation.
While my son was attending his three day intro program, I attended a parent intro session as well. Ours was only half a day and was run in a military fashion, where each speaker was given an allotted amount of time and was expected to adhere to it. First up was the financial aid director, someone most of us really wanted to hear from. As a parent of an incoming cadet from out of state, much of what she covered did not apply to me but I listened intently as she went over her presentation to make certain I didn’t miss anything that might be pertinent to my son. Very few questions were asked at this session.
Following the introductory/financial aid presentation, we were offered several “breakout” sessions from which we were allowed to choose what we felt we needed to learn about the most. I, of course, opted for the session pertaining to military students and was treated to a very professional, yet animated, 30 minute presentation from the Commandant of the program, Col. Palmer. He got right down to business and gave us a complete list of do’s and don’t as well as an overview of what our sons and daughters could expect from their lives as a cadet. The session moved right along and then we were rushed off to another session presented by one of the professors who explained to us the methods used in the classrooms here. She was entertaining and likable and I left hoping all of my son’s instructors would be just like her. Another breakout session followed, this time covering student services. This was followed by a question/answer segment with some actual students. Out of all the sessions of the day, this seemed to be where most of the parent questions were asked. If I had to sum most of the questions up, I’d say they were all concerned about what each student on stage found to be the hardest part of adjusting to college life. Answers ranged from eating too much to lack of time management skills to arriving thinking that academics was the only reason the student was here. Every student sang their praises for the professors and others who helped them adjust to living on their own. There were also several cadets there to answer any questions that were unique to the military students.
Dinner was a quick 45 minutes where we had the chance to see our kids for a few minutes and then we went our separate ways. Our last parent session was a talk given by the school’s new president. Her speech was uplifting and moving as she assured us that we were not letting go of our children but only leading them into a new chapter and that they would be taken very good care of…something that has been reiterated to me numerous times in all the various offices I’ve been to these last few days.
Do I think that this parent orientation was helpful? Most definitely. I have 2 other children in college but have never been faced with all that preparing my son for NGCSU has entailed so I am very glad I took the time to attend the parent intro. I will leave Saturday feeling more informed and much better about leaving my “baby” here on August 9th. I can’t say enough about the school itself or any of the staff I’ve dealt with. Everyone here has been more than helpful and very understanding about the fact that this is all new for me…and for my son. If you have the chance to attend such an orientation, I would highly recommend doing so. Now…here’s to a wonderful 4 years (and lots of hiking visits for mom) for my son at North Georgia College and State University!
…without them tuning you out!
It’s a proud feeling to have your son or daughter go off to college, but it’s a little scary for us parents at the same time, isn’t it? We go from making the rules and having them live under our roof to our kids being out on their own and making their own decisions, in the blink of an eye. Sure, we trust them and know they’ll do the right thing, but what happens if they find themselves in an unsafe situation, or with a person who doesn’t have their best interests in mind? It’s tempting to let our fear manifest itself into a lecture on college safety, but that’s probably going to fall on deaf ears – we don’t even like being lectured! Read up on prepping your college-bound kids on personal safety in college, without them saying “Ugh, Mom!”
Want to “Sit Them Down”? Resist!
How many times did your parents “sit you down” as a kid to discuss a weighty topic? More often than not, you tuned them out or felt they were making a bigger deal out of a situation. Prevent this from happening by mentioning personal safety casually in the months leading up to college – if you’re doing the dishes, mention to your daughter that you know after a long night class, it might be tempting to take the unlit shortcut path, but rapists really do exist on college campuses. While you’re grilling dinner, talk about how pepper spray is the perfect size for your pocket and purse, so it never hurts to have it on hand. Casually adding safety tips and advice into your normal conversation presents them in a non-threatening manner, helping your soon-to-be college freshman absorb these tips and heed them.
Provide The Information, and Let Them Lead
Your future college student is a young adult, and although they will always be your child, it’s time to let them take the lead. Email your son or daughter a few links once a month or so to college safety blogs and personal safety tips. Keep it minimal – just three or so links here and there. If email isn’t your thing, simply print out the articles and leave them on your son or daughter’s bed. Then, leave it up to your son or daughter to read the information. You won’t be prodding, so they are much more likely to actually read the articles.
