March 17, 2026 • 32 mins
After all of the transitions during fall semester (even for upper class students) students, and their parents, often assume it will be easy to navigate spring semester. Even if there are a few more transitions settling in at the beginning of second semester, the rest should be smooth sailing. In this podcast, Vicki and Lynn explore some of the things that are on students’ minds during this semester. It’s packed with choices that will shape the next year – housing, course registration, spring break, and summer decisions lead the list. Understanding what’s on your student’s mind and remaining a calm presence means you can ask curious questions, point to campus resources, and resist catching the overwhelm they may be feeling.
Thank you for listening!
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Episode Transcript
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SPEAKER_00 (01:02):
Welcome to the College Parent Central Podcast.
Whether your child is justbeginning the college admission
process or is already incollege, this podcast is for
you.
You'll find food for thought andinformation about college and
about navigating that delicatebalance of guidance,
involvement, and knowing when toget out of the way.
(01:24):
Join your hosts, Vicki Nelsonand Lynn Abrahams, as they share
support and a celebration of theamazing experience of having a
child in college.
SPEAKER_01 (01:40):
Welcome back to the College Parent Central podcast.
We are here and ready to talkabout just about anything that
has to do with being the parentof a college student, being the
parent of a high school student,getting ready for college, and
sometimes being the parent of astudent who is stepping out
sideways out of college orstepping out at the end of
(02:03):
college to a career.
Just about everything along thatspectrum we like to talk about.
My name is Vicki Nelson, and Iam here with my co-host Lynn
Abrahams.
And we have a topic we are, it'sone of those topics that we're
going to talk about today thatwe said this is going to be
(02:25):
short.
We're not going to have much tosay until we started to really
think about what we have to say.
SPEAKER_02 (02:29):
We have a lot to say.
SPEAKER_01 (02:31):
I am here as uh both a college professor and as the
parent of three girls who haveall finished college.
So I've experienced um being aparent, and I also see college
students every day.
And I know um Lynn has somecredentials too.
SPEAKER_02 (02:50):
Um I also come um with experience working with
lots of college students whohave learning differences and
working with their families aswell.
Um so that's one side of it, butthe other side is that I'm a mom
of two sons who have, you know,come in and out and around and
through college.
(03:11):
So I kind of blend togetherthose two sides.
SPEAKER_01 (03:16):
So um the topic that we wanted to talk about today,
we said, you know, it's it it'sspring semester.
Um, and we did an earlierpodcast, um, which we'll link to
in the show notes, which isreally about the transition to
second semester that a lot ofpeople don't think about.
Um, but once once students havetransitioned into that second
(03:39):
semester and and figured thingsout, it seems as though there's
a lot going on in spring.
And so, depending on where yourstudent is along the spectrum,
if you have a high schoolstudent, high school senior uh
in spring semester, uh obviouslythere's a lot going on.
(03:59):
There, it's all aboutadmissions, it's about waiting
for the letter, getting theletter, making a decision.
Um, and then there are all thosewonderful senior activities that
are going on.
There's a lot of emotion aboutheading to college.
Uh, there's a lot of emotionabout leaving your friends.
Students need to try to keeptheir grades up so um the
(04:19):
college will still want them bythe time they finish spring.
Um, so there's a lot going onbecause of that transition.
If you have a college senior,there's also a lot of transition
going on.
Um, they're trying to finishsuccessfully, they're probably
looking for a job, um, they'reemotional about losing, leaving
(04:41):
and possibly losing friends.
Uh, they're graduating andcommencements coming up.
That's that's a lot going on.
So for those two groups who aretransitioning, we know there's a
lot going on.
But really, what we want to talkabout today are the rest of the
students.
The students who are currentfirst-year students, sophomores,
(05:04):
and juniors.
They don't have that bigtransition happening.
It seems in some ways as though,okay, by spring semester, first,
second, third year, you can justsort of settle in and relax a
little bit, just focus on yourstudies and and and just keep
moving along.
(05:25):
But as we think about it,there's a lot on students' minds
in spring semester that most ofus may not realize.
So knowing what's going on foryour student is a big help and
are things you may want to talkto them about.
So we want to talk about thosefreshmen, sophomores, juniors,
(05:47):
and what's on their mind inspring semester.
And I think, Lynn, you wanted tojump in and start by sort of not
just looking forward, but alsolooking backwards.
SPEAKER_02 (05:59):
Right.
Uh I think I'm thinking a littlebit more about first-year
students.
Um, but uh some first-yearstudents, well, first there's a
there's a whole group ofstudents who come into spring
semester feeling good becausethey made it through their first
semester and they feel someconfidence.
(06:19):
I remember, you know, workingwith a lot of students who came
in and said, wow, I can do it, Ican do college.
And so it can be um can beexciting to step into that
spring semester.
And then there are students whohave struggled a bit in their
first semester academically.
And so they're coming intospring a little more exhausted,
(06:43):
and they're coming in um perhapswith a need to get a little more
support.
Okay.
So if you're if your um studentyou know struggled first term,
you want to have a conversationwith them about you know, what
do you need to do to make thissemester better?
(07:03):
Spring term often has morechallenging courses, but you're
not in the very, very firstround.
Um, so it's a little moreacademically challenging.
Um, and um, you know, I alwaysthink of the fact that our
students um are still growing,you know, executive function
(07:27):
skills are still um growing atthat point.
So so you know, this is a timeof of um of uh of growth.
Um so academically there mightbe some changes that need to be
made.
There are also students who comeinto spring term um having some
(07:49):
social struggles.
And um I I find that manystudents make friends very
quickly in their first semester.
Um they kind of nab on, youknow, they they bond with the
people who are right aroundthem.
SPEAKER_01 (08:04):
So they have friends of convenience right there at
the beginning.
SPEAKER_02 (08:07):
Exactly.
And and um sometimes by the endof first semester they realize
that this may not be a good agood plan.
And maybe in the spring it'stime to reach out to other kids
and other um opportunities tomeet new friends.
