Parents of College Students   39 members

By: mollypolly 7 months ago

I have one in his second year in college.  His first year we felt it was really important to live on campus, live the dorm life and get to know what campus was all about.  Well...he did make lots of friends, partied a lot and didn't do so great in school.  He made poor choices about going to classes, found out that YES...YOU ACTUALLY HAVE TO STUDY IN COLLEGE and well, came home after a fun year but not a very productive one.  By mid-summer living under our roof was just too much for him..he felt that he needed to move out and is living with his girl friend and another boy (who is never there) and now is going to school, working and living kind of a "married" lifestyle at age 20.  He is a wonderful kid, very intelligent (although has yet to really apply himself to anything)...we see him fairly regularly but only with his girlfriend in tow...seems he is attached to her and given up total independence.  He keeps his nose clean and seems to be working had to make ends meet although he is taking a loan out for college and will have some bills to pay when he is through.  We have helped him financially all that we can, we support him in his choices but don't necessarily agree with them.  He has grown up in so many ways..learned to fend for himself, can do his own laundry, clean his house, do dishes without being told!  But he also relies on his girl friend for a lot too.  Guess we all need someone!  :-)  I also have a daughter that will graduate high school this spring and head to college in fall.  Again, going to a state school and going to live on campus.  She is much more level headed and I think will take school much more seriously, I hope!

By: Momsterlinda 7 months ago

 I have a son who is a second semester freshman in college. He's having a great time, did pretty well first semester though could study more. It is certainly hard to let go and trust them to make the right choices! 

By: Regina 7 months ago

I have a daughter in her second year,second semester of college she has been struggling up to this point . She has a disability and has been doing all of her work without the help of the school. She figured she did it through high school and made it with good enough grades. I think she really underestimated how hard it was going to be in college. She finally got on board with the disability dept. and realized a huge weight has been lifted, its still challenging but not devistating. I am releaved and am looking forward to better grades.

By: goodiegirl 7 months ago

I have a son who is finishing his junior year of college.  It has been a exciting, frustrating, sad, happy, emotional roller coaster!  His freshman year was a huge adjustment for the whole family.  Our son was trying to balance college, college life and playing college football.  He did very well considering he was injured and ended up having to recover from ACL surgery.  All student athletes were required to live on campus freshman and sophomore years and the was probably the worst part for my son.  Freshman year he chose a quiet dorm (away from the bulk of people in the dorm) for study purposes  but in the ended felt too isolated.  Sophomore year he chose a quad but soon found out that even 4 is too many when you need study time!  This year he is living in a home off campus with 3 teammates.  Initially we were very concerned with 4 football players in their own home, especially when we found out the home purchased had an inground pool.  I was worried about wild parties and the potential liability.  We have been pleasantly surprised.  He seems to have a better balance between sports/study time/recreational time in a home atmosphere as opposed to a dorm setting.  The guys actually keep a cleaner house than I do!  They are constantly improving the property, doing yard work, etc.  Every few weeks they host a party or swim party/cookout, depending on the time of year for all the parents of the housemates.  We have developed great friendships with the other boys and their families.  Our son has had the opportunity to  shift from home to college in dorm to living quasi on his own.  I did very well with him leaving home his freshman and sophomore years.  The fall semester passes quickly as we get to see him on game weekends...spring goes a little slower.  This fall he was injured again and again underwent surgery...this kept us from seeing him on game days and suddenly I realized I had not adjusted to him leaving home at all.  I had simply been living from August till football season..then till T-Day and Christmas...etc. until he was home for summer again.  It hit me like a ton of bricks that I had to start living again and not living to see him again.  Our daughter is 13 and she and my son are very close.  When she has time off from school, she travels to our sons college to spend a couple of days with him and attends some classes.  This has helped them stay close as well as expose her to college and college life early on. I We have enjoyed the college experience with our son and look forward to his senior year and preparing our daughter for starting senior high this year.  Despite my best efforts...I still miss being able to get those hugs from my son everyday!

By: bigred1234 6 months ago

I have a freshman college student that lives at home. Since she now goes to college she thinks she can stay out real late at night. ( like 3 to 4 am in the morning) As parents we are having a rough time. We live in a city where crime is everywhere. We are trying to give her freedom but this is so hard. We are not sleeping and getting frustrated. I told her the other day that we are putting a curfew on her, 2:00 am. I told her I don't care if you tell your friends about it but this is an acceptable time. We have never had any trouble with her. What is the best way to handle this?