On this week’s podcast I chat with Brie Jutte Waterman. She is a Program Coordinator in New Student and Family Programs at the University of Colorado Boulder and one of the authors of the book College Ready: Expert Advice for Parents to Simplify the College Transition. This book is a collaboration of thirteen different college administrators sharing great practical tips on what incoming college students and their parents need to know before college. Many of the books about college just cover the academic or the financial aspects. College Ready covers all the other topics from how to get access to your student’s records to how how to deal with the emotions of move-in day. The authors use their years of experience working with incoming college students to walk you through all the conversations that you need to have with your young adult before they start the fall semester.

We talked about what new college students struggle with the most and what they can do to help the transition be easier, the great resources that colleges have to help students learn to manage their time and study in a more unscheduled but more academically rigorous environment, the one thing that surprises parents the most, and other helpful tips.

Where did my baby go?

This is a time where we as parents have to transition from being the driver of the vehicle to being a passenger. Our little people have grown up! They are becoming more independent, which is awesome and a little sad.  That doesn’t mean they no longer need us; it just means our roles have changed. They still need us to be their coaches and help them through this transition time.

Brie gives us some great advice like her #1 tip for helping college students transition and tells us something about this new stage in life that surprises lots of parents.

We know you’ll want to check it out so download on your podcast player or listen to the podcast here.

If you or your teen have trouble focusing and getting tasks done, check out the Pomodoro Technique.

If you want more tips, check out the book College Ready. We have one going into her freshman year of college this fall, and I found it very helpful.  The appendix has great checklists to help you make sure you remember all the tasks you need to get done and all the items your student needs to pack. The authors brought up important questions and conversations that will help our family navigate this season together.

Don’t forget to sign up for the FREE online Back to School parenting summit taking place July 26th – 29th! There will be so many great speakers and topics focused on parents of older teens and young adults.

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