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  HOW YOU CAN SUCCEED AT SCHOOL

 

   

    Parents should let students reach out to instructors for help, since college requires more independence. (Willie B. Thomas/Getty Images)

Motivated teens could get a leg up on their academics by taking a summer college course, since they could potentially earn high school and college credit through dual enrollment.

But parents should know that the grade teens receive for a summer college course is recorded on their transcripts and follows them through their higher education career, if students take the course for academic credit. Doing poorly in a college course can also have a long-term effect on a teen’s confidence, says Patricia Bruno, dean of academic advising at Middlesex Community College in