Um so that could also be a partof what's happening in the
(08:31):
spring.
SPEAKER_01 (08:33):
So, you know, as you're mentioning a lot of those
things, it makes me think a lotof those are things students
think about as they transitioninto this second semester.
But for parents, um, especiallyif you happen to be listening to
this podcast in real time, Iknow a lot of people listen to
(08:55):
them later, but it's now uhtoward the end of February.
And it may be time to revisitsome of those things because
much like many New Year'sresolutions, we make them in
January and then they're gone byFebruary.
It's time to rethink them againa little bit later.
So students may have you knowstarted out the semester with
(09:17):
good intentions, but but now asthey move into spring, it may be
time to rethink a little bit ofthose things.
How's it working out?
Right.
You know, another thing that Ithink students, especially those
first-year students andsometimes sophomores, sophomores
um at this point are thinkingabout, and that's transfer.
(09:39):
Um, you know, they're thinking,yeah, was this, you know, the
right place?
Maybe the things I thought weregoing to be important to me when
I was in high school looking atcollege aren't, um, or things
just haven't fallen into placefor me.
Um, and many, many students atthis point are trying to make a
decision about whether totransfer.
(10:00):
And from what I've heard fromfrom a lot of students, um, a
lot of them think about it, onlysome of them do.
And some do transfer, but othersjust the process of thinking
about transfer helps themsolidify no, this really is the
(10:22):
right place where I want to be.
Um, but knowing that, you know,if we're thinking in terms of
what's on your students' mindduring this second semester, um,
for many students, it's am Iwhere I want to be?
And and is should I make achange?
SPEAKER_02 (10:39):
And I think it's important for parents to to see
that that's so common.
It is so common for students togo through that process of
thinking about yeah, and and tohelp them think through.
SPEAKER_01 (10:53):
Um, we I I think we did an earlier podcast on
transfer.
Um, not we're over a hundredtopics.
We're over 150 episodes at thispoint.
I can't remember every singleone.
Um, but I think we did, andwe'll put it in the show notes.
Um, actually, you know what?
(11:14):
We did.
I just made myself a littlenote.
It's episode 30.
That's why it was way back then.
Um, thinking about transfer andsome kinds of questions to ask
your student to help them thinkthrough whether or not.
Um, but it's definitely on theirminds.
Um, thinking a little morespecifically about some some
things.
One of the things um in thisfirst half of the first of the
(11:38):
second, first half of the secondsemester um that many students
are thinking about is springbreak.
And um for some parents that's amoment of fear, you know, what
is my student going to do?
Um, and students deciding uhwhat they're going to do for
spring break.
(11:58):
And some students are just gonnago home and crash um because
that's what they need.
They need some rest andrelaxation.
Some students come home and umdecide that that they're going
to work.
Maybe they've had a home jobthat they were able to pick up
over winter break, and now theycan work while they're home and
(12:18):
um get a little cash.
Some students decide they'regoing to travel.
Um I I know one of my daughters,when she was in college, had
friends who were studyingabroad, and so she used spring
break to go visit them for aweek wherever in the world they
(12:41):
happen to be.
Um, and then of course, somestudents decide to do what is so
legendary of spring break, ofall these places where students
go where it's warm and theyparty.
Um, and that prompts someconversations probably with with
your student.
But they're really thinking, youknow, having to think about what
(13:03):
am I going to do for springbreak?
Am I going to travel?
Am I going to, if I'm going totravel, how much is it going to
cost?
And am I going to be able toafford it?
And um, am I going to party andwhat's involved with that?
Am I going to just go home?
Am I going to what's it going tobe like when I go home?
And um, so there's a lot thatgoes on in thinking about spring
(13:25):
break.
It takes a lot of brain space.
SPEAKER_02 (13:28):
Some students need to go home and do nothing.
I mean, I think that's, youknow, some students are really
exhausted by by college, um, andthat's a possibility.
Yeah.
Um, and then there's somestudents who really do need
stimulation, they really need todo something else.
And I know that there are a lotof alternative programs, spring
(13:49):
break programs that are set upthrough the college, colleges
and universities.
SPEAKER_01 (13:54):
And they actually call them alternative spring
break.
SPEAKER_02 (13:57):
Right.
And they might be some kind oforganized volunteer work um in
some place, who knows where.
There, it might be um, I know alot of students who have done
Habitat for Humanity, and they,you know, have helped people
building homes.
Um, I know that, you know,there's a lot of organizations
(14:21):
that have um have programs,United Way, Global Citizens
Network.
I mean, there are a lot ofplaces you can do some research,
and your student is going towant to figure that out.
It's a little complicated, butyou know, they if they know they
need to be stimulated, they'regonna want to find something to
do.
SPEAKER_01 (14:40):
And many colleges, I know ours does, actually run an
alternative spring break.
So they students can sign up, itthey take a group of, you know,
usually 10 to 20.
It's not a big group, 10 to 20students.
It's often habitat for humanity.
But um, you know, they travelsomewhere, they stay there, they
(15:03):
stay as a group, they spendtheir days working on building a
house or you know, helping out.
I after Katrina, a lot of groupswent down to New Orleans to help
down there.
Um, and it it becomes a bondingexercise for those students, you
know, from the and it'sorganized by the school with
(15:23):
chaperones from the school andand all of that.
So students can find somethingon their own or they can, you
know, see if there's somethingthat they're um that their
college is running.
So another thing that studentsdefinitely have on their minds
during spring is housing, andit's housing for fall.
(15:45):
Um, and there are a couple ofthings that weigh heavily um and
cause some anxiety in somecases.
The first is some students arethinking about moving off
campus.
Maybe they've been living in theresidence hall, maybe for first
year, maybe for a couple ofyears, maybe for three years,
um, and they decide they want tomove off campus.
(16:08):
They want to have an apartmentand live on their own.
Um, that's definitely aconversation to have with your
student if they're thinkingabout it and to think about the
realities of it and what's itgoing to cost, and how are you
gonna manage this, and how whattransportation, all kinds of
things to think about.
