Good Advice

Adjusting to living on campus, even for students who have been away from home for extended periods of time, is critical to your student's success. Students must learn to handle conflict, become accustomed to a new home environment, and thrive among others who have abundantly diverse backgrounds, interests, and beliefs. Exposure to such diversity is a great learning experience. It will enable your student to develop critical thinking skills, be open to difference and be better prepared for life in an increasingly diverse society. While many of these initial concerns will fade as students become adjusted, stay aware of chronic concerns. They may point to a particular area in which your student needs support from faculty or staff on campus. For instance, if a student often tells you that she was "up all night" completing academic projects, she may be having some difficulty with time management or study skills. Encourage her to seek assistance to identify the nature of the problem and find a solution.

 

Living in the Residence Halls and Commuting to Campus

Often students feel as if they don't belong during their first few weeks on campus. Making efforts to learn more about their roommates, those in their residence hall community, and those who commute from their local homes will help them to feel more connected. Commuters may be interested in connecting with the Office of Orientation and Off-Campus Programs to meet other students and take advantage of commuter services; and residential students may consider involvement in hall government or the Residence Hall Association (RHA). All students are invited and encouraged to join one or more of the more than 300 recognized student organizations on campus.

If residents need direction or assistance, each residence hall has resident advisors (RAs—at least one per floor, an upper-level student), and live-in professional staff members, residence directors and assistant residence directors, of whom they can ask questions, and with whom they can discuss concerns. They are a valuable resource for your student and building rapport with them can help your student feel connected to the SU community. Before leaving campus at the end of Syracuse Welcome, learn and record the names and contact information for the professional staff members in your student's residence hall.

Your son or daughter has the responsibility to be an upstanding citizen of the floor community, the residence hall community, and the University community. This means that students must abide by University policies— specifically the Code of Student Conduct. In addition, students should be respectful of those around them and attempt to find peaceful resolutions to conflicts. If, for instance, a difficult roommate situation escalates, the student should seek out his resident advisor for assistance in resolving the problem. If the situation continues to be unmanageable, the RA can suggest the next steps for your student to take. Most importantly, you should allow your student to handle this situation on his own. It may be frustrating to watch your student struggle with such a challenge, but he will learn a lot about the University and himself in the process.

 

Life Skills for Successful College Students

While students are different, all will face a challenge at some point during their college career. Some of the key elements they will need to successfully navigate to Commencement are:

 

Self-Care

Students should be conscientious about balanced and healthy eating and physical fitness. They should be aware of and attend to their emotional needs.

Time Management

Effective time management blends good decisionmaking abilities and an understanding of personal needs within the context of a schedule. It is important that your student has a basic understanding of his parameters (i.e., class schedule, wake-up time, sleep time, time for socializing) and ability to set priorities. Scheduling study time, recreational time, and even meal times is very important to your student's success. Many experts on orientation and transitional issues suggest that first-year students maintain a log during the first semester to track "time on task." (Light, 2001)

Making Connections

One of the most important things you can encourage your student to do when he arrives on campus is to make connections. Not only should students attempt to meet a variety of people to find out what the campus has to offer, but they should also make an effort to meet and build relationships with at least one faculty or staff member on campus. Many students find that having a trusted resource on campus is critical (Light, 2001).

Knowledge of Campus Resources/Problem Solving

There are many specialized offices on campus, but several in particular can assist with general problemsolving and advice on resources. These include: the Dean of Students Office (DOS), the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA), the Slutzker Center for International Services (SCIS), and the Office of Orientation and Off-Campus Programs (OOCP). DOS is located in 306 Steele Hall and can be reached at 315-443-HELP (4357). OMA is located in 105 Schine Student Center and can be reached at 315-443-9676. SCIS is located at 310 Walnut Place and can be reached at 315-443-2457. The Office of Orientation and Off-Campus Programs is located at 754 Ostrom Avenue, and can be reached at 315-443-1012.

Being Proactive

Life on campus can be hectic with a full load of classes, extracurricular activities, work, and a social life. Therefore, it is important for your son or daughter to take a proactive approach to their own success. Advance planning (looking at the "big picture") for the entire semester is a good way to begin. Utilizing faculty office hours to discuss progress, giving a supervisor advance notice that he will be away for a particular weekend, and forming study groups with other students early in the semester are just a few ways he can be proactive. If your student mentions that he is having trouble in a class at the beginning of the semester, encourage him to speak with the professor or to seek tutoring as soon as he detects a problem. Waiting until the drop deadline looms, or until he is in serious academic trouble, is a recipe for disaster (Coburn and Treeger, 1997). Staff in the dean's office of your student's home school or college can identify appropriate resources.

Being Flexible and Adaptive

Academic and social pressures challenge most students. By managing their time, making connections, being proactive, and knowing campus resources, students are well prepared to adapt to almost any situation. It may require some flexibility on their part, but patience and compromise, in addition to time and knowledge, can be a winning combination. All of these qualities can affect a student's college experience—whether it is related to a roommate conflict, the registration process, or being academically successful (Light, 2001).

Setting Goals

Many students arrive at college with no idea about what major they should choose or what they want to do with the rest of their lives. This is perfectly normal—in fact, some students change their mind several times as they move through their college career. Most students who end up in college have at least a loosely defined set of goals (i.e., to get a college degree). Setting long-term and short-term goals or having a vision for the future makes it easier for students to plan each day, week, semester, or academic year. Though they are able to revisit and revise their goals as they develop and are exposed to new ideas, having something concrete to work toward makes success that much more sweet (Light, 2001).

Developing Financial Management Skills

The beginning of college may be the first time your student has had her own checking account, credit card, and control over a bank account and paychecks (even though it may be your money in her account). It is probably the first experience that many students have in paying their own bills (e.g., credit cards, cell phones, etc.). It is important to discuss budgets, financial expectations and practices, and good credit with your students now—before they get in over their heads. It is important to note that many credit card companies solicit first-year students without requiring co-signature or permission from parent or guardian (Johnson and Schelhas-Miller, 2000).

Getting Curious and Connected

While it is extremely important that students meet degree requirements, the beginning of college can serve as a time of exploration and a time to begin seriously engaging with faculty around a particular discipline. By choosing a combination of classes that allows students an opportunity to interact with and make connections with faculty and other students, many students find a more fulfilling academic experience.

Transitioning After the Transition

Returning home after a semester at college can require its own adjustment. Leaving for college and returning home during breaks can yield positive and negative feelings. Students are experiencing a natural separation from family as develop their own identities, and explore their newfound independence.

Remember as your student returns home for holidays and breaks, life at college is probably very different from the life she led at home during high school. Students are now responsible for making many decisions that you may have made for them in the past—what to eat, when to study, the curfew policy, etc. You may notice that your student challenges the rules you have in place at home or even "tests" you to see how you react. This can be particularly challenging with younger siblings at home.