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The countdown has begun. In just a few short weeks, your darling daughter or darling son (here forth referenced as they) will take that first step over the threshold into your arms, and the fun will ...

It was the third week of our twin sons’ freshman year when I got the text from one of them: “I don’t think I’m going to be happy here.” The words were a knee to my stomach, doom, and gloom that, once ...

If there is anything I could tell the parents of teenagers right now, it would be this: It doesn’t matter. I am a mom of four, a college counselor for high school students, and a journalist who has ...

Before college, I was told these next four years would be the best of my life. Going in, I knew this was not a guarantee. Still, after graduating from high school, I was ready to embark on the next ...

If your college student is upset, stressed, or lonely, as a parent, you want to do everything you can to make their pain go away and for them to feel happy again. It can be hard to find the right ...

After the admission process is done, you’ll switch gears to helping your high schooler prepare for college living: finding the perfect room decor, getting advice about how to pack, and realizing that ...

My dog raised my kids as much as I did. If they have a family dog I tell them, “You’re lucky. There’s nothing better than a family dog.” ...

My son is a high school senior and we are consequently in the thick of all the stress that comes with the college application process. Most of that stress derives from the firmly held belief that many ...

I’m not a crier, but still, I had to fight the urge to have a complete meltdown at my son’s graduation this weekend. The good news is that I succeeded in keeping a tight lid on the tears as my third ...

You might think that since I’m a dean of admissions at a university, that my kids’ experience of applying to college would have been friction free. No. Teenage development includes a predictable ...

One thing I’ve realized as a mother to teens is that, back in our younger days, talking about some of the problems or hard times you experienced while you were a mother to younger kids, was a bonding ...