Four More Conversations You Need to Have This Week

You've already covered self-sufficiency, financial responsibility, balance and the importance of grades. Here are four more conversations you need to have with your student this week:

1. Establish House Rules

The household dynamic will likely shift now that your son/daughter is a college student. Do they have a curfew? Chores? Guidelines for having friends over? Many of their friends are living on their own or in dorms, so it is important to be clear on expectations if your college student is still living at home.

2. Empower a Successful Transfer Experience

Many students start at community colleges all around the country and transfer successfully to four-year colleges to complete their bachelor’s degrees. However, choosing the right classes in order to transfer seamlessly can sometimes be confusing. Encourage your student to be proactive on researching transfer schools and use Harper’s resources for transferring. It is also strongly recommended that students meet with an academic counselor every semester to help with course selection.

3. Encourage On-Campus Involvement

Harper is a great place to start a college career. Attending Harper can help students avoid a scary amount of student debt, explore their career and educational goals and open doors to many opportunities. We know that students are sometimes a little bummed that they couldn’t start off directly at a four-year college, but there are ways that they can make the most of their time at Harper and have an engaged experience.  

It's awesome to see and hear how students who have worked on campus have used their involvement at Harper to network, make lifelong friends and get scholarships. Harper offers 60+ clubs and organizations on campus, so there is something for everyone. What's more, if your student has an idea for a club that doesn’t exist, they can submit a proposal for a new club and be a founding member. That’s a big deal.

4. Make a Transportation Plan

How is your son/daughter going to commute to school? Do they have their own car? Are they sharing a car? If so, talk to them about scheduling their classes around the availability of their car. Some campuses--like Harper--are served by public transportation. Pace bus has a stop on Harper’s campus, and many students use it to get to and from campus. However, buses do not run continuously, so it is important that the bus schedule be taken into consideration when picking out class times.