Um, but the time that studentshave to think about it really is
(16:29):
during the spring.
So while they're trying tomaintain their grades and their
classes, they have all thesethings going on.
Um, because if students aregoing to move off campus, they
can't wait until August to tryto find a place to live.
So they're making thosedecisions.
But then, even for the studentswho are going to live on campus,
(16:50):
it would seem that would besimple.
But I think one of the mostanxiety-producing events that I
see of our students on campus iswhat they call the housing
lottery, um, where students areassigned a number, often by
class.
You know, the juniors go firstand then the sophomores and then
(17:12):
the first year students.
And it's like a lottery, adrawing.
And then they go in by number,it's all online now, but um, to
choose which dorm and which roomthey're going to live in.
And they have to find, you know,if if we're going to, if I'm
going to try to live in a suite,which a lot of students like to
do, three or four rooms, usuallywith a common room and a and a
(17:34):
bathroom or a couple ofbathrooms, they've got to find
six people, maybe, you know, twothree rooms of roommates or
something.
They've got to find a group, andwe all are going to, but we've
got to have a high enough numberthat we can get this room.
And if we don't get this room,then where are we going to go?
And what are we going to do?
And everybody wants this dorm.
And um, students get so anxiousand very so worried about this.
(17:58):
And they have to have theirhousing deposit made before they
can get a number to be part ofthe lottery.
So they want to be with theirfriends, they want to be in
these coveted spaces.
Um, it may be a totally randomthing, it may be totally random
by class.
Some schools do kind of earnedpoints things, like if you have
(18:19):
a certain GPA, you earn somepoints, or if you are a leader
of a club, you earn some points,or whatever that moves you a
little higher up the ladder.
Different schools do itdifferently, but it's a very
anxiety-producing thing.
I know one of the things, one ofmy daughters at the school she
went to, the senior class wasalways trying to raise money for
(18:44):
events for this end-of-yearthing.
And one of the things thecollege gave that, gave the
senior class the number one inthe lottery to raffle off.
And it was huge that you know,the all the underclassmen were
trying to be in this raffle toget housing number one in the
(19:08):
lottery, which meant you hadyour pick of anywhere on campus.
Um, and it was a really bigdeal.
Just so happened my daughtercaught it.
Oh my goodness.
She and her roommate had theirfirst choice of room on the
campus, which is a lot of fun.
Um, but it's an anxious time,and I think you know, we've got
to remember that that's going onfor our kids.
SPEAKER_02 (19:29):
You know, there's so much planning ahead that goes
on.
SPEAKER_01 (19:33):
There is.
SPEAKER_02 (19:34):
And I think we don't realize that like during a
spring semester, all of this ishappening.
Um, I know in the second half ofspring semester, students are
starting to um register forfall.
Yeah.
And so then they have to thinkabout um, you know, what what
classes they're gonna take, whatelectives are they gonna take,
(19:56):
what's required, what's onlyoffered in the fall and not the
spring.
Um if students are umsophomores, or at least at our
school, they need to make adecision about their major.
SPEAKER_01 (20:10):
I think that's true in many places.
End of sophomore year.
SPEAKER_02 (20:14):
And that can be a difficult decision.
SPEAKER_01 (20:16):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (20:17):
Um, and I think, you know, as parents, it's good for
us to know what's what they'regoing through.
Not not that we can nag themabout it, but that we can be in
the background and and you know,maybe ask a few questions about
what's what's happening andwhere they could get some help
and making some of thesedecisions.
And, you know, have you talkedto your advisor?
(20:37):
And uh, you know, that that kindof thing.
SPEAKER_01 (20:40):
I think sometimes we can be the calming influence.
You know, the students get soanxious about housing and
anxious about their classes fornext year, and and it's not only
figuring it out, but then will Iget in it?
You know, I really want thisclass, but will it fill before I
get a chance to register?
Because again, it's by class.
So, you know, but in springsemester, the seniors are out,
(21:04):
you know, they they're notregistering for fall.
So that's good.
Everybody moves up the ladder alittle bit, but juniors go first
and then sophomores and then thefirst year students.
So they're anxious about notjust not only figuring out what
do I need, but will I be able toget what I need?
SPEAKER_02 (21:20):
You know, and you're right, Vicki, to bring up our
role as calming influences, youknow, that so that we could say,
it's gonna work out, you know,it's gonna be okay.
The sky's not gonna fall in onyou.
Um, this is part of whathappens, this is part of the pro
of being a college student, andit's it's gonna be okay.
SPEAKER_01 (21:40):
And it it's very easy for us to get caught up in
their anxiety, exactly.
Yeah, right.
They they're in a panic overthis thing or that thing, and
it's sometimes it's contagious.
SPEAKER_02 (21:52):
It does not help if we get panicky too, right?
SPEAKER_01 (21:56):
Yeah.
So thinking about fall, andthere's all of that academic
stuff and the classes andeverything, there are there are
some other things that they needto be thinking about in in
spring, um, to be in a goodplace for fall.
Um students may be thinking theywould like to be doing an
internship in the fall andwaiting until summer to try to
(22:19):
find it doesn't often work verywell.
Um, a lot of places, especiallythose um, you know, those more
competitive places, some ofthose internships there taking
applications and maybe havinginterviews and all right now.
So, in addition to thinkingabout their classes, if they
want to do an internship, theymay be thinking about that.
(22:42):
Some of the jobs on campus, uhespecially some of the coveted
jobs that seniors might havenow, and seniors are graduating.
Um, students might be Thinkingabout, you know, do I can I line
up so that I can get this job oncampus for fall and be thinking
about that.
(23:02):
Um, things about clubs, a lot ofstudents are in activities and
clubs and student government,um, and they often have
elections in the spring so thatthere will be people in place to
start the fall.
Some may wait till fall, um, butthere may be things on campus
that they're thinking in termsof leadership.
(23:23):
Um, and then there are thingslike orientation leaders who
work in the summer, they'retaking applications right now so
that they can be training theirOLs during the spring.
