Here’s an encore of an earlier podcast episode that we think is so important it deserves to be released again. If your student is making their decision right now, you may need to hear this. The college admission process begins earlier and earli

#108 – A Conversation About Education, Parenting, and Race

16 days ago 1h 1m

In this second crossover episode with a Facebook Live even hosted with cohost Elizabeth Hamblet, we were joined by Timothy L. Fields and Shereem Herndon-Brown, authors of The Black Family’s Guide to College Admissions now out in its second edit

#107 - Waiting to Fail: Holding on to Hope

30 days ago 39m 5s

We recently received an email from a parent with a question. This mom was concerned that in spite of a number of supports, her son was struggling and not doing well. She could see far enough down the road to be fairly certain he was going to fa

#106 – Academic Advising Matters: What You Need to Know

Mar 6th, 2024 43m 22s

Vicki and Sarah spent some time recently at the Region 1 conference of NACADA - the National Advising Association. There's a lot to learn about how staff and faculty advisors work to guide your student throughout their college career. In this e

#105 – Q & A on College Supports for Students with Learning Disabilities

Feb 21st, 2024 1h 5m

In this, our first crossover episode, we joined with Elizabeth Hamblet (one of our new cohosts) as she hosted a Facebook Live discussion with four guests who work in programs for students with disabilities - Brittany Cortinas of the University

#104 Meet the Team: Student Support Roles

Feb 7th, 2024 55m 26s

In this episode we’re “meeting the team” in two different ways. We introduce you to our new College Parent Central podcasting team as we are joined by new cohosts Elizabeth Hamblet and Sarah Shane, and we also reintroduce Vicki Nelson and Lynn

#103 – Encore Episode – Second Semester of College: The Transition No One Talks About

Jan 17th, 2024 40m 11s

The transition to second semester of college is so important – and often hidden – that we’ve decided to share this episode again. You and your student may be taken by surprise when the start of the second semester of college seems so difficult.

#102 – Helping Students Develop Relationships with Professors Beyond the Classroom

Jan 3rd, 2024 37m 30s

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

#101 – What’s Ahead for College Parent Central?

Dec 6th, 2023 26m 48s

In this episode Vicki and Lynn take a look ahead to Season 5 of the podcast and describe some of the exciting changes we’re planning. We introduce two new co-hosts who will be joining the College Parent Central Podcast Team. Elizabeth Hamblet

#100 – Celebrating our 100th Episode: Reflecting on Four Seasons of the College Parent Central Podcast

Nov 15th, 2023 44m 21s

We’re 100 episodes in! Lynn and Vicki take some time to look back at some of our most popular episodes, some of our favorites, some trends and themes we’ve noticed, and what we’ve loved about getting together to create this podcast. We also tak

#099 – Navigating College Financial Decisions: An Interview with New York Times Bestselling Author Ron Lieber

Nov 1st, 2023 42m 5s

Vicki and Lynn spent this episode in conversation with Ron Lieber author of The Price You Pay for College: An Entirely New Road Map for the Biggest Financial Decision Your Family Will Ever Make. Ron helped us unpack how complicated the financia

#098 – College Lingo – Can You Talk the Talk? – Part 3

Oct 18th, 2023 44m 48s

So many mysterious terms and acronyms to understand when your student heads off to college! In this third College Lingo installment Vicki and Lynn define and discuss several of the insider terms that colleges use that may not be clear to parent

#097 – Why Do Students Have Trouble Asking for the Help They Need?

Oct 4th, 2023 41m 49s

It’s natural for students to struggle with college work. The problem we see isn’t the struggle or challenge, it is that students don’t always ask for the help they need. Colleges work hard to make sure students know about the resources availabl

#096 - Parenting Through the College Calendar

Sep 20th, 2023 52m 43s

In this episode Lynn and Vicki took a tour through the college calendar. We focused on several of the touchpoints students experience throughout the year. We highlighted conversations to have with your student at the important milestones in eac

#095 – Learning More About Sexual Assault on Campus: An Interview with Saryfah Bolling of Callisto

Sep 6th, 2023 47m 36s

Callisto is an organization whose mission is to provide resources and to empower survivors of sexual assault. Sarayfah Bolling, Callisto’s Director of Programs and Strategic Engagement joined us in this episode to help us learn more about sexua

#094 – What to Do When (If) Your College Student Is Homesick

Aug 16th, 2023 39m 3s

It isn’t inevitable that your college student will experience homesickness, but if they do, knowing why it happens and what to do will help you be prepared. In this episode, Lynn and Vicki discuss the factors that can cause college student home

#093 – Move-in Day Is Finally Here!

Aug 2nd, 2023 30m 14s

After a summer of ups and downs, tension and excitement, the time has arrived to deliver your student to school. In this episode Vicki and Lynn share some of their memories of Move-in Days with their sons and daughters. Along the way they share

#092 – Can College Pressure Convince Teens to Lie? A Conversation with Young Adult Novelist Tracy Badua

Jul 19th, 2023 34m 47s

Tracy Badua, lawyer by day and novelist by night, joined Lynn and Vicki to talk about her new novel This Is Not a Personal Statement. The story follows a graduating high school senior who goes to some great lengths to attend the college of her

#091 – Parent Transitions: The Empty Nest

Jul 5th, 2023 37m 52s

We’ve spent a lot of time helping parents understand the college experience and talking about how to support their student’s transition to college. It’s time to turn the tables and focus on how parents can take care of themselves as they make t

#090 – Making the Most of College Visits: A Conversation with Moira McCullough of College Scoops

Jun 21st, 2023 53m 33s

Moira McCullough joined Lynn and Vicki in this episode to talk about how to reduce the time, money and stress that can go into planning college visits with your student. Moira’s advice about how to communicate with your student will help them d

#089 – Summer Reading Suggestions for College Parents

Jun 7th, 2023 46m 22s

In our annual collection of book suggestions for parents, Vicki and Lynn share some of what we’ve been reading this year. This year’s books cover a wide variety of topics that will help parents broaden their understanding of students’ academic

#088 – How Parents’ Fear of Failure Can Influence Students

May 17th, 2023 36m 46s

As parents, it’s in our DNA to worry about our kids. In addition, the messaging about success and failure is all around us and reinforces our worst fears. In this episode, Lynn and Vicki discuss some of the reasons we worry, the effect parental

#087 – Exploring the Why and How of the Gap Year Experience: An Interview with Jay Gosselin of Discover Year and Marie Shea, Gap Year Parent

May 3rd, 2023 48m 27s

In this episode we had a wonderful interview with Jay Gosselin, Founder and Director of Discover Year, a year long program that helps young adults build essential skills for their career and life. We explored why students might need or want a g

#086 – Highlights from Jeff Selingo’s Book There Is Life After College

Apr 19th, 2023 42m 42s

Jeff Selingo’s book There is Life After College: What Parents and Students Should Know About Navigating School to Prepare for the Jobs of Tomorrow is a hidden gem. Whether you have a student in high school, in college, or a recent graduate, thi

#085 – A Pathway to Success for Students with Disabilities (and everyone else, too!): An Interview with Elizabeth Hamblet

Apr 5th, 2023 51m

Elizabeth Hamblet joined us for a second interview to share highlights of the new edition of her book: Seven Steps to College Success: A Pathway for Students with Disabilities. Elizabeth helped us unpack some of the complexities of college acco