A colleague who is also a therapist told me a few months ago that the sophomore year, specifically the spring semester, is the hardest for many college students. “Why?” I asked, even though I had my suspicions. She said that after three semesters of...
It’s that time in the semester when I teach goal setting. Why, you ask, do I not start the semester with goals? It is because that I believe students need good data–meaning grades on early assignments, concerns about fitting in–to create specific,...
When researching colleges to apply to, your student may already be reading college websites and contacting the admissions office. Another major source of information is current students at the colleges of interest. After helping your student with gathering the...
Conventional wisdom goes something like this: Some work is good for college students, but too much work can make it harder for them to focus on their classes and ultimately graduate. Most colleges and universities stick by the recommendation that 10-20 hours a week...
In my last blog, I wrote about what students say about the first year of college based on the themes that I have discovered in their written responses over my past four years at a university. These themes–seven in total–have come from careful reading of...
Recently, I was invited to present at a conference for academic administrators and was told that I could speak on anything that related to my work with first-year students. I realized that over the past 20 years, I have had a unique opportunity to listen to what...