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Ten Ways Parents of College

Students Can Use the College

Website

Ten Ways Parents Can Use the College Website

When your son or daughter was in the midst of the search

process for college, chances are that he or she

(and possibly you) spent countless hours poring over college

websites. College websites have become an extremely important

admissions tool.

Once your child heads to college, you should begin to look at the

college’s website differently. As a parent of a college student,

you’re no longer looking at a website to evaluate the institution, but

using it to gather information, and to have a sense of the place

where your child will be spending significant time during the coming

years.

Use this tool to it fullest advantage. Spend time browsing the site,

look beyond the “For Parents” section. Enter the site through the

“Current Students” portal as well as the “For Parents” area.

The following are ten suggestions for parents on how to look at the college website to gather the most information.

Spend some time browsing the website to

look at the pictures of the students. This

will give you a sense of the students at the

college and the activities in which they

are engaged.

Yes, colleges do put their “best foot

forward” on the sites, but you will certainly

get a feel for the institution. Who knows, you may even spot your own son or

daughter!

1. Look at the Pictures.

2. Explore the college catalogue.

Many colleges now post their college

catalogue on line. (Some institutions

now only post their catalogue on line.)

The college catalogue has almost all of the important

information a student needs to know. In addition to

course descriptions and major requirements, the

catalogue will tell you college policies, procedures,

deadlines, special programs, contact information,

graduation requirements, and much, much more.

Remember, the more you know, the more you can direct

your student toward important information.

3. Check out the “For Parents” section.

Although you may not want to limit

yourself to looking at the “For

Parents” section of the website,

don’t overlook it.

In addition to Parent or Family

Weekend information and local

hotel and/or restaurant information,

you may learn about orientations, e-

mail sign-ups, parent associations,

even local parent groups in your

area.

Definitely take advantage of

information available here. It is one

way in which the college can reach

out to you as a parent.

4. Check the Calendar.

One of the advantages of an on-line calendar,

is that it doesn’t go out of date once it is printed.

Most colleges work hard to keep their on-line calendar

current. Check the calendar for important dates,

deadlines, and events.

End of semester dates are especially important if you

need to make travel or other arrangements for your

student. Be sure to check the final exam schedule as

well as the last day of class dates.

5. Explore upcoming campus events.

Checking out the events coming up on campus will give

you a sense of campus life. It may also give you

something interesting to talk about with your student. Ask

him if he is planning to attend an event. Ask how it was. Encourage him to take advantage of the opportunities

available on campus.

6. Look for important contact information.

Keeping in mind that you should

only be contacting offices at the college as a last resort, the

website can be a source of

information about who to

contact, and how to contact them, if you need help.

As you encourage your college

student to take responsibility and deal with any issues, you may be

able to help him by steering him

to the correct person.

7. Spend some time with the campus map.

Find her residence hall on the

map. Look for the student center

and major classroom buildings. Try

to imagine her getting around

campus.

The more closely we can imagine

the daily routine of our students, the

more comfortable we become with

it.

Looking at the campus map

will give you a better sense of

the college and will help you

to visualize your college

student’s life and routine.

8. Check out campus life activities.

This is another way to visualize your student’s routine, and to

talk to him about things happening on campus.

Look at the student life area for clubs and organizations,

events, off-campus trips sponsored by the school.

Look to see if the student newspaper is available on-line or

whether a radio station might be streamed on the internet.

Check out athletics schedules and major games or

matches.

9. Look to see what academic support might be available to your student.

If your student is struggling or has

academic questions, there is

probably plenty of help available at

the school.

If you understand what is available you can do more to encourage him

to explore his options.

What services does the library offer? Is there a tutoring

center? Are advisors available to

help students?

10. Look at housing information.

Check carefully for housing

deadlines in the spring, including

the deadlines for housing

deposits.

Look at the different housing

options so you’ll be informed as

your student talks about his living arrangements.

Article brought to you by Vicki Nelson. Read the complete article here.

Colleges are using their websites to post more and more

information. Take advantage of the amount of information

they are sharing. Have fun imagining your student at college

as you check out the website.

You have questions, we have answers!

College Parents of America and get more tips and advice on:

What is my role as a college parent;

How should I communicate with my college student;

How to avoid becoming a helicopter parent; and Much More…

For more information, please contact us the following ways:

www.CollegeParents.org

888-761-6702