This one is dedicated to all the parents with highschool seniors. It’s my effort to help get you ready for what’s to come. In all fairness, you seasoned parents may get something new or yell out in solidarity with me!

All the portals

1. Admission
• Apply
• Accept
• Change terms/cancel
2. Student
• Address
• Phone
• Emergency contact
• Financial obligations
• Register
• Holds
• Transcript
• Plan of study
• schedule/where are my classes
• Email link?
• LMS link?
3. Payment
• Student and/or parent
• See bill
• Make payment plans
• Pay bill
• Check fees- housing, meals, etc
• Check status of scholarships/aid
4. Proxy
• Students assign proxy
• View only, typically no actions to update available
• Can assign and revoke anytime
• Passwords, reset, who to call for help
• Why you’d use that vs the student login
5. LMS
• What is it- Learning Management System
• University tool
• Textbook publisher tool
• Grades
• Assignments
• chat/discussion
6. Financial aid
• FAFSA
• Scholarship status
• Grant status
• Eligibility requirements
• Selected...

In an effort to get to know why I’m the way I am, a few episodes will be dedicated to sharing some of my story. This week I’ve decided to share some of my Drew’s story.

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https://www.instagram.com/notyourcollegelife

https://www.pinterest.com/bealslesa

• Our third child,we got our little boy after two beautiful girls.
• Originally thought I wanted four kids
• Part time work, full time mom
• Newer home in country
• Diagnosis
• When
• How we knew something was wrong
• What it was
• The grim reaper
• Telling family
• Figuring it all out
• Doctor appointments
• No longer breast feeding
• Surgery
• Meds
• Therapies
• Quit job
• Life sets in
• Therapies at home
• Learning Drew’s behaviors
• Our girls adjust
• Warning from nurses about marriage
• Family nearby
• My lessons
• I don’t regret a moment of time we had with him.
• Lessons he taught us that I could have never taught.
• Compassion
• Empathy
• patience
• No one is promised tomorrow
• My kids and family are...

If your student was lucky enough to go to campus then they are likely to head home soon. This is the last of four episodes to help you get ready.

https://www.facebook.com/NotYourCollegeLife

https://www.instagram.com/notyourcollegelife

https://www.pinterest.com/bealslesa

• The homefront
• Their study space. Is it ready? Do borrowed things need returned? Does the storage items need to find a new home?
• The car...need maintenance?
• Try to support whatever method of studying and class participation your student has developed during the pandemic. The last weeks of the semester are not necessarily the best time to nudge a change.
• This means that all the changes that you, your spouse, the kids, the pets morphed into over the fall may come as a shock to your student.
• So that means a ‘team meeting’ to talk about ground rules together.
• Sleep schedules
• Work schedules
• Test schedules
• Exercise schedules
• friend/entertaining schedules
• Maybe even creating a family calendar to...

If your student was lucky enough to go to campus then they are likely to head home soon. This is the third of four episodes to help get ready.

https://www.facebook.com/NotYourCollegeLife

https://www.instagram.com/notyourcollegelife

https://www.pinterest.com/bealslesa

• A reliable Mac or Windows PC
• A second screen or tablet so they can view slides/video on one and take notes on the other.
• Some tips students should know is to make sure their devices are up to date and to restart their computers every other day. 
• They can contact the helpdesk anytime once we go remote if they were to run into an issue. 
• For hardware I'd recommend webcams and headphones. 
• Checking to ensure they are always functioning and in good enough quality. 
•  Headphones (a headset including microphone is best, but if the computer has a built-in mic this isn’t a must). Most students have laptops and those laptops have webcams integrated into them.  He has nice bluetooth...

Episode 39 - Advice from the Dean of Students and Parent & Family programs; the second in my four part series.

If your student was lucky enough to go to campus then they are likely to head home soon. This is the second of four episodes to help get ready.

https://www.facebook.com/NotYourCollegeLife

https://www.instagram.com/notyourcollegelife

https://www.pinterest.com/bealslesa

1. If your student is transitioning from on campus to remote, make sure that they have a defined “work space.” 
   • It’s easy to see home as comfort & relaxing.  With the addition of Thanksgiving food & rest, it would be easy to break good habits in terms of studying & preparing for exams. 
   • Having a space where it’s for your student & then allowing them to make that space their own will help their success.
   • What  I found is providing your student a space that is just theirs (they don't have to set up and tear down for meals or daily)
     • Also this...

Episode 38 - Three things to think about before your student comes home for break

If your student was lucky enough to go to campus then they are likely to head home soon. This is the first of four episodes to help get ready.

https://www.facebook.com/NotYourCollegeLife

https://www.instagram.com/notyourcollegelife

https://www.pinterest.com/bealslesa

This one will cover your home.

*** DISCLAIMER***

I am NOT a healthcare professional. Seek professional advice from your doctor. 

1. First, it’s COVID and flu season. Even if you don’t have any high risk family members I’m going to recommend your student plan to isolate at school if possible prior to returning home. 
   • Ask your student if isolation is possible for them. If yes, find their return to home date and go back 14 days.  I realize they could be exposed on their travel home as well and there is so much flip flopping or contradictory information out there so these are only my suggestions. 
   ...

Check in. It should be at least monthly and a visual check in.

How are you emotionally/mentally?
How are you physically?

How are your grades?

Pretty good.

Don’t know.

Not good.

https://www.facebook.com/NotYourCollegeLife

https://www.instagram.com/notyourcollegelife

https://www.pinterest.com/bealslesa/

My story...professional journey

Work history-

McDonalds- developed customer service

Mall clothing store- relationships with staff/subordinates

Bank teller

Marketing long term care

Indiana University

Purdue University

https://www.facebook.com/NotYourCollegeLife

https://www.instagram.com/notyourcollegelife

https://www.pinterest.com/bealslesa/

My story of worrying about worst case scenario with Steph after losing Drew and Hannah’s murder.

Thinking error

This is worry that isn’t grounded in fact...it’s in your mind, you see today’s problems as a preview of things to come...you worry that your child will struggle as an adult.

In psychology, this is called futurizing, and it’s one of the most negative and destructive things we can do as parents.

Futurizing is having an unrealistic negative view of what the future holds. It’s a worst case scenario mindset.

Futurizing is what psychologists call a thinking error. A thinking error is a faulty pattern of thinking where what you think doesn’t match reality. Your thoughts are distorted are virtually always negative. In other words, your faulty thinking makes things out to be worse than they really are.

when we make things out to be worse than they really are, we start to cause more problems….make things worse. It makes you...

Am i getting old enough that some of you don’t get that reference? Yikes. I will share the who and the why to help provide a little clarity for you and your student.

• Your student should connect with the Registrar about…
• Registration processes
• add/drop calendars and deadlines
• Transcripts
• Documents to confirm enrollment for insurance, good student discounts and loan deferments

• Your student should connect with the Bursar about…
• Paying the bill
• Making payment plan
• Refunds
• Billing questions
• Due date for payment

• Your student should connect with Financial Aid about…
• FAFSA
• Scholarships
• Work study
• Minimum enrollment requirements
• Before dropping courses to determine if aid will be affected
• Help in updating a change in family status/income

• Your student should connect with the Disability office about…
• Chronic illness
• new/acute illness or injury
• COVID

• Your student should connect with Institutional Equity...