How to Continue to Support Your Student

Some students must work to help finance their college career. A student may want to consider working as little as possible or not at all during the first year given the new demands and challenges of college. If a student must work, he or she should take fewer classes until adjusted. Career Services provides information for on and off campus job searches among many other services.

Typical (laundry, food, books) and unforeseen (lab fees, art supplies) expenses can throw off a budget if they are not taken into consideration. Some students will be managing their own finances for the first time and can be surprised by “how fast the money goes”. Planning for these expenses before leaving home and talking to your student about money management will be helpful.

For some students, joining an organization will be the best way to make connections and provide the structure that helps them to succeed. For other students, joining an organization the first semester can be so distracting and the demands for participation so overwhelming that it has a negative impact on grades. C.A.S.O (Campus Activities and Student Organizations) can help you and your student to understand the wide range of what campus has to offer.

For some students, Texas State University and San Marcos feel like a small town that is missing the excitement of the “Big City”. For other students, Texas State University, with it’s the 35,000 plus enrolled students, is a ‘Big City’ and can be overwhelming. Either way, students are faced with new people, ideas and experiences. Going away to college opens a new world of ideas and experiences and many students may question the ideas and values they developed up to this point in their life. Being able to turn to parents as they navigate new territory will help them adjust. Institutional Inclusive Excellence may have useful information for some students to navigate the adjustment.

Most college students find that they develop lifelong relationships with their college roommates. However, some may encounter conflict due to personality and lifestyle differences. It's important to utilize the system provided in the Department of Housing and Residential Life to negotiate and rectify these situations before they reach a crisis level.