Preparing Students for the College Transition

1. Preparing Students for the College Transition Elizabeth Vincent, M.S., LPCA; Natalie Haskins, M.S., LPCA; Alison McLaughlin, M.S.

2. What do you remember about college?

3. Transition to College • Many students struggle with the differences between high school and college. • Talking with them about those differences can help normalize their feelings and manage their expectations • Information from parents and school counselors about what to expect increases their social capital and likelihood for success (Kim, 2012).

4. High School versus College Macalester College. "High School Versus College." Macalester College. N.p., n.d. Web. Nov. & Dec. 2013. <http://www.macalester.edu/parents/tipsforsuccess/highschoolvscollege/>.

5. High School versus College

6. High School versus College

7. Time Management -Planner -Weekly Schedule -Semester at a Glance -Organization of class materials -Planning time to study

10. Prioritizing Activity • List 5 things you have to do in the next 24 hours (not just academics and be specific) • Rank them in order of importance • Now consider this: The professor of the course that you are struggling in most sent out an email about an extra credit opportunity that you can attend tomorrow night from 8:00 to 9:00 and write a three page response. It could raise your final grade by one letter grade. Does this become a priority?

11. Prioritizing Activity • Consider this: Your friend calls with free tickets to see your favorite music artist tomorrow night. Does this become a priority? • Consider this: Your mother or father (or other significant family member) comes to town to take you out to dinner. Does this become a priority? Think about this: How well do your values, priorities, and actions match up?

12. Goal Setting “Actively pursuing important goals predicts positive affect and well-being.” (Rhoades & Maggs, 2006) • Identify Goals. • Make sure they are specific, realistic, and measurable. • Identify both personal and academic goals. • Why are these goals important?

13. Goal Setting 2. Action Items List behaviors you will be responsible for completing in order to achieve your goals. 3. Discuss potential barrier for success and strategies for overcoming barriers. 4. Identify Resources Note how they will be utilized as well as the frequency

14. Campus Resource Guide • Students who are on the verge of crisis are less likely to seek out help during a time of stress which eliminates the possibility of prevention efforts. • Students with less developed problem solving skills are less aware of campus resources and less likely to utilize them than students with more developed problem solving skills (Neal & Heppner, 1986)

15. Campus Resource Guide • Objective: Identify campus offices and specific student service personnel that can support your students • Goal: Practice the process of researching and contacting different student affairs offices • Additional Benefit: Opportunity for counselors to begin the process of release of information

16. Career Action Plan • The lack of direction or lack of knowledge surrounding career opportunities can be a major stressor for incoming college students and a major predictor of dropout decisions (Tinto, 1997) • Research indicates the amount of student structure and involvement outside of their coursework has a strong positive relationship on successful transition (Tieu et al. 2010) • In addition, engagement in coursework and motivation in the classroom setting leads to heightened student success (Tinto, 1997).

17. Career Action Plan • Objective: Explore a career option related to the student’s major of interest • Goal: Spark interest in career possibilities and engage students in career related coursework from the first semester • Additional Benefit: Assist students with identifying activities and clubs of interest before the transition occurs.

18. Sample Career Action Plan

19. Social Culture Change • Small school to a big university • Introverts vs. Extroverts • Alcohol as a self-fulfilling prophecy • Relationships, Hook-up culture, & being safe • Changes in cultural diversity

20. Cultural/Environmental Changes Newfound independence creates many opportunities, which can be freeing or overwhelming. Priorities shift and students quickly find out how well their adaptive skills are developed. • Sleep • Meals • Finances • Socializing • Class structure • Actually studying Proactive behavior is key to making positive and successful connections and adaptations.

21. What Do You Do? • You walk into a new class and you don’t know anyone. • There is a club meeting that you would like to attend, but you’re not sure if it is this week or next week. • A friend invites you to a party but you have a paper due the next morning at 8am. • How do you introduce yourself to someone?

22. What We Are Seeing -I haven’t made any friends here. -I don’t know what I want to do with my ___ major. -Relationship concerns are taking away from my ability to focus. -I don’t have enough time for everything. -I don’t know who to ask for help. -My family ______.

23. eavincen@ncsu.edu nshaskin@ncsu.edu alison_mclaughlin@ncsu.edu Questions?