Um, resident assistants, thestudents who who are in charge
of the dorms and work there,they're taking applications now
(23:45):
so they can line up theirpeople.
Um, in some schools that haveteaching assistants, uh,
undergraduate teachingassistants, maybe um, you know,
faculty may be reaching out tostudents now to see.
So so they're thinking about allof those things that aren't
going to happen until six monthsfrom now.
(24:06):
But they need to be thinkingabout them.
And sometimes it's the students.
Some of the students who aren'tthinking about these things
right now are the ones who areuh sometimes taken by surprise
and definitely disappointed inthe fall when they come back and
they say, Okay, now I'm going tolook for an on-campus job that I
(24:28):
want, and they're all taken.
There are some schools that thatmake you wait.
There are some schools that say,no, we're we'll we'll do that in
the fall, but some may beplanning ahead.
So staying on top of it'simportant.
SPEAKER_02 (24:42):
There again, there's so much planning ahead that goes
on, and um and some of ourstudents are just so consumed by
what they're doing because ittakes a lot of energy um that
it's hard to step back and sortof plan ahead.
Um I know summer isn't you know,planning the summer, you know,
are you going to work?
(25:03):
Are you going to um are yougoing to do an internship?
And I know internships, you haveto, if you want to get college
credit for the internship, thattakes a little bit of planning.
Um, sometimes you have to meetwith a professor early, you have
to map it out.
You um so it it's it's somethingthat needs some attention um if
(25:26):
they want to do that, you know,yeah applying for jobs.
SPEAKER_01 (25:30):
Yeah, and and and making a decision, you know, do
I want my summer to give me somegood experience or do I want my
summer to be about making money?
SPEAKER_02 (25:44):
Do I need that?
Yeah sometimes.
SPEAKER_01 (25:46):
Yeah, to be yeah, not just because I want more
money to you know to go onvacation, but many students need
to work all summer becausethat's the money they live on
the rest of the year.
So some students that's that's areally tough decision.
I need to work, I need to haveto be able to make some money,
(26:08):
but I I really want to have thisexperience because that's going
to look good on my resume.
And so um, so so makingdecisions about summer for some
students is tough and needs tobe dealt with now, not gee, when
I get home at the end of thesemester, I'll start to think
(26:28):
about that.
And then the other thing, um,and we are almost at the end of
this list, believe it or not.
Um we don't want to make youmore anxious.
Yeah.
Um, the other thing is makingdecisions about summer classes.
Um, because sometimes, you know,at the time that students are
registering, which often is lateMarch or so, in a lot of places,
(26:50):
it's different everywhere, um,is also a time that they might
register for summer classes.
So do I want to take a class inthe summer?
Do I need to make up somecredits that I, you know, maybe
I withdrew from something or Ifailed something?
Do I, you know, should I take aclass in the summer?
Do I want to take summer classesto get ahead so that I'll have a
(27:13):
little leeway, a little extra?
Um, do I want to take a class inthe summer because um that's a
particularly hard class and it'sgoing to be easier for me if if
all I have to focus on is thatclass and not try to have it be
one of five that I'm juggling.
Um, there are a lot of reasonsstudents might take summer
(27:34):
classes, and then they have tofind out what's available.
They have to think about am Igoing to take it at my
homeschool or am I going to takeit at a school close to my home?
SPEAKER_02 (27:44):
And does it transfer?
SPEAKER_01 (27:45):
And does it transfer?
Yes.
You have to find that out beforeyou take the class and then find
out your college is not going toaccept it.
Um, and you know, is itavailable online?
Is is it, do I want to take anonline class or am I better off
in uh in in-person classes?
There are lots of decisions tothink about just in terms of
(28:08):
summer classes.
Um, especially for, I think forstudents who are first-year
students who are fresh out ofhigh school.
I think a lot of times, youknow, in elementary school,
middle school, high school,summer school was just for the
kids who failed, just for thekids who, you know, needed
(28:29):
needed extra because theyweren't doing well.
And yes, there is some of thatwith with summer classes in
college, but it it's verydifferent.
All kinds of students take allkinds of things, and they take
them at their homeschool or theyget permission to take them
somewhere else.
Um, they're online, they're inperson, um, and they serve a lot
(28:51):
of purposes.
But the time middle-ish ofspring semester is when some of
those decisions need to be needto be made.
SPEAKER_02 (29:03):
So we hope we're not overwhelming you with all of
these things that are going onin spring.
But the idea here is that themore information you have as a
parent, maybe the less anxiousyou can be.
And you can step back and knowthat this is going on and
support your kids as they gothrough it.
SPEAKER_01 (29:25):
I think that support is really an important word
because I I that was what was atin the back of our minds as we
were thinking about this thistopic for this episode, is uh
just understanding how much ison students' minds during this
(29:45):
spring semester.
Not every student is going to bethinking about every one of the,
what was it, nine things wementioned, but many of them are
going to be thinking about manyof them.
And especially if your studentis away at school and not living
under your roof anymore.
If they're living at home,sometimes you're a little more
aware of some of what's goingon.
(30:07):
Sometimes not.
It doesn't mean they come homeand talk about everything all
the time.
But especially if your studentis away, you may not realize
that this is not a simple,straightforward, calming
semester.
Um, in some ways, there's moreturmoil going on in this
(30:28):
semester than in the fallbecause they've got lots to
think about.
So being in the middle,first-year students moving up to
sophomores, sophomores moving upto juniors, juniors moving up to
seniors, um, there's a lot ontheir minds, and it's a busy
spring semester.
And um yeah, as parents, we needto uh we need to help them out a
(30:54):
little bit sometimes by justsaying it will work out.
That's fine.
Or who can you talk to aboutthat?
SPEAKER_02 (31:01):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (31:01):
Who on campus can help you with that?
SPEAKER_02 (31:04):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (31:04):
So think about that and uh have some good
conversations with yourstudents.
Thanks for joining us for thisepisode.
We will put a lot of thesethings in the show notes.
