Before you know it, you are walking across the stage at graduation, and with that last step, you are officially an alumnus. You may be super excited and a little sad that your college life has essentially ended, but the truth is, you will forever be a part of your college. The first thing that you should do is join the alumnus association.

I have been writing in the college space for over a decade. The content we often included online addressed future employment opportunities for various majors. Our go-to resource was, and still is, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. We would look at specific occupations to find out which ones were the fastest-growing as well as the job outlook for specific industries.

Housing for graduate students is quite different than when they were freshmen. Many students switch schools for their graduate studies and that means new housing options. Graduate students generally no longer want to live in party central. Therefore, the usual places students live may be off-limits. There are a few things to consider. Graduate students generally want to live by the health center, law school, or wherever their classes will be. Many prefer to live in a house with roommates as it can more cost-efficient. Mostly, they do not want to live amongst undergraduate students and prefer quiet study-friendly atmospheres.

It seems to me that more people are becoming vegetarians or vegans. I recently tried vegan cheese and am delighted to report that I liked it! HaveUHeard that 1 in every 10 college students follow a vegetarian or vegan diet? It seems college students are more likely than the general public to follow a vegetarian or vegan diet, so we wanted to be sure they knew where to locate their options. Veggies are good and good for you. Sometimes the choices on or around campus just aren’t that healthy. So more veggies, please! Whichever way works for your student; the good news there is plenty of veggies around the campuses. 

When planning a trip to visit our kids at college one of the first things to get out of the way is making those hotel reservations. If it is a popular weekend, Homecoming, Parent’s weekend, or graduation, booking far in advance is pretty important. However, don’t be surprised if the prices are higher on those weekends. Be sure to ask for the price at your college. There are also other things to take into consideration when booking.

In all likelihood, the spring semester will look similar to the fall semester. Some may accuse me of being a negative Nellie; I prefer to just think of it as being prepared. Are you going to go a whole semester without seeing your student or are you going to strap on your face covering and go? Chances are you are going to visit your student, but truly there is no judgment if you choose not to. I, myself, am still struggling with the decision. If you do go, we got ahead of you and found some of the best and safest places to visit while you’re there. Of course, they are mostly outdoors, but we think that is a bonus. 

It’s not new information that college students are entering college with the highest rates of mental health issues in history. Issues related to anxiety, depression, eating disorders and substance abuse are plaguing our students at alarming rates. To add insult to injury, these same students are now having to navigate all of this while isolated and physically alone, due to precautions related to COVID-19. 

The consistent message from students, parents, and many of us during this pandemic is we miss human contact. We are a social society as supported by the number of restaurants, bars, sporting arenas, shopping centers, movie theatres, and other large venues where the masses gather. So, when the pandemic started and we were on lockdown, that human contact came to an abrupt halt. 

Students in a new city adapting to a busy college schedule, the voting process can seem daunting. As an 18-year-old freshman, most don’t even know where or how to register or where to go to vote! With an election year coming up, taking the time to go to the polls and vote is more important than ever. So, how can you do it? Each college has places to go for all things voting-related. They offer a variety of information from registering to vote to where to vote on election day, including information for students who are residents of Florida, as well as those from out of state.

When students leave for college, many of us wonder how, and if, our students will keep up the tradition of worship. Being able to continue to worship, pray, and adhere to their religious beliefs can be extremely important for several reasons. Having a place to worship on or near campus allows them to meet other students and have a spiritual mentor to turn to should they need guidance. Whether it is their first year away or even their last year, there are many religious challenges students face in college from observing the holidays and traditions that they typically celebrated with their families to finding the time outside of academics to incorporate religion into even losing their faith.

In the four years, your student will be at college, you will undoubtedly visit a few times. Often visits center around Parents Weekend or a football game, but HaveUHeard that there is far more to do at each college that may be just as much fun? And a great deal of it can be found outdoors. So the next time you visit, or perhaps your student just needs a little time off-campus, you might want to check out some of the parks, neighboring towns, or sports that aren’t college teams.

We have all had to get used to a lot of fundamental changes in the past few months in our work, school, and home lives. As we head into the fall semester with so many unknowns, one thing we do know is that the job and internship search for our students is going to be markedly different – indefinitely. And I believe that many of these changes are here to stay well after COVID-19 is in our rearview mirrors.

2020 has seen many changes to the way we go about our daily lives. We now have virtual classes, meetings, Happy Hours, celebrations, court hearings, and more and the list goes on and on. Add to the list are Virtual Fairs at college campuses across the country.

Few things are more exciting than being granted an interview with a company you are seeking a job with, but few things are also more nerve-wracking than that actual process. What follows is some overall advice to pass along to your children regarding successful interviewing strategies. Think about how you connect the skill you are illustrating to experience with specific examples. 

We are all guilty of procrastination from time to time, but what students often forget is how very busy professors, research advisors, and employers actually are in terms of their ability to provide a quick turnaround reference for a last-minute opportunity. I think students also fail to realize how incredibly long it can take to write a valuable reference that might make the difference between getting a job, scholarship, or graduate school position and not getting one. On average, I’d say these can take me anywhere from 1-3 hours. That is a big ask for already-stretched-thin people with multiple time commitments in any given day. 

How exactly do you learn to negotiate? Negotiating anything does not come naturally to most of us, least of all recent graduates from college who are ecstatic just to have a job offer in hand. What follows is some overall advice to pass along to your children regarding how best to negotiate salary offers they receive from employers: First, make a budget for your overall expenses. Then, ask yourself, “What are my value-statements to pose to an employer?

As they get closer to graduation, one of the greatest changes our students are about to experience is abandoning their shorts, t-shirts and yoga pants, as they begin to dress for success in their new roles, or as my older daughter stated, for adulting. Dressing for success can be daunting in different ways, but the one that stands out most may very well be its cost.