Bookshelf

Making the Most of College: Students Speak Their Minds, by Richard J. Light. A fascinating and highly readable account of the results of a project at Harvard in which students were asked what had been most useful to them in their college careers.

College Ready 2021: Expert Advice for Parents to Simplify the College Transition, by Chelsea Petree Ph.D. et al. An excellent introduction from senior members of this national association of parent and family pros.

How to Raise an Adult, by Julie Lythcott-Haims. This provocative manifesto by the former dean of first-year students at Stanford University sets forth an alternate philosophy for raising preteens and teens to self-sufficient young adulthood.

Letting Go: A Parents' Guide to Understanding the College Years, by Karen Levin Coburn and Madge Lawrence Treeger (Harper Perennial 5th ed., 2009).

Don't Tell Me What to Do,  Just Send Money: The Essential Parenting Guide to the College Years, by Helen E. Johnson & Christine Schelhas-Miller (St. Martin's Griffin, 2011). Written by two women involved with parent programs at Cornell, this book touches on virtually everything from the summer before first-year to post-college planning. The format consists of pairs of hypothetical conversations between parent and child on an issue: the first disastrous, the second, based on the principles the authors espouse, more effective.

When Your Kid Goes to College: A Parents Survival Guide, by Carol Barkin (Avon Books, 1999) A straightforward look at the issues, from the "Summer of Anticipation" to "Advice from a College Senior."

You're On Your Own (But I'm Here If You Need Me): Mentoring your Child During the College Years, by Marjorie Savage and based on 10 years of her work as a liaison between parents and the University of Minnesota.

The Naked Roommate: For Parents Only: A Parent's Guide to the New College Experience, by Harlen Cohen. "[This] follow-up to author Harlan Cohen’s former edition, intended for incoming freshmen, is a full guide for parents and students’ successful transition to college.": NACAC Bulletin review.