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Ask Deanie
| Archives Deanie Kepler's previously published columns |
SMU Parent Liaison Deanie Kepler offers advice on helping your student. |
 |
Incoming! A Parent's Checklist for First-Year Students
Welcome to Southern Methodist University! We are thrilled that your student has chosen SMU, and we welcome parents, siblings, grandparents and other relatives and friends to the SMU family.
This is an exciting time for new college students, but it can also be challenging as they make the transition. Here’s a checklist of things to do and discuss this summer before your student heads out.
JULY
- At SMU we call orientation “AARO,” Academic
Advising, Registration and Orientation, where students are excited
about registering, but often anxious about making friends, choosing classes,
living in a residence hall, and making the “right” choices. The
information will come fast and furious. Parents are strongly encouraged to
attend AARO with their student. The
more you know about the resources available at SMU, the more you can help
us help your student. At AARO your student also will receive a copy of this
year’s Common
Reading, Nick Hornby’s How
to Be Good, which will be discussed in small groups before Rotunda Passage
and in Rhetoric classes.
REMINDER: Students and parents should bring their Owner’s Manual to AARO.
- Now is the time to begin discussing finances, behavioral issues related
to drugs and alcohol, academic expectations, class attendance and campus
resources. Open and honest conversations will better equip your student
to meet the challenges ahead. (AARO will provide you with a myriad of
talking points to get the conversations flowing.)
- Speaking as a Boomer parent, take my advice and avoid the “These are the best years of your life…” speech. SPECIAL NOTE: You may have forgotten the mistakes you made and the disappointments and insecurities that are a normal part of growing up. Your student will experience many good times and successes, but he or she also may make bad decisions and feel lonely or confused. Your student needs your support through highs and lows.
- If your student hasn’t already signed up for Mustang Corral (August 19-21), encourage him or her to do so. Remind your student to take the required online AlcoholEdu and Academic Honesty tutorials. Both are there for a reason!
AUGUST
- Encourage your student to contact his or her roommate when assignments are received in early August so they can discuss their room (refrigerators, study habits, stereo systems, televisions, etc.), which will fast become their home away from home.
- Research shows that students who get involved in at least one student organization during the first six weeks of class do better academically than students who do not get involved. Discuss which activities your student might be interested in … trust me, it works!
- Be prepared for Move-In Saturday, August 18. Dallas is hot in August. There will be a Mustang Cookout that evening for everyone on campus.
- Encourage your student to attend Rotunda Passage and Opening Convocation on August 22. This is the beginning of their college career.
- Students with cars must abide by SMU’s parking regulations – tickets can add up quickly! Having a car carries certain responsibilities.
- Talk to your student about safety on campus and within the city of Dallas. Be sure your student knows the importance of locking cars and rooms, walking with friends or using Giddy-Up after dark and staying aware of campus alerts.
Question for Deanie? Ask Deanie at gkepler@smu.edu or 214-768-4797.
