Helping Your Young Adult Plan for College Success
Congratulations! Your teen has been accepted into college and it won’t be long before they are off, on their own, managing their lives with less support from you.
Exciting, right? Anxiety-provoking? That too! These past few years you most likely have been their cheerleader, helping them decide on a college, getting them the support they need to score well on the college SAT/ACTs, reviewing their college essays (for some kids), making sure they’ve applied for their loans and scholarships, visiting campuses, finding out where they will be living, etc. What’s next?
Will they eat well? Will they get enough sleep? Who is going to remind them to set their alarm? How will they handle their time management? What if they don’t like their roommate? Or what if they have an anxiety attack? Or get behind in their coursework? You won’t even know. What can you do?
Hopefully the application process itself revealed some life/executive skills. You know your child. If your child has anxiety or ADHD, if your teen has had a lot of support, most likely they will need some at college as well. Communicate with the college to find out what is available, what accommodations may need to be put in place, the process to do so, and the therapeutic supports available such as group work, etc. Then communicate with your teen and let them decide how proactive they want to be. What do they feel they need to have in place, just in case… They may not want to make use of all support services, but it will help if they know what is available and how to get it if they need it. This may involve visiting the campus and having your teen meet the support people they may need so should a crisis occur; it will be easier to avail themselves of those services.
Depending upon your teen’s issues, there may be support groups on campus so they will feel less isolated.
As for their social life, encourage them to find out ahead of time the process of changing rooms should there be a problem roommate. A plan B just in case, especially if your teen is the type of person that becomes easily overwhelmed when a problem arises. If they want to join a fraternity/sorority, they will find out what their options are. Your role is to be the cheerleader, not the director.
If your college student is commuting from home, you may want to suggest they join some groups on campus (especially for are studying remote or hybrid) where they can meet peers and bond. And also, again, your teen may need to know of support services if they struggle emotionally or academically (dyslexia, for example).
Just remember, your teen got this far! They are ready to launch!