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Tips
& Resources | Heading to College
- What is the mindset
of students starting college this year?
- Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch, who is dying from
pancreatic cancer, gave his last lecture at the university Sept.
18, 2007. Listen to his inspiring talk, "Really
Achieving Your Childhood Dreams."
- You have received your roommate assignment and housing assignment,
and now you have started to pack for that big move to college.
Here are some tips
to review before you get too far along with the process, hopefully
helping you save time and money.
- Seniors: There are many changes ahead as you head to
college, one of which is the changing parent-child dynamic.
Read more here
and here
to understand what to expect. In addition, two books provide
help for families as they face this major life change: "Letting
Go: A Parents' Guide to Understanding the College Years"
and "The
Launching Years", by Laura
Kastner, Ph.D and Jennifer Wyatt, Ph.D.
- Summer is a time to get prepared to head to college, so you
might review some tips
to make the most of this time and also learn more about packing
for college.
- Learn
more about what Washington colleges are doing now to review
mental health issues on campus.
- A recent study
by the Association of American Colleges and Universities warns
that college graduates are less and less prepared to compete
in the global economy. The AACU urges colleges to focus less
on technical skills and more on broader skills like critical
thinking and problem solving. Over 300 executives of companies
were asked what they looked for in a job candidate and the top
three choices were: teamwork skills, critical thinking and analytic
reasoning skills, and oral/written communication. Wayne C. Johnson,
a VP at Hewlett-Packard who participated in the study commented,
"What we rarely see is the ability to use the right-hand
side of the brain — creativity, working in a team."
- Are you curious about the mindset of the entering college
class of 2010? Click here
to see the list assembled to help university faculty understand
the experiences and events that shaped the view of the world
maintained by entering students.
- A successful transition to college involves both students
and parents. Here are some tips
for parents and the college-bound student as they enter a new
phase of their parent/child relationship.
- Parents take note: colleges are cautiously doing their best
to keep you from getting too involved in the freshman experience.
Read more.
- Are you just starteing college and wondering how to make the
most of the next four years? Dr.
Mom's Guide to College—a website started by a biology
lecturer at Old Dominion University—is loaded with valuable
advice. Dr. Kerry Kilburn has kept track of mistakes made by
new students in her course and has some time-tested tips that
she originally prepared for her daughter as she headed to college.
- Seniors and their families: We had the opportunity to hear
Richard Light, Professor of Education at Harvard speak about
his research and book, Making
the Most of College, Students Speak Their Minds. He
has compiled ten years of interviews with Harvard seniors in
this valuable and practical book of tips for all seniors heading
to college. Among his suggestions:
- Students who study in groups are much more engaged in
their studies;
- Time management is the most important skill to learn early;
- The advisor is all-important;
- Supervised independent research projects are valuable;
and
- Working internships offer the most learning and the greatest
challenges.
- Books for parents: The Launching Years, by Laura Kastner
and Jennifer Wyatt, and Letting Go by Karen Levin Coburn
and Ladge Lawrence Treeger. Click here
for more information on the changing parent/child relationship.
- Marilee Jones, Dean of Admissions at MIT is a national speaker
on issues related to parents and the admissions process. Read
more about the parent's role in this process (click on the
"For Parents" box at the top of the page).
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