College Tidbits Blog

Guest Blogger: Louise Baker

It can be pretty intimidating to move away from home for the first time, especially if you’re moving far away.

There’s a whole new world to navigate, and you’ll be away from your family for an extended period of time for probably the first time in your life.

Plus it’s often tricky to figure out what to bring with you. The basics are clear: clothes, computer, school supplies. Here’s a list of five key items that can help a lot.

1. Shower Caddy

Living in most dorms requires using a community shower. Some schools provide lockers, but even then it’s very helpful to have a caddy to keep your soap, shampoo, sponges, toothpaste, and toothbrush in.

This item can be of great use in keeping all of your toiletries together so you don’t lose them, and so one of your dorm-mates doesn’t snatch your soap.

2. Iron

For a lot of students, going to college is the first time they’ll have to do their own laundry. Not only that, but they’ll have to do it without the supervision of a parent to guide them.

An iron is probably not the first thing you’ll think of to bring, but it can be quite useful. It’s great to have fresh pressed clothes when you want to look nice–dates, job interviews, fancy dress-up parties. Plus, in a pinch you can iron a shirt rather than washing it.

3. Portable Laundry Basket

Continuing with the laundry theme, there’s this item. The best portable laundry baskets are the kind that stand upright like hampers and have handles. These both save you space in a small dorm room and make it easier to carry your laundry around.

Even if you’re lucky enough to have a dorm with washing machines and driers insides, you’ll be grateful for this item when you’re lugging three weeks worth of laundry down the stairs.

4. Ear Plugs

Speaking of dorms, another challenge of college is having to share a room. Good communication with a roommate is essential (and isn’t something you can pack with you).

But even the best of friends will have different sleeping schedules at times, especially around finals time when one of you needs to pull all-nighters. Being able to block out all the noise of the world so you can sleep is necessary.

5. Table Lamp

Most dorm rooms come equipped with the basics: desk, chair, bed, overhead light. But when you’re pulling those all-nighters, and your roommate needs to sleep, it’s great to have another source of light. Table lamps can also help you more easily focus on the books and hand-outs you need to read.

When she’s not organizing parties, Louise Baker writes about online colleges at Zen College Life. She recently looked at where to get the best court stenographer degree.

By Helena Rogers

1. Stay in Touch

Our daughter left for college in the fall of 2008 to a university that was further away than I would have liked. However, at some point we as parents, especially Moms, have to learn to let our children spread their wings.

I didn’t think about it much as we prepared for her to leave for college, because there was so much to do. It finally hit me when we got back home from taking her and I walked by her room to see it empty of her stuff, her clothes, her shoes, her books; but even more important, it was empty of her presence.

Thank goodness for cellphones and Skype. At first I would talk to her a few times each day and it was wonderful to hear her voice and to realize that she was doing okay. After a month or so, I told my husband, okay I’ve had fun talking to my daughter, but now I need to see her face. So he hooked up a webcam and installed Skype for me. Yes, my daughter is no longer a toddler, preteen or a tween, but I still need to be able to be in touch with her.

2. Stay Involved

At this point and time in my daughter’s life and in your son or daughter’s life, they have to be able to make some decisions on their own. While they believe that they can do it all themselves, as a Mom, I know that I still need to know what is going on in her life…on a high level. I don’t need to know every detail of my daughters day, but there are things that I still need to know, there are decisions that I still need to be involved in.

Being involved in some of her decision making will help us all out in the end. I need to be involved when she decides how many classes she will take in a given semester, where she will live during the school year, whether she will attend summer school in another state. All of these decisions can have financial ramifications, so yes, I need to be involved.

3. Stay in Their Corner

As a Mom, my children know that I will always “go to bat” for them when it is necessary, but they also know that I will always be honest with them and let them know when they have done something that isn’t quite “right”. The important thing is that they know that I will always be a source of encouragement for them.

If my daughter calls and is having some type of issues with a professor, a roommate or some other college situation, I have to be available to be a listening ear. Our children need to know that there is always someone pulling for them, always someone who will be around for them no matter what.