Give Them The Essentials
Your son or daughter may want to buy pepper spray and personal safety alarms, but the summer is going to go by fast. Instead, consider personal safety items just another college essential. If pepper spray is legal in your state, pick it up for your son and daughter. Same with a small flashlight and a keychain personal safety alarm so they can quickly sound a piercing alarm if they’re in a threatening situation.
By casually talking about personal safety to your college-bound student, providing them with the info and tips they need, and giving them the safety essentials for college effectively arms your son or daughter with the safety tips to ensure their college experience is filled with only happy memories! Share your own college safety tips and advice by leaving a comment below.
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Today’s guest post was provided by SpyTown.com. We have kids of our own here at SpyTown.com, and we know a thing or two about sending our kids off to college and helping them stay safe and secure. From Pen Cameras to help them record info in class to Home Security Cameras for their apartment to deter theft, we’re your experts for security equipment and college safety advice!
Parents usually have a few simple questions about this type of purchase:
Is it affordable?
Is it durable and dependable?
Will the laptop last throughout their high school and/or college careers?
Students on the other hand want to know the following:
Does it have enough memory?
Is it wireless and does it have a built in camera?
Can I use it for watching movies, streaming videos, and gaming?
Are there enough usb ports to plug in all my devices?
How long will the battery last?
How much does it weigh since I’ll be carting it back and forth to class?
Since my knowledgeable geek colleagues (and I say this with all due respect) have done an amazing job of reviewing the Sony S Series laptop to answer both parent and student questions, I’m going to defer to their expertise and post links to all of their informed posts.
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DON’T FORGET TO ENTER MICROSOFT’S CONTEST to win a FREE SONY S SERIES LAPTOP WITH SHEET BATTERY! Deadline for entering is July 17, 2011 7PM PST.
Entering is easy. Just answer the question: What would you do if you had up to 15 hours of battery life?
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This post is part of program called “Charged and Ready” by Sony Electronics and Microsoft, where a group of college bloggers have been given a Sony VAIO-S series laptop to test and review.
TestSoup
But perhaps the most significant change in my life recently (within the past year and a half) is that now I am a parent, and am viewing the world through a very different set of eyes. It affects everything, but mainly it forces you to look at everything in the long term. When you go through something, you wonder how it will be for your child when he or she goes through it.
This is exactly what happened at the end of last month, when TestSoup attended its first conference: ISTE 2011
As I wandered around the conference, gawking at the amazing educational technology (EdTech) tools available these days, I couldn’t help but imagine what it will be like when my child goes through school. What will schools be doing five or ten years in the future? What are they doing now?
As it turned out, there was an entire section of the conference devoted to answering that question, and it was in that section that I spent most of my time. I wanted to learn all I could about what these schools were doing. Of course, I wanted to tell them how TestSoup could help them by offering their schools free access to our online test prep materials. But in talking to people about what I could offer them, I ended up learning boatloads about what they were already doing for their students.
Some of these projects sounded absolutely out of this world. Building a 3D replica of a botanical garden that you navigate on a computer? Awesome. Constructing and programming robots over the internet with students from Korea? Amazing. Helping Elementary School students run their own online newspaper? Incredible.
These were the types of assignments that I hope my child will complete when he is in college. Heck, these are the types of projects I would be happy to do now. The face of education is changing, and we owe it almost entirely to technological advancement; to EdTech.
If you are a parent of a college-boud teen or current college student, I strongly encourage you to get involved and see what kind of EdTech can be adopted by their school. There’s some very, very exciting stuff happening.
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This guest post was contributed by John J. Walters, Director of Marketing for TestSoup , the premier provider of online and mobile test prep solutions.
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Helping parents navigate the college maze
It’s not often that parents can find information about how to deal with the stress that surrounds the college admissions process, let alone find it for FREE. Kay Kimball Gruder, a Certified Parent Coach by the Parent Coaching Institute, and Wendy David-Gaines, author of “Parents of College Students-Survival Stories” are joining together to provide parents with some tips on how to de-stress during the college process, especially during your college-bound teen’s senior year of high school.
