College Life, Parent Addition

Well, its almost the first of August, and a whole new group of parents are getting ready to send their kids off to one of those institutions of higher learning.  For any parent over forty, the College experience ain't what you remember.  I discovered that roads got moved and dorms disappear!

Hopefully you as parents did the proper thing and saved up the money for your kid's tuition, books, room and board.  If not, then you have already filled out all the financial aid paperwork.  You still have to do this for the Mississippi MTAG tuition credit.  If your kid was smart enough to score high enough on their ACT, then you have been rewarded with other offsets to the financial burden.  There is always the student loan route, which will burden the kid for years to come until repaid.  Not here to debate the good,  bad, or ugly about who pays, but it is what it is.....

As you have probably discovered by now, your kid is now considered an adult by the Federal Government, the State, and the Institutions of Higher Learning..  All financial and student records are considered private.  You as a parent do not have access to any of this type of information unless your kid grants you that permission.  It is, however, your duty as a parent, to stay in touch with your kids affairs.  Confirm the they are enrolled.  Confirm that the tuition has been paid and all late fees and fines have been handled. Confirm that they have grades.  And by all means, make sure you know whether your kid is still in school.  Some parents are overheard saying "if I only knew".....

Incoming Freshmen already know that they generally are required to live on campus their first year.  The dorms are coed, but students are usually on separate wings or floors.  Roommate assignments were made long ago.  If your kid doesn't know their roommate, they may be in for a culture shock.  Students from all over the world come to our universities for learning.  A lot of learning goes on in the dorm that first year.  After the first year, students are free to find housing as best they can, but dorm housing space is mostly reserved for another class of incoming freshmen.

Housing after the freshman year is typically found off campus.  Apartments and rental houses are the most common.  Even more life lessons are learned in living quarters, sometimes with hometown friends, classmates, or even total strangers.  And yes, even the boy/girl friend!  Another option is to acquire a small house or condo.  After you get past the down payment, the monthly expenses are considerably less than renting.  Plus, renting out the spare bedroom or rooms can even cover the monthly note and expenses.  Depending on how well the property is cared for, you usually can break even on a sale, or what loss is incurred will be much cheaper than all of the rent paid over your student's time in school.  Plus, it gives you a place to stay on "game day".

Laptops, believe it or not, are almost a disposable item.  My son took a brand new laptop with him to MSMS for his last two years of high school.  Now in his final year, he is on his third machine, and it is now needing a bit of TLC.  The worst abuses of a laptop are viruses, computer gaming, and just physical abuse.  Gaming puts a tremendous strain on the processor and graphics card.  We bought the first two, third one etc... are on him!

Now is as good a time for your kid to learn household budgeting.  Hopefully you have access to the bank account so that you can monitor odd spending habits.  The school meal plans are an excellent way to budget one's funds.  Worse case, your kid might not like it, or its gotten old, but they will always have something to eat.

Buying text books is pretty much a thing of the past.  Due to the cost, many students are opting to rent their books or purchase a license for an on-line version of the text book.    Some books are still purchased for those classes that will require the same text book for multiple semesters, or it might be a reference book later in life.

Watch out for pets.  Besides the girly friend moving in, my son has also taken possession of one cat, and two dogs, along with a duck and chicken here and there.  We started with a "no pet policy", but when you are not there, things do tend to be taken advantage of.  Grades have been excellent so we decided to not fix what was working.

Summer jobs are hit or miss.  Most if not all the retailers take applications online and there are usually at least 100 or more ahead of yours.  I sent my son to a employment agency that just happened to be looking for an engineering intern for a job paying $10 per hour.  Lot more life lessons learned that summer.  Another option is for your student to consider the Co-op plan.  Depending on their particular field of study, companies hire students to work three semesters during their junior-senior years.  This adds an additional year to their schooling, but it provides invaluable experience for them to put on their resumes and build up a significant bank account to help with expenses.

Be sure to "like" or join all the social media pages of your kid's university.  You will be able to keep up with school events and calendars and often times you will be telling your kid some things that they haven't heard or didn't know.

Drugs and alcohol are and have been a part of college life for a long time.  There are those students that cannot handle either and end up in the hospital, jail, or being sent home for poor classroom performance.  I personally know one kid with multiple DUI's.  You would thing one would be more than enough!

Don't forget to plan a visit during a home football game or two.  We have done this every year, and have made new friends, met up with some old friends, and have been entertained by the young bucks that drop by for a bite to eat.  You're paying for it, might as well enjoy it!

Good luck to all you newbie college parents, as we are in with our son on his last "victory lap"!  We have tailgating supplies that will be with us for a while.  We know all the back roads in and around two campuses.  Most of the vehicles are well over 100,000 miles.  Cowbells have got a few dings, and lots or Rebel pom poms have faded.  Being from a split household, this fall is gonna be a long one.  Glad I make space in the cooler for a tall cold one or two, or three. #HailState and #HobbyLobby everybody!