This generation of young adults that have been parented by the best intentioned helicopter parent will bring an openness to advice and a willingness to accept the guidance of others.

So what does this mean for the young adult entering a competitive job market that puts the power back in the hands of the employer?

This type of parenting results in an independence in young people, not seen before.  It also means a work ethic that will drive success.

So my strong recommendation to parents, shift those hovering blades down a notch.  Back it off and watch your young adult fly.

Does your college student have to walk to classes or back to their dorm room in the early morning or late at night?

Do they walk alone?

• Are you aware that one in six (that is 1 in 6) women in their lifetime will be attacked or raped? 1 out of every 6 American women have been the victims of an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime (14.8% completed rape; 2.8% attempted rape).

• 17.7 million American women have been victims of attempted or completed rape.

• College age women are 4 times more likely to be sexually assaulted.

• About 3% of American men — or 1 in 33 — have experienced an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime.

• Every 2 minutes, someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted.

As more and more instances of campus violence are reported on the news, college students and their parents are beginning to be concerned about campus safety, and with good reason. Educate yourself and your student on college safety products.

There are door jams, pepper spray and hidden cameras. Check out the internet for products appropriate for you and your college student. Tools for safety are good investments. Both you and your student will sleep better at night.

High School students should be responsible for their current budget. This is a beginning point. Just by writing down what they spend money on as a senior can be an eye opener. A Starbucks every day costs over $100 a month. So we are looking at $1000 a semester. Does the student have that kind of liquid cash to spend on Starbucks every day?

Good habits start in high school. Spending money needs to be tracked.

What can be controlled in college is housing costs; food costs (there are food plans at every college); tuition and books; and activity fees. Will the student have a car? Live in a dorm? Have travel expenses (commuting)? This determines expenses.

The spending money is what gets out of control. The Student activity fee (which is usually mandatory) covers many activities on campus. The student should initially concentrate on getting involved in the activities on campus that are free. If money is not a concern, then explore sororities and fraternities etc…

During Orientation, a bank is often available that offers special student rates and free checking. A DEBIT card is much safer with students because when the money is gone, it’s gone. It’s real. A credit card just keeps mounting. It is invisible. The same goes for cell phone bills. If you have a student that cannot manage their telephone bills, then put them on a calling card. When the card is used up, it’s finished. The result is real and instant. No delay.

Start teaching money management in High School, even Middle School. Our College Students are graduating with way too much college debt and credit card debt. This is all avoidable. Delayed gratification is a good thing to teach. Our College Students are graduating with $20,000 - $30,000 college debt PLUS their credit card debt. Think about this…The initial salary averages to be about $30,000 a year.

China is the world’s fourth largest economy. It continues to grow by about 9.5% a year. China is also the top recipient of foreign investment—one that has become a top trading partner with the U.S.

Chinese is the most widely spoken language in the world.

Approximately 867 million people speak Mandarin, and a total of 1.1 billion people speak other dialects of Chinese, according to Language Today. An article entitled “The 10 Most Influential Languages,” indicates English is spoken by 330 million people worldwide—followed by Spanish (300 million), Hindi/Urdu (250 million), and Arabic (200 million).

Already, most major U.S. universities are offering Chinese classes. Graduates with Chinese language skills can explore jobs in the following fields:

• Intelligence operations
• International business / international relations
• IT and computer technology
• National and international security
• Travel industry expert
• Translator

Recently I was asked if there is any value to hand written thank you notes. This kind of courtesy seems to be falling to the wayside. Your college student will be interviewing for internships, part time jobs and other competitive opportunities. This is how I responded:
In my professional opinion as a psychologist, mentor and as a previous executive, hand written thank you notes should be routine after any interview. They show thoughtfulness and appreciation for the time it does take to interview job candidates.

I often tell my clients that each interview, whether you get the job or not, is a learning experience. The candidate learns life skills. As an interviewer I often discussed with the candidate other opportunities, I was aware of, if their skills did not match what I was looking for.

You never know, who knows who. It is a small world so each job application needs to be approached with that in mind. The applicant should be open to feedback and use the experience to gather information. Body language, eye contact and communication skills will get better with experience. There will always be periods through out life, they will find themselves interviewing or being the interviewer.

There is the possibility, you may not hire the applicant for that particular job, but you will remember them for future jobs because you were impressed by the follow up thank you note. When a job comes up, that is a good fit, you will look for that application and call them back in for a second interview.

Disney is already accepting applications for their internship program for Spring 2009 so it is not too early to begin discussions about the Spring and Summer Semesters. College Students can earn college credit and receive valuable experience in a work environment. It also looks amazing on a resume especially if the corporation is well know and admired.

Disney is just one corporation that has internships. Let your student do the research but this will get them started. Also the University will have information on internships that students have participated in, in the past.
Disney College Program

The College Solution: A Guide for Finding the Right School at the Right Price: by Lynn O’Shaughnessy

These are just four of the golden nuggets you will learn from this book.

1. Bachelor degrees are priced like airline tickets. Passengers routinely pay different prices for plane tickets and so do families paying for college. Price tags are meaningless. Learn how to find the best prices for wonderful schools.

2. Pinpoint academic and financial matches. Some schools are extremely generous with financial aid for needy families, while others shower money on affluent students. Learn how to find the most generous schools for your child.

3. Answering the financial aid question is critical. It’s extremely important to figure out if you’ve got a shot at financial aid before looking at ANY schools. You’ll find out why in Chapter 3.

4. College rankings are flawed. There’s no reason to rely heavily on U.S. News & World Report’s flawed college rankings. Learn how to research academic majors, as well as evaluate individual departments within colleges and universities.

Go to Amazon.com and order!

1. Outrageous Comments. There may have been a shift in political views!
2. A change in personal style. College students discover a new way to dress. Your preppy high school student may discover the comfort of wearing pajamas to class.
3. After these weeks of independence, you may discover “curfew resistance”. Your student has become the decision maker on when it is time to come home.
4. Overall independence. The college student has discovered a whole new world of independence. They eat, sleep and study on their schedule.
5. There are new friends. Now, there is a whole group of new friends to get to know. Take every opportunity to get to know the friends your student is hanging with.

So what are my recommendations?

• Observe.
• Resist Comments.
• Enjoy observing this new growth.
• Take every opportunity to talk with them.
• Accept that Childhood has ended.

I invite parents to share what they experience when their college student comes home for “Fall Break”.

I discovered a great site for high school parents and also parents with kids already in college that are looking for resources:

UniversityParent

This site has guides for over 50 universities that you can download for FREE. Each guide is packed with information particular to the university that you are interested in. You learn about your child’s college and the surrounding community.

Sarah Schupp, the founder, was a Business Week finalist for the most promising U.S. entrepreneurs 25 and under.

There are many ways to cut college costs including purchasing text books from alternate text book sellers than the college book stores.

Half.com is a good resource for college text books and books of every kind, even audio books and video games. So take a look. You may even get a head start on Christmas gifts…