#124 – Looking Back at 2024 and Season 5 of the College Parent Central Podcast

Getting in to college can feel like a high-stakes competition for many students and families, and it seems to get more difficult all of the time. At the same time, colleges are facing unprecedented challenges as well. In this episode, we talk with Jon Marcus, senior higher education reporter at The Hechinger Report about the demographic cliff, the coming drop in the number of 18-year-olds, and the impact that this will have on both institutions and on the families approaching the admission pr...

College can be the most crowded place your student has ever lived and still feel painfully lonely. Many students are experiencing more loneliness and social isolation than many families expect, and it often makes students think they’re failing at college when they’re actually experiencing something common. In this episode, Vicki and Lynn discuss some of the reasons this is happening now: smartphones and social media that replace face-to-face relationships, the disruption of Covid that stole k...

As a follow-up to our earlier episode on communicating with professors (#83), Lynn and Vicki explore some of the benefits of relationships with professors, what those relationships might look like, and how students might approach and work with faculty members outside of the classroom. We often assume many of these social skills are second nature and common sense, but post Covid, students may need help in developing these skills. Parents may be one of their student’s most valuable coaches. Tha...

You can spend a fortune on college and still miss the point if you treat it like something to “get through.” In this episode, Vicki and Lynn sit down with political scientist and longtime professor Dr Michael Pomante, author of the book “What Professors Wish Students Knew: Things Parents and Students Should Know Before Attending College” to talk about the mindset shifts he wishes every student and parent understood before day one on campus. We discuss the decisions that shape the whole admiss...

Your student gets accepted, pays the deposit, and then a placement email lands like a surprise bill: developmental math, remedial writing, foundational reading. What does that actually mean, and is it going to slow graduation down? We unpack the real purpose of developmental education and why colleges use it as a bridge to college-level work, not a punishment. We also talk through the most common misunderstandings families have about credit, transcripts, tuition, and financial aid when a cour...