Parents and Family
It’s almost FAFSA time – what parents need to know
If you have a child planning to attend college during the 2024-25 school year, you have a role in completing the FAFSA.
Filing the FAFSA is the first step in financial aid to pay for college. A dependent student is assumed to have the support of parents, so the parents’ information must be assessed along with the student’s to get a full picture of the family’s financial resources. For most students, completing the FAFSA requires information from a parent.
5 tips for finishing the school year strong
The end of the school year can be a stressful time for college students, especially when they are trying to juggle exams, final projects, and other commitments. However, by utilizing the strategies listed below, your student can finish the school year strong and confident.
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Turkey Talk: Intentional conversations with your college student
Thanksgiving is a perfect time to reconnect with your student with some intentionality — whether it’s the first time they’ve been home since move-in day, or they return home frequently.
Pace yourself! Don’t try to have all these conversations at once, and also, don’t fret if you can’t get to every one of them. Winter break will be here soon.
Your support makes a difference through the stressful end of the semester.
As the end of the semester nears, many college students feel their stress levels rise. Students realize how much work they still have left to do, and they realize that their time-management skills may not have served them well. They are overwhelmed, tired, possibly sick, and definitely nervous about the outcome.
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Talk to your student about high-risk behaviors
Key findings from the 2023 Missouri Assessment of College Health Behaviors
Partners in Prevention (PIP) is Missouri’s higher education substance misuse consortium dedicated to creating healthy and safe college campuses. This year, the coalition is comprised of 26 public and private colleges and universities in the state, 24 of whom have data included in the 2023 survey.
Beyond Parents Weekend: Why college parent engagement matters
We are not advocating parent helicoptering. Engagement is not hovering.
College students need to practice their independence, make their own decisions, take responsibility for their education, and begin to lay the foundation for their future. But when you drop your student off on Move-in Day, your parenting job doesn’t end — it simply changes.
Discussing campus safety with your student
As college parents, one of our major concerns when our students head off to college is their safety. We want our students to do well academically, we want them to be healthy, we want them to be happy, but first and foremost, we want them to be safe, especially with the decreasing daylight hours approaching.
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Need a ride? More options now available!
Finding a ride has never been without challenges, however, some recent additions may help Missouri S&T students with their transportation needs. Having a car on campus can make getting to places easier, but it is also good to know what your options are for traveling locally in Rolla, or catching a plane at the St. Louis, Springfield, or Kansas City airports.
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When Disappointment Comes
Your student will experience disappointment. It is inevitable. There are the little disappointments that occur all through childhood, of course, but then there are bigger disappointments. It may be failure to make the team or get the part in the play, a grade that is less than desired, loss of a scholarship, college application rejection, or a low GPA. It might happen in high school or it might happen during college.
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Adjusting to college life – check in time!
Certain times in the academic year tend to be universally challenging to students. Parents who understand the ups and downs of the first college year are better able to help their students negotiate the challenges of transition to college. Below are some typical adjustment issues faced in September and October.
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