Parent Tips

Thank you for visiting this website and encouraging your student to become a college graduate!

Tips for Parents/Family Members of First-Generation Students

• Attend the Family Orientation Program with your student.

• Learn more about Michigan State University and the Honors College

• Become familiar with university resources and encourage your student to utilize them.

• Learn about the additional resources that the Honors College offers its students.

• Encourage your student to meet with their professors or teaching assistants during office hours. All professors have faculty office hours for meeting with students outside of class time. Also, let them know that it is common for honors students to utilize the Collaborative Learning Center for additional academic support.

• Remind your student to make copies of all important paperwork and to make sure to write down the name, department, date and comments of the person they are speaking to when they contact different offices on campus with questions.

• Remember that pursuing higher education does not mean that students will lose the values they were raised with.

• Your student may not be able to come home every weekend if they are living on campus – even if it is only 5 or 10 miles away and if they are living at home, they may not have the same amount of time to devote to family responsibilities as they did before.

• Be patient with yourselves and one another, especially since this is a learning experience for everyone (both you and your student) – you will all be learning about this transition process together!