Sending your child off to college is a milestone filled with pride and excitement, but it can also be a time of significant emotional upheaval for parents. The transition from having your child at home to seeing them move away to pursue higher education can be challenging.
Here are some common struggles parents face during this period and tips on how to navigate them.
Continue reading When Your Child Heads to College
My goal here is to help parents navigate the college maze. Part of that process is to find and recommend products and/or services that will help parents as they navigate the process.
With college move-in day approaching in the fall and parents using the summer to shop and gather items to send with their college students, I’ve found a FREE service that can help: Campus Arrival. This service makes it easy for parents and students to view and check off all the items the college either requires or recommends for students to move on to campus.
All you need to do is sign up for an account which lets you save your supply checklist. By doing this, you can mark items as done. You’ll also be able to set your school as a favorite so you can link to it quicker. Also, if any other family members want to help and buy you something for college, they can see what you need and what you already have.
Once registered, type in the name of your school (or search on the list by state), and you will see a curated list of college-ready items to pack based on the college’s official recommendations. They have also included items from other schools’ suggestions and expert advice compiled from around the internet. All their recommendations are based on a balance between quality and value.
You will also notice a checkmark next to an item that indicates it is included as an official recommendation from the college. According to their FAQ section:
Our recommendations come in three flavors.
For example, here is a screenshot from a college in Texas: Texas A&M University.
For those parents who are concerned about the coronavirus, Campus Arrival has also included recommendations for Covid-19 prep:
Sincelaptops are a major asset while you’re at college, their recommendations help you with the specific hardware requirements for your school and major. They search the school’s official site. Each school is different in terms of the info they provide. Some schools provide general specifications. Some give major’s specific needs. And some schools don’t provide any recommendations.
Campus Arrival includes the links to the official school recommendations so you can reference them (in the Sources section of the school page). With the hardware specifications, they use CNET extensively to make product recommendations. They also consider Amazon reviews and will search other technology sites to make sure the products are high quality.
Campus Arrival also provides a list of prohibited items and posts the links to the sources they used to compile their lists. This takes the guesswork out of trying to prepare for move-in day and helps parents shop confidently and easily for their student.
If you don’t see you your college on their sight, you can make a recommendation for them to add it their list. While you wait for your specific school to be added, you can check out their General Recommendations list. This list is a combination of all the items they have collected from all the schools completed. It’s a good start and provides everything you’ll need.
If you have a college-bound student, take advantage of Campus Arrival’s convenient service to help you and your student prepare for move-in day.
This is a sponsored post
These have certainly been times of upheaval. Students were told to finish the year at home. Parents scrambled to help their teens adjust. Graduations were cancelled and even college plans are uncertain. But that doesn’t mean you can’t prepare for the day when they will leave for college.
It seems like only yesterday you are dropping your child off at their first class, and they are upset about leaving you. But now your child has decided to go off to college and will be leaving you without so much as a wave before long. But this is a wonderful testament to the job you have done as a parent up to now, and it’s hard to forget just how much you have done for them, and How they are so successful already from your support and their hard work. There are a few things you can do to make sure that you have prepared yourself for the big day, and that you don’t end up too upset when it happens. Our children taking the plunge and becoming independent is something special, and something to be proud of. So what can you do to prepare yourself for this transition?
Be proud of your child’s achievements. Sharing this with the world and your family and friends is important, and showing your child that you are proud of them will do great things for their confidence. It isn’t always about academic achievements of course, but it does show a certain level of resilience and confidence, as well as a hard-working nature to gain a place in a college. Making sure that you don’t forget the role you have played in getting into this point, and congratulating yourself for the great support you have given your child along the way, is important. So never feel as though you are going too far by showing your pride in your children.
Making sure that all of the practicalities such as student accommodation and the small details are covered when it comes to preparing your child for college, will give you a sense of confidence that everything is taken care of. You can, of course, continue to support your child once they have left for college, and many people do send care packages on a regular basis. But making sure that your child knows where they are going, what they are doing, and they have the support there if they need it, will help you relax and feel much better about the whole situation.