Um, we have some other podcastepisodes that relate to this,
and there are some articles onthe College Parent Central
website about a lot of thesetopics.
(31:26):
So you can get lots moreinformation if you want to
through follow through a littlemore with some of the details of
all of these.
Thanks for sticking with us tothe end, and we'll see you next
time.
Bye bye.
Welcome to the College Parent Central Podcast.
Whether your child is justbeginning the college admission
process or is already incollege, this podcast is for
you.
You'll find food for thought andinformation about college and
about navigating that delicatebalance of guidance,
involvement, and knowing when toget out of the way.
(01:24):
Join your hosts, Vicki Nelsonand Lynn Abrahams, as they share
support and a celebration of theamazing experience of having a
child in college.
SPEAKER_01 (01:40):
Welcome back to the College Parent Central podcast.
We are here and ready to talkabout just about anything that
has to do with being the parentof a college student, being the
parent of a high school student,getting ready for college, and
sometimes being the parent of astudent who is stepping out
sideways out of college orstepping out at the end of
(02:03):
college to a career.
Just about everything along thatspectrum we like to talk about.
My name is Vicki Nelson, and Iam here with my co-host Lynn
Abrahams.
And we have a topic we are, it'sone of those topics that we're
going to talk about today thatwe said this is going to be
(02:25):
short.
We're not going to have much tosay until we started to really
think about what we have to say.
SPEAKER_02 (02:29):
We have a lot to say.
SPEAKER_01 (02:31):
I am here as uh both a college professor and as the
parent of three girls who haveall finished college.
So I've experienced um being aparent, and I also see college
students every day.
And I know um Lynn has somecredentials too.
SPEAKER_02 (02:50):
Um I also come um with experience working with
lots of college students whohave learning differences and
working with their families aswell.
Um so that's one side of it, butthe other side is that I'm a mom
of two sons who have, you know,come in and out and around and
through college.
(03:11):
So I kind of blend togetherthose two sides.
SPEAKER_01 (03:16):
So um the topic that we wanted to talk about today,
we said, you know, it's it it'sspring semester.
Um, and we did an earlierpodcast, um, which we'll link to
in the show notes, which isreally about the transition to
second semester that a lot ofpeople don't think about.
Um, but once once students havetransitioned into that second
(03:39):
semester and and figured thingsout, it seems as though there's
a lot going on in spring.
And so, depending on where yourstudent is along the spectrum,
if you have a high schoolstudent, high school senior uh
in spring semester, uh obviouslythere's a lot going on.
(03:59):
There, it's all aboutadmissions, it's about waiting
for the letter, getting theletter, making a decision.
Um, and then there are all thosewonderful senior activities that
are going on.
There's a lot of emotion aboutheading to college.
Uh, there's a lot of emotionabout leaving your friends.
Students need to try to keeptheir grades up so um the
(04:19):
college will still want them bythe time they finish spring.
Um, so there's a lot going onbecause of that transition.
If you have a college senior,there's also a lot of transition
going on.
Um, they're trying to finishsuccessfully, they're probably
looking for a job, um, they'reemotional about losing, leaving
(04:41):
and possibly losing friends.
Uh, they're graduating andcommencements coming up.
That's that's a lot going on.
So for those two groups who aretransitioning, we know there's a
lot going on.
But really, what we want to talkabout today are the rest of the
students.
The students who are currentfirst-year students, sophomores,
(05:04):
and juniors.
They don't have that bigtransition happening.
It seems in some ways as though,okay, by spring semester, first,
second, third year, you can justsort of settle in and relax a
little bit, just focus on yourstudies and and and just keep
moving along.
(05:25):
But as we think about it,there's a lot on students' minds
in spring semester that most ofus may not realize.
So knowing what's going on foryour student is a big help and
are things you may want to talkto them about.
So we want to talk about thosefreshmen, sophomores, juniors,
(05:47):
and what's on their mind inspring semester.
And I think, Lynn, you wanted tojump in and start by sort of not
just looking forward, but alsolooking backwards.
SPEAKER_02 (05:59):
Right.
Uh I think I'm thinking a littlebit more about first-year
students.
Um, but uh some first-yearstudents, well, first there's a
there's a whole group ofstudents who come into spring
semester feeling good becausethey made it through their first
semester and they feel someconfidence.
(06:19):
I remember, you know, workingwith a lot of students who came
in and said, wow, I can do it, Ican do college.
And so it can be um can beexciting to step into that
spring semester.
And then there are students whohave struggled a bit in their
first semester academically.
And so they're coming intospring a little more exhausted,
(06:43):
and they're coming in um perhapswith a need to get a little more
support.
Okay.
So if you're if your um studentyou know struggled first term,
you want to have a conversationwith them about you know, what
do you need to do to make thissemester better?
(07:03):
Spring term often has morechallenging courses, but you're
not in the very, very firstround.
Um, so it's a little moreacademically challenging.
Um, and um, you know, I alwaysthink of the fact that our
students um are still growing,you know, executive function
(07:27):
skills are still um growing atthat point.
So so you know, this is a timeof of um of uh of growth.
Um so academically there mightbe some changes that need to be
made.
There are also students who comeinto spring term um having some
(07:49):
social struggles.
And um I I find that manystudents make friends very
quickly in their first semester.
Um they kind of nab on, youknow, they they bond with the
people who are right aroundthem.
SPEAKER_01 (08:04):
So they have friends of convenience right there at
the beginning.
SPEAKER_02 (08:07):
Exactly.
And and um sometimes by the endof first semester they realize
that this may not be a good agood plan.
And maybe in the spring it'stime to reach out to other kids
and other um opportunities tomeet new friends.
Um so that could also be a partof what's happening in the
(08:31):
spring.
SPEAKER_01 (08:33):
So, you know, as you're mentioning a lot of those
things, it makes me think a lotof those are things students
think about as they transitioninto this second semester.
But for parents, um, especiallyif you happen to be listening to
this podcast in real time, Iknow a lot of people listen to
(08:55):
them later, but it's now uhtoward the end of February.
