We’re trying something new and we invite you to join us! If you’re a regular listener you know we love to talk about books that help us in our role as college parents and help us support our students. We’ve picked the book There is Life After College: What Parents and Student Should Know About Navigating School to Prepare for the Jobs of Tomorrow by Jeffrey Selingo to read over the next several weeks and we invite you to read along with us. We hope you’ll share some of your thoughts, questions and reactions with us. In this episode Lynn and Vicki share why we chose this book and how you can participate in our virtual book group. Once you hear more about the book, we know you’ll be excited about participating in this adventure. We’ll be sharing everyone’s responses soon in episode #86.

Thank you for listening!

• Much more information for college parents can be found on our website, College Parent Central
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In our post-pandemic teaching we’ve noticed that many students seem nervous about reaching out to their professors and are unsure about how to connect. We know that this relationship is critical to student success. In this episode Lynn and Vicki explore some of the strategies parents can share with their students to coach them in their interactions with professors. These conversations can help students feel more comfortable talking with professors and making their meetings productive. 

Thank you for listening!

• Much more information for college parents can be found on our website, College Parent Central
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Lynn and Vicki were joined in this episode by Dr. Eric Loucks author of The Mindful College Student: How to Succeed, Boost Well-Being and Build the Life You Want at University and Beyond to talk about the impact that mindfulness can have on student success. Dr. Loucks helped us understand what mindfulness is and how it can help students deal with stress, attention and focus, self-awareness, emotional-regulation and even career choice. This information is not only helpful for college students but for parents as well. 

Thank you for listening!

• Much more information for college parents can be found on our website, College Parent Central
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In this final episode of our 3-part series on pandemic fallout in college students, we share suggestions of how parents can work together with their students to address current challenges. Parents can aid students in developing strategies to feel in control of their living and learning in the college community. This partnership with students can help them articulate goals and maintain high expectations for themselves and establish a path forward.

Thank you for listening!

• Much more information for college parents can be found on our website, College Parent Central
• Find us on Twitter at @CollParCentral
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This is the second of our 3-part series on pandemic fallout in our students. We discuss what has caused these issues and why they matter for students moving forward. We examine how students bring their high school pandemic behaviors into the college classroom and the impact of online learning on in-person classes. We discuss how these changes in student behavior can affect students’ relationships, mental health and career and professional aspirations.  In our next episode we’ll conclude with several suggestions of what parents can do to help students address these pandemic challenges.

Thank you for listening!

• Much more information for college parents can be found on our website, College Parent Central
• Find us on Twitter at @CollParCentral
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In this, our first episode of Season 4, we begin a 3-part series about what we’re seeing in our students who spent their final high school years during the Covid-19 pandemic. Vicki and Lynn share student survey information and observations of their first-year students both in and outside of the classroom. Not only are students experiencing  rising depression and anxiety, we also see students with academic learning gaps, engagement and social challenges, difficulty following through on work, and greater reliance on parents.  We’ll continue examining Pandemic Fallout in our next episode when we consider what has caused these issues and why they matter and finally in Part 3, we’ll talk about how parents can help student overcome these problems. 

Thank you for listening!

• Much more information for college parents can be found on our website, College Parent Central
• Find us on Twitter at @CollParCentral
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As we close out the third season of the College Parent Central Podcast, Lynn and Vicki look back at their favorite episodes of this past year. It’s been another year with some wonderful, informative interviews and a host of topics that can help you parent your college (or almost college) student. We also consider some of the trends we’re seeing in our students and in the field of higher education and invite you to join us for whatever Season 4 may bring.

Thank you for listening!

• Much more information for college parents can be found on our website, College Parent Central
• Find us on Twitter at @CollParCentral
• Find us on Bluesky at @CollParCentral.bsky.social
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As parents, we often worry about a lot of things when our students head off to college – and our student’s health can be top of mind for many of us. This special episode is a recording of our college student health panel held earlier this year. We are joined by college student health and wellness experts Dr. Jill Grimes and Jill and Dave Henry who share their insights and expertise about helping our students stay healthy while in college. Topics were wide-ranging, including the greatest health challenges facing college students today, some of the most common stressors students face, the importance of sleep, and what your student should do when they get hurt or feel sick.

Thank you for listening!

• Much more information for college parents can be found on our website, College Parent Central
• Find us on Twitter at @CollParCentral
• Find us on Bluesky at @CollParCentral.bsky.social
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In this episode Vicki and Lynn answer some of the questions they have heard from parents. Topics include transferring colleges, readmission and appeal, timing of internships, and how to figure out how things are really going for your student. We don’t have all of the answers, but we share our observation based on our professional and personal experience.

Thank you for listening!

• Much more information for college parents can be found on our website, College Parent Central
• Find us on Twitter at @CollParCentral
• Find us on Bluesky at @CollParCentral.bsky.social
• Sign up for our newsletter for ongoing information

The concept of Executive Functioning is a popular way of looking at some of the skills that college students need to succeed. Understanding how your student’s brain develops during the college years will help you support your student as they practice managing their lives. In this episode Vicki interviews Lynn to learn more about the challenges that college students often face as they struggle to master planning, organizing, prioritizing, and problem solving. Lynn shares strategies that help students grow their abilities – and some of the success stories she’s seen.

Thank you for listening!

• Much more information for college parents can be found on our website, College Parent Central
• Find us on Twitter at @CollParCentral
• Find us on Bluesky at @CollParCentral.bsky.social
• Sign up for our newsletter for ongoing information