Being there when your child needs you, or even when they don’t, is all we can do. Sometimes they will act as though they don’t need any support whatsoever, and this may be true for many grown-up children spreading their wings, and if we have done our jobs correctly then they really should be quite independent anyway, but just being ready to take a call, or be there when they need you, it’s going to be the most important job you can do when your child is going off to college. Being there is our number one role once all the basics of parenting are done, we teach them everything we can to a certain age, And then must take a step back to just support when needed. You will find that even the most independent college children will feel as though they have got everything under control, but we can always be there ready to catch them if they fall.
Move-in day is approaching and students are deciding which items to take to college and which should be left behind. Knowing the nature of a college dorm room, students are hesitant to take anything valuable with them to college. Even with supposed secure dorm entrances and locks on doors, most students do not take advantage of these safeguards.
Students allow other students to enter dorms without a key card and often leave their doors open or unlocked when going to class or other campus activities. No matter how conscientious your student is, they can’t count on a roommate to follow the same guidelines. Laptops, expensive textbooks, iPhones and other electronics are easily stolen in an instant if left unattended or secured.
This genius invention from a parent who met their student’s need is a must-have for any college student. It’s easily assembled by the student and it’s affordable–worth every penny you will spend. Watch the video below to see how it works and click the order button afterwards. Your student will love how easily it’s assembled and how it doubles as a computer stand, charging station and night stand while keeping valuables safe.
It’s already July and that means just a few short months left until college move-in day. Parents and students are crossing off tasks on their to-do lists as the summer progresses. At the top of the list is deciding what to take to college. My daughter, needless to say, overpacked. In her anticipation of moving so far away from home (over 2000 miles), she packed up her entire room to take with her. Once we arrived, we quickly discovered that her dorm was not equipped to house every pair of shoes, all her clothes, all her stuffed animals, every single picture frame and multiple snow globes.
It’s tempting to overpack for college. It’s also tempting to buy everything you see when shopping for dorm supplies. Check with your college for a list of dorm items you can and cannot bring. Most colleges (see Texas A&M) have this list posted on their website. But remember—just because you CAN bring something it doesn’t mean you will need it. College dorms are small and the philosophy of “less is more” will help you avoid overpacking.
One of the life lessons your new college student should learn is the difference between wants and needs. You can start by teaching them to narrow down their dorm essentials. It can easily become a massive list if you purchase every item on any dorm list. They may want everything on the list, but they don’t necessarily need everything.
Here’s a short list of items they will definitely need:
When my daughter attended college, we scrambled to find information regarding dorm essentials and packing tips. Today, there are so many options available: shipping directly to a dorm, packaged items in bulk to save, and much more. Parents can now easily prepare for move-in day by taking advantage of some of these options.
One such option is OCM’s Complete Campus Pack. By purchasing this all-in-one pack, you can save over $100 if you were to purchase these items separately. Here’s what you get:
Learn more about the OCM Complete Campus Pak
As you prepare for college move-in day and start checking off items on your college packing list, make sure to consider OCM. They offer families convenience, products that are university-approved and a great value. Also, a percentage of your purchase goes directly back to support your student’s school.
Want to win one of these Complete Campus Packs? Head over to my Facebook page and leave me a comment. At the end of the week (July 6) I will choose a winner! Good luck!
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For nearly 40 years, OCM has been the approved, official partner and endorsed sponsor for more than 900 college campuses and 1,500 campus organizations across the U.S. serving as a one-stop shop for affordable, college-approved dorm room supplies, care packages, and other college essentials. Students and parents can visit the new website at ocm.com to shop over 10,000 college-approved products, such as twin XL dorm bedding sets guaranteed to fit any dorm bed, dorm decor, bath sets, graduation frames, care packages, and more. Additionally, every OCM purchase sends dollars back to the student’s school for campus programming, and donations to more than a dozen local and non-profit organizations. To date, OCM has helped more than 6 million students and families and have sent $23M back to schools.