And it may be time to revisitsome of those things because
much like many New Year'sresolutions, we make them in
January and then they're gone byFebruary.
It's time to rethink them againa little bit later.
So students may have you knowstarted out the semester with
(09:17):
good intentions, but but now asthey move into spring, it may be
time to rethink a little bit ofthose things.
How's it working out?
Right.
You know, another thing that Ithink students, especially those
first-year students andsometimes sophomores, sophomores
um at this point are thinkingabout, and that's transfer.
(09:39):
Um, you know, they're thinking,yeah, was this, you know, the
right place?
Maybe the things I thought weregoing to be important to me when
I was in high school looking atcollege aren't, um, or things
just haven't fallen into placefor me.
Um, and many, many students atthis point are trying to make a
decision about whether totransfer.
(10:00):
And from what I've heard fromfrom a lot of students, um, a
lot of them think about it, onlysome of them do.
And some do transfer, but othersjust the process of thinking
about transfer helps themsolidify no, this really is the
(10:22):
right place where I want to be.
Um, but knowing that, you know,if we're thinking in terms of
what's on your students' mindduring this second semester, um,
for many students, it's am Iwhere I want to be?
And and is should I make achange?
SPEAKER_02 (10:39):
And I think it's important for parents to to see
that that's so common.
It is so common for students togo through that process of
thinking about yeah, and and tohelp them think through.
SPEAKER_01 (10:53):
Um, we I I think we did an earlier podcast on
transfer.
Um, not we're over a hundredtopics.
We're over 150 episodes at thispoint.
I can't remember every singleone.
Um, but I think we did, andwe'll put it in the show notes.
Um, actually, you know what?
(11:14):
We did.
I just made myself a littlenote.
It's episode 30.
That's why it was way back then.
Um, thinking about transfer andsome kinds of questions to ask
your student to help them thinkthrough whether or not.
Um, but it's definitely on theirminds.
Um, thinking a little morespecifically about some some
things.
One of the things um in thisfirst half of the first of the
(11:38):
second, first half of the secondsemester um that many students
are thinking about is springbreak.
And um for some parents that's amoment of fear, you know, what
is my student going to do?
Um, and students deciding uhwhat they're going to do for
spring break.
(11:58):
And some students are just gonnago home and crash um because
that's what they need.
They need some rest andrelaxation.
Some students come home and umdecide that that they're going
to work.
Maybe they've had a home jobthat they were able to pick up
over winter break, and now theycan work while they're home and
(12:18):
um get a little cash.
Some students decide they'regoing to travel.
Um I I know one of my daughters,when she was in college, had
friends who were studyingabroad, and so she used spring
break to go visit them for aweek wherever in the world they
(12:41):
happen to be.
Um, and then of course, somestudents decide to do what is so
legendary of spring break, ofall these places where students
go where it's warm and theyparty.
Um, and that prompts someconversations probably with with
your student.
But they're really thinking, youknow, having to think about what
(13:03):
am I going to do for springbreak?
Am I going to travel?
Am I going to, if I'm going totravel, how much is it going to
cost?
And am I going to be able toafford it?
And um, am I going to party andwhat's involved with that?
Am I going to just go home?
Am I going to what's it going tobe like when I go home?
And um, so there's a lot thatgoes on in thinking about spring
(13:25):
break.
It takes a lot of brain space.
SPEAKER_02 (13:28):
Some students need to go home and do nothing.
I mean, I think that's, youknow, some students are really
exhausted by by college, um, andthat's a possibility.
Yeah.
Um, and then there's somestudents who really do need
stimulation, they really need todo something else.
And I know that there are a lotof alternative programs, spring
(13:49):
break programs that are set upthrough the college, colleges
and universities.
SPEAKER_01 (13:54):
And they actually call them alternative spring
break.
SPEAKER_02 (13:57):
Right.
And they might be some kind oforganized volunteer work um in
some place, who knows where.
There, it might be um, I know alot of students who have done
Habitat for Humanity, and they,you know, have helped people
building homes.
Um, I know that, you know,there's a lot of organizations
(14:21):
that have um have programs,United Way, Global Citizens
Network.
I mean, there are a lot ofplaces you can do some research,
and your student is going towant to figure that out.
It's a little complicated, butyou know, they if they know they
need to be stimulated, they'regonna want to find something to
do.
SPEAKER_01 (14:40):
And many colleges, I know ours does, actually run an
alternative spring break.
So they students can sign up, itthey take a group of, you know,
usually 10 to 20.
It's not a big group, 10 to 20students.
It's often habitat for humanity.
But um, you know, they travelsomewhere, they stay there, they
(15:03):
stay as a group, they spendtheir days working on building a
house or you know, helping out.
I after Katrina, a lot of groupswent down to New Orleans to help
down there.
Um, and it it becomes a bondingexercise for those students, you
know, from the and it'sorganized by the school with
(15:23):
chaperones from the school andand all of that.
So students can find somethingon their own or they can, you
know, see if there's somethingthat they're um that their
college is running.
So another thing that studentsdefinitely have on their minds
during spring is housing, andit's housing for fall.
(15:45):
Um, and there are a couple ofthings that weigh heavily um and
cause some anxiety in somecases.
The first is some students arethinking about moving off
campus.
Maybe they've been living in theresidence hall, maybe for first
year, maybe for a couple ofyears, maybe for three years,
um, and they decide they want tomove off campus.
(16:08):
They want to have an apartmentand live on their own.
Um, that's definitely aconversation to have with your
student if they're thinkingabout it and to think about the
realities of it and what's itgoing to cost, and how are you
gonna manage this, and how whattransportation, all kinds of
things to think about.
Um, but the time that studentshave to think about it really is
(16:29):
during the spring.
So while they're trying tomaintain their grades and their
classes, they have all thesethings going on.
Um, because if students aregoing to move off campus, they
can't wait until August to tryto find a place to live.
So they're making thosedecisions.