Yes, the infant that we brought home from the hospital all those years ago is now an 18, 19, or even 20 year old college students. While they think that they are “grown”, can make all of the decisions for themselves, we as Moms know that that is not exactly true. It is up to us to realize that it is still time to stay…. In touch, involved and in their corner.

About the Guest Blogger

Helena Rogers is the proud parent of a fantastic college student and co-owner of College Tidbits. She also operates www.AMothersWit.com - Newsletters just for Moms and www.the-Savvy-Woman.com – Resource Directory for Women.

More Great Articles:

10 Tips for Parents of Prospective College Students

Guide to Parenting College Students: 7 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Sent My Son to College

5 Tips for Parenting a College Student

How to Keep in Touch with Children Away at College

Parenting Your College Student (PDF from the Arizona State University Parents Association)

Recommended Websites for Parents

College Parent Central

Parents and Colleges

College Parenting

College Parents

University Parent

College Tips for Parents

Okay, so you are a high school senior and for the first time you are faced with going through the application process. Part of that process involves writing your first college essay. You have no idea how to proceed. You’re sitting their thinking to yourself… What in the world do I do? How should I proceed?

I’d like to let you in on a little secret; most colleges aren’t looking for you to write a perfect essay. They are more likely to be impressed by someone who sounds like a real person and has the ability to get through four years of college. Most colleges would rather have a duller student who will pay tuition for 4 years than a brilliant one who drops out after one semester.

Listed below are some tips and a few things to watch out for as you begin writing your college essays. I have decided to call them “Do’s and Don’ts”, I hope they help.

Do

* Do talk to an adult – Talk to your high school English or writing teacher, guidance counselor and yes… even parents for some advice. They may be able to provide some tips and insight on how you might proceed. In addition, your English teacher may be able to help you edit your essay prior to submitting it to your prospective colleges.

* Do visit your public library – Spend some time at your public library doing some research about college essays. Your library may even have some samples that you can look at, but remember… beware of samples. Also, check with your school, especially your English teacher to see if any kind of college essay writing class is available during lunch breaks or after school.

* Do get a book about writing essays – There are several books that you can buy or rent from the library on the subject of college essay writing. A book I highly recommend is called “Accepted! 50 Successful College Admission Essays“, by Gen and Kelly Tanabe. If you do a search at amazon.com, I’m sure it would come up. Or you can ask your librarian.

* Do Write your own essay – As crazy as this might sound with so much available out on the internet there is a tendency to take the easy route and either borrow (plagiarize) from samples essays or pay someone else to write your essay. Remember plagiarism is stealing and while this may be convenient, college admissions staffs are pretty smart people and have seen it all. Chances are they can usually spot a copied or canned essay a mile away. Plus the colleges want to know the real you. Why take the risk of screwing up your college career before it even gets started?

Don’t

* Don’t panic – First of all relax you can do this! All the college is trying to do is determine if having you as a student will be good for their college. The core question they are trying have answered is “how will your presence enrich our college community?”

* Don’t make things up – Don’t be afraid to write about the real you if the topic calls for it, you will realize that you are not as boring as you thought. Also when you fabricate (okay lie) you have to continue to carry that fabrication on throughout the essay. Be yourself, be original, doing this will allow you to fully express yourself than you would have imagined.

* Don’t rely too heavily on Sample essays – While they may be good for getting ideas and reviewing structure , spending too much time looking at samples may cause you to lose a little of your original thought. There is also a risk that you may be tempted to borrow or use parts of the sample if you become stuck or start to suffer writers block.

* Don’t wait until the last minute to start working on your college essay — When I wait to the last minute to work on something the finished product usually looks rushed and not very well thought out. Keep in mind when you’re rushed you can’t think as well and risk making careless errors.

Other Resources to Help with Writing College Essays

How to Write an Awesome College Essay

Writing Winning Essays for College Applications

Writing the Successful College Application Essay: Tips for Success

Essay Edge – Essay editing services