This is a sponsored post.
There will be tears. Oh yes, there will be tears. It doesn’t matter how many times it happens, when a child goes to college, you are witnessing the beginning of one of the most transformative periods in her life. You’re also saying goodbye to the nature of the relationship you once shared. But how do you say goodbye to them making sure they have the best start at their future they could have?
College life is different from living at home. For a lot of kids, it means taking on all kinds of responsibility they’ve never had to deal with before. It’s a good idea to prepare them on a few topics well in advance before they move. Financial advice such as dealing with credit, budgeting and the like. What they expect it to look like dealing with living essentials. Even safety. Make the scarier sides of college less scary for them.
You don’t want there to be problems as soon as you arrive on campus. For instance, know fully what items the College has banned students from bringing. Get an idea of campus events and talks on the first day so you can schedule to visit them in advance. There’s a lot of helpful information there. It might not all sink into your excited teenager’s head, but you can help them retain the important stuff.
Don’t forget that moving can be a rather big undertaking alone. Figure out in advance whether you can do it yourself or whether you might need the help of local moving services. Make sure you have a checklist of all their essentials, including any paperwork and documentation they’ll need to actually get their place in the dorms. You can save your child a lot of hassle and you can maybe distract yourself a little from your own apprehensions about saying goodbye.
This is a mistake so many people make. Dorm rooms are not very big. If they’re moving into a student apartment, they’re normally not very big either. There will be a lot of families in attendance, so bringing the whole gang along can make things crowded and difficult. Let some say their goodbyes back at home.
It’s going to be teary; there will be hugs; there will be promises to call that quickly fall by the wayside. It’s important you leave things on a positive note and continue to play that note through their college experience. For instance, you can leave them with a care package with all their home essentials. It’s a good idea to do this semi-regularly as time goes on and to simply check in on them to make sure they’re acclimating well. Just the gesture alone is a sign that you love them and care for them wherever they are. Just don’t let the gesture get lost by the fact you do it twenty times a week.
Once you’ve done all of the above, there’s little else you can do but there for them. Call them, ask them to call you, keep in touch and keep them talking about their experience. Becoming their rock can strengthen that relationship and help them stay strong while far from home, too.
Originally published in the University Parent Guide to Supporting Your Student’s Freshman Year
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Emotions run high on college move-in day. Parents anticipate letting go of the child they’ve spent 18 years protecting; students are excited but also nervous and self-conscious. All these emotions — yours and theirs — require patience on your part. As move-in day approaches, knowing what to expect should help you and your student survive with minimal fall-out.
Arrive prepared
Arrive early (get a good parking spot!) and prepared for the day. Bring the necessary equipment: dollies for heavy items, cleaning supplies, and comfortable shoes and clothing (it’s going to be a long day). Label boxes when packing to facilitate unpacking. Be prepared to navigate steps and carry heavy objects. Don’t count on elevators being available — everyone else will be using them, too.
Do your research before you arrive on campus, and make a list of required tasks: a trip to the bookstore, a stop at the Financial Aid or Student Accounting Office, a visit to a bank to open an account. Leave time for shopping but don’t overdo it — your student won’t need every single dorm furnishing item the first day or even week of school.
Take a step back
Allow your student to take the lead. When checking into the dorm, let her do the talking while you stand by to help if necessary. The sooner your student takes ownership of even mundane aspects of the college experience, the better. Let it start from the moment you arrive on campus.
To read the rest of my article, follow this link to University Parent’s website: Surviving College Move-In Day
And to snag yourself (or a friend) a copy of the University Parent Guide to Supporting your Student’s Freshman Year, use this coupon code at checkout (2DISCFRD) for a “Friends and Family Discount” — 60% off the regular price dropping it to $7.22. The code expires September 1st.