But then, even for the studentswho are going to live on campus,
(16:50):
it would seem that would besimple.
But I think one of the mostanxiety-producing events that I
see of our students on campus iswhat they call the housing
lottery, um, where students areassigned a number, often by
class.
You know, the juniors go firstand then the sophomores and then
(17:12):
the first year students.
And it's like a lottery, adrawing.
And then they go in by number,it's all online now, but um, to
choose which dorm and which roomthey're going to live in.
And they have to find, you know,if if we're going to, if I'm
going to try to live in a suite,which a lot of students like to
do, three or four rooms, usuallywith a common room and a and a
(17:34):
bathroom or a couple ofbathrooms, they've got to find
six people, maybe, you know, twothree rooms of roommates or
something.
They've got to find a group, andwe all are going to, but we've
got to have a high enough numberthat we can get this room.
And if we don't get this room,then where are we going to go?
And what are we going to do?
And everybody wants this dorm.
And um, students get so anxiousand very so worried about this.
(17:58):
And they have to have theirhousing deposit made before they
can get a number to be part ofthe lottery.
So they want to be with theirfriends, they want to be in
these coveted spaces.
Um, it may be a totally randomthing, it may be totally random
by class.
Some schools do kind of earnedpoints things, like if you have
(18:19):
a certain GPA, you earn somepoints, or if you are a leader
of a club, you earn some points,or whatever that moves you a
little higher up the ladder.
Different schools do itdifferently, but it's a very
anxiety-producing thing.
I know one of the things, one ofmy daughters at the school she
went to, the senior class wasalways trying to raise money for
(18:44):
events for this end-of-yearthing.
And one of the things thecollege gave that, gave the
senior class the number one inthe lottery to raffle off.
And it was huge that you know,the all the underclassmen were
trying to be in this raffle toget housing number one in the
(19:08):
lottery, which meant you hadyour pick of anywhere on campus.
Um, and it was a really bigdeal.
Just so happened my daughtercaught it.
Oh my goodness.
She and her roommate had theirfirst choice of room on the
campus, which is a lot of fun.
Um, but it's an anxious time,and I think you know, we've got
to remember that that's going onfor our kids.
SPEAKER_02 (19:29):
You know, there's so much planning ahead that goes
on.
SPEAKER_01 (19:33):
There is.
SPEAKER_02 (19:34):
And I think we don't realize that like during a
spring semester, all of this ishappening.
Um, I know in the second half ofspring semester, students are
starting to um register forfall.
Yeah.
And so then they have to thinkabout um, you know, what what
classes they're gonna take, whatelectives are they gonna take,
(19:56):
what's required, what's onlyoffered in the fall and not the
spring.
Um if students are umsophomores, or at least at our
school, they need to make adecision about their major.
SPEAKER_01 (20:10):
I think that's true in many places.
End of sophomore year.
SPEAKER_02 (20:14):
And that can be a difficult decision.
SPEAKER_01 (20:16):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (20:17):
Um, and I think, you know, as parents, it's good for
us to know what's what they'regoing through.
Not not that we can nag themabout it, but that we can be in
the background and and you know,maybe ask a few questions about
what's what's happening andwhere they could get some help
and making some of thesedecisions.
And, you know, have you talkedto your advisor?
(20:37):
And uh, you know, that that kindof thing.
SPEAKER_01 (20:40):
I think sometimes we can be the calming influence.
You know, the students get soanxious about housing and
anxious about their classes fornext year, and and it's not only
figuring it out, but then will Iget in it?
You know, I really want thisclass, but will it fill before I
get a chance to register?
Because again, it's by class.
So, you know, but in springsemester, the seniors are out,
(21:04):
you know, they they're notregistering for fall.
So that's good.
Everybody moves up the ladder alittle bit, but juniors go first
and then sophomores and then thefirst year students.
So they're anxious about notjust not only figuring out what
do I need, but will I be able toget what I need?
SPEAKER_02 (21:20):
You know, and you're right, Vicki, to bring up our
role as calming influences, youknow, that so that we could say,
it's gonna work out, you know,it's gonna be okay.
The sky's not gonna fall in onyou.
Um, this is part of whathappens, this is part of the pro
of being a college student, andit's it's gonna be okay.
SPEAKER_01 (21:40):
And it it's very easy for us to get caught up in
their anxiety, exactly.
Yeah, right.
They they're in a panic overthis thing or that thing, and
it's sometimes it's contagious.
SPEAKER_02 (21:52):
It does not help if we get panicky too, right?
SPEAKER_01 (21:56):
Yeah.
So thinking about fall, andthere's all of that academic
stuff and the classes andeverything, there are there are
some other things that they needto be thinking about in in
spring, um, to be in a goodplace for fall.
Um students may be thinking theywould like to be doing an
internship in the fall andwaiting until summer to try to
(22:19):
find it doesn't often work verywell.
Um, a lot of places, especiallythose um, you know, those more
competitive places, some ofthose internships there taking
applications and maybe havinginterviews and all right now.
So, in addition to thinkingabout their classes, if they
want to do an internship, theymay be thinking about that.
(22:42):
Some of the jobs on campus, uhespecially some of the coveted
jobs that seniors might havenow, and seniors are graduating.
Um, students might be Thinkingabout, you know, do I can I line
up so that I can get this job oncampus for fall and be thinking
about that.
(23:02):
Um, things about clubs, a lot ofstudents are in activities and
clubs and student government,um, and they often have
elections in the spring so thatthere will be people in place to
start the fall.
Some may wait till fall, um, butthere may be things on campus
that they're thinking in termsof leadership.
(23:23):
Um, and then there are thingslike orientation leaders who
work in the summer, they'retaking applications right now so
that they can be training theirOLs during the spring.
Um, resident assistants, thestudents who who are in charge
of the dorms and work there,they're taking applications now
(23:45):
so they can line up theirpeople.
Um, in some schools that haveteaching assistants, uh,
undergraduate teachingassistants, maybe um, you know,
faculty may be reaching out tostudents now to see.
