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As a parent, seeing your son or daughter happy and successful is paramount. You spent the last 18 years imparting your wisdom, nurturing their talents, and fostering their independence. Now they are off to college, where even the most accomplished high school student will encounter new challenges.  In fact, studies show that college is challenging for almost all students:

• 85% feel stressed on a daily basis, mostly about school work and grades
• 87% don’t get enough sleep to feel rested
• 60% take 4.5 to 7 years to graduate, costing tens of thousands of dollars

The good news is that there are steps you can take to help your student adjust to college life and make sure they get the most out of the experience.

Figure out what matters most: Ask your student what they hope to get out of college and you’ll likely be met with a shoulder shrug. Freshmen lack the perspective you have, so encourage them to ask the tough questions.  Getting clarity on what they want out of college will help them focus on what matters most. Is international experience, and thus study abroad, important? Are varsity sports and club leadership top priority? Clarity can be hard for students to achieve, but conversations that focus on your student’s core strengths, values and vision for the future are a good starting point.

Develop a plan for success: Your student wants to do it all and will be tempted to overload their calendar with exciting new activities. Help your student develop a plan that maps out their goals – even at a high level - the paths to achieve them and milestones along the way.  If they do bite off too much, the plan can serve as a guide to prioritize efforts. You can jump start this process with them before school starts, but may need to hand-off the planning to another trusted resource.

Find someone to be a sounding board: You will continue to be an important outlet for your student, but most freshmen also need someone they can turn to for unbiased advice and support. Help identify this sounding board in your student’s life – it could be a friend, coach, mentor or other relative. Encourage them to reach out for support frequently.

You want the best for your student but guiding them from afar can be a challenge.  Consider organizations with expertise in student coaching, such as InsideTrack.  InsideTrack has worked with over 250,000 college students nationwide and is the nation’s most comprehensive program for ensuring student happiness and success in college and beyond. Their staff of College Experts will work with your student one-on-one to develop a tailor-made plan for success, identify what matters most and find balance in the first year.  Learn more and get a free session with a College Expert.

Imagine a world where a graduating high school senior with a 4.0+ not only isn’t the class valedictorian… but not even in the top 25% of their class! Is this happening in some distant, parallel universe?   Nope, it’s probably happening in your hometown.

This trend towards better grades for less work seems to be seeping into the collegiate environment as well.  Professors who teach their students less receive the most positive feedback, while professors with higher academic rank and educational experience tend to receive lower marks.

While more than 45 percent of recent high school graduates boasted an “A” average, a study by the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA shows that entering college freshmen are studying less and less every year.

Studies have shown that the grade inflation epidemic is even hitting elite American universities.  Between 1986 and 2001, the percentage of “A’s” given to Harvard undergraduates increased from 23% to 49%.  Harvey Mansfield, professor of government at Harvard,  says, “Grade inflation compresses all grades at the top, making it difficult to discriminate the best from the very good… and the good from the mediocre.”

Some academics and institutions set out to fight the practice of grade inflation.  For many years now, Mansfield has issued his students two sets of grades: one for the official Harvard transcript, and another representing what he believes the student really deserves on a non-inflated grading scale.

Princeton University’s faculty senate has issued a set of guidelines as to the expected number of “A’s” for undergraduate courses.  Thanks in part to an extensive publicity program explaining the new “grade deflation” policy, the number of students securing jobs, and being offered admission into prestigious graduate programs, both rose in the years immediately following implementation of the policies.

The question remains:  Will other high schools and post-secondary education institutions follow suit and move away from sky high GPA’s being the norm?  Only time will tell.

In today’s 24/7 news cycle, and new studies being published daily, we’re all vulnerable to information overload.  Academic Earth makes it easier to gain meaningful knowledge.  With a goal of  “giving everyone on earth access to a world-class education,”  Academic Earth offers free and full degrees, certificates, and courses from highly-respected universities and colleges.

Say you wanted to hear a lecture from an accomplished professor at Stanford University — all you need is internet access to listen in.  Maybe your daughter is studying business at Yale and you want to know a little more about her classes and what her lectures are like — at Academic Earth, you can.  Video lectures from some of the best and most well-known colleges are available online for free.

If you have extra time, or you’ve always been fascinated by astrophysics and never had the chance to take a class — put your study hat back on and spend a couple of hours learning something new.  Given the opportunity, wouldn’t you want to continue your education in some way?

A computer is a significant purchase and an important tool for your child.  It’s important to ensure your investment is protected, four critical things to consider:

Backup Services & Devices – Viruses can damage or destroy crucial files like term papers and other important documents.  Online backup sites such as Carbonite (www.carbonite.com) and Norton Online Backup (http://www.symantec.com/norton/online-backup) automatically back up files and protect them online for about $5 a month.  A flash drive or pocket media drive can also be used to back up files and start at under $20.

System Recovery DVD – Windows encourages you to create a “recovery” disc that will allow you to reboot from that DVD in the event your operating system has a problem. Unfortunately, many people don’t take that extra step. When you order your new PC, you can often order the recovery DVD included with your purchase for under $20. It’s a one-time inexpensive purchase that will more than pay for itself when you have a problem.

Extended Warranty – No matter how careful you are accidents happen.  You can fully protect your HP PC from damage and drops with an extended warranty.  HP will arrange for shipping to and from the home or campus for necessary repairs.

CompuTrace LoJack for Laptops – Unfortunately, crime is an issue on every campus, CompuTrace is Lo-Jack for your computer.  Once a student reports their computer stolen, CompuTrace will track that computer once it connects to the internet and contact local police to alert them to the stolen device.

HP Academy has a peace of mind bundle on sale now through September 28, just in time for back to school, that includes two of these four services.  2yr HP Care Pack Accidental Damage Protection Services with LoJack for Laptops (product code on website HC688B):  You can save up to 54% when purchased with an HP Compaq, G-series, Pavilion, TouchSmart, or Envy laptop.

HP Academy provides an exclusive education discount on PC’s, printers, and a wide variety of supplies and accessories including many of the products mentioned here.  HP Academy also has knowledgeable real people available to help you choose your PC and to walk you through the specs, call 800-632-8251 today to get a great deal on a computer and also the peace of mind that your investment will be protected.