So so they're thinking about allof those things that aren't
going to happen until six monthsfrom now.
(24:06):
But they need to be thinkingabout them.
And sometimes it's the students.
Some of the students who aren'tthinking about these things
right now are the ones who areuh sometimes taken by surprise
and definitely disappointed inthe fall when they come back and
they say, Okay, now I'm going tolook for an on-campus job that I
(24:28):
want, and they're all taken.
There are some schools that thatmake you wait.
There are some schools that say,no, we're we'll we'll do that in
the fall, but some may beplanning ahead.
So staying on top of it'simportant.
SPEAKER_02 (24:42):
There again, there's so much planning ahead that goes
on, and um and some of ourstudents are just so consumed by
what they're doing because ittakes a lot of energy um that
it's hard to step back and sortof plan ahead.
Um I know summer isn't you know,planning the summer, you know,
are you going to work?
(25:03):
Are you going to um are yougoing to do an internship?
And I know internships, you haveto, if you want to get college
credit for the internship, thattakes a little bit of planning.
Um, sometimes you have to meetwith a professor early, you have
to map it out.
You um so it it's it's somethingthat needs some attention um if
(25:26):
they want to do that, you know,yeah applying for jobs.
SPEAKER_01 (25:30):
Yeah, and and and making a decision, you know, do
I want my summer to give me somegood experience or do I want my
summer to be about making money?
SPEAKER_02 (25:44):
Do I need that?
Yeah sometimes.
SPEAKER_01 (25:46):
Yeah, to be yeah, not just because I want more
money to you know to go onvacation, but many students need
to work all summer becausethat's the money they live on
the rest of the year.
So some students that's that's areally tough decision.
I need to work, I need to haveto be able to make some money,
(26:08):
but I I really want to have thisexperience because that's going
to look good on my resume.
And so um, so so makingdecisions about summer for some
students is tough and needs tobe dealt with now, not gee, when
I get home at the end of thesemester, I'll start to think
(26:28):
about that.
And then the other thing, um,and we are almost at the end of
this list, believe it or not.
Um we don't want to make youmore anxious.
Yeah.
Um, the other thing is makingdecisions about summer classes.
Um, because sometimes, you know,at the time that students are
registering, which often is lateMarch or so, in a lot of places,
(26:50):
it's different everywhere, um,is also a time that they might
register for summer classes.
So do I want to take a class inthe summer?
Do I need to make up somecredits that I, you know, maybe
I withdrew from something or Ifailed something?
Do I, you know, should I take aclass in the summer?
Do I want to take summer classesto get ahead so that I'll have a
(27:13):
little leeway, a little extra?
Um, do I want to take a class inthe summer because um that's a
particularly hard class and it'sgoing to be easier for me if if
all I have to focus on is thatclass and not try to have it be
one of five that I'm juggling.
Um, there are a lot of reasonsstudents might take summer
(27:34):
classes, and then they have tofind out what's available.
They have to think about am Igoing to take it at my
homeschool or am I going to takeit at a school close to my home?
SPEAKER_02 (27:44):
And does it transfer?
SPEAKER_01 (27:45):
And does it transfer?
Yes.
You have to find that out beforeyou take the class and then find
out your college is not going toaccept it.
Um, and you know, is itavailable online?
Is is it, do I want to take anonline class or am I better off
in uh in in-person classes?
There are lots of decisions tothink about just in terms of
(28:08):
summer classes.
Um, especially for, I think forstudents who are first-year
students who are fresh out ofhigh school.
I think a lot of times, youknow, in elementary school,
middle school, high school,summer school was just for the
kids who failed, just for thekids who, you know, needed
(28:29):
needed extra because theyweren't doing well.
And yes, there is some of thatwith with summer classes in
college, but it it's verydifferent.
All kinds of students take allkinds of things, and they take
them at their homeschool or theyget permission to take them
somewhere else.
Um, they're online, they're inperson, um, and they serve a lot
(28:51):
of purposes.
But the time middle-ish ofspring semester is when some of
those decisions need to be needto be made.
SPEAKER_02 (29:03):
So we hope we're not overwhelming you with all of
these things that are going onin spring.
But the idea here is that themore information you have as a
parent, maybe the less anxiousyou can be.
And you can step back and knowthat this is going on and
support your kids as they gothrough it.
SPEAKER_01 (29:25):
I think that support is really an important word
because I I that was what was atin the back of our minds as we
were thinking about this thistopic for this episode, is uh
just understanding how much ison students' minds during this
(29:45):
spring semester.
Not every student is going to bethinking about every one of the,
what was it, nine things wementioned, but many of them are
going to be thinking about manyof them.
And especially if your studentis away at school and not living
under your roof anymore.
If they're living at home,sometimes you're a little more
aware of some of what's goingon.
(30:07):
Sometimes not.
It doesn't mean they come homeand talk about everything all
the time.
But especially if your studentis away, you may not realize
that this is not a simple,straightforward, calming
semester.
Um, in some ways, there's moreturmoil going on in this
(30:28):
semester than in the fallbecause they've got lots to
think about.
So being in the middle,first-year students moving up to
sophomores, sophomores moving upto juniors, juniors moving up to
seniors, um, there's a lot ontheir minds, and it's a busy
spring semester.
And um yeah, as parents, we needto uh we need to help them out a
(30:54):
little bit sometimes by justsaying it will work out.
That's fine.
Or who can you talk to aboutthat?
SPEAKER_02 (31:01):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (31:01):
Who on campus can help you with that?
SPEAKER_02 (31:04):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (31:04):
So think about that and uh have some good
conversations with yourstudents.
Thanks for joining us for thisepisode.
We will put a lot of thesethings in the show notes.
Um, we have some other podcastepisodes that relate to this,
and there are some articles onthe College Parent Central
website about a lot of thesetopics.
(31:26):
So you can get lots moreinformation if you want to
through follow through a littlemore with some of the details of
all of these.
Thanks for sticking with us tothe end, and we'll see you next
time.
Bye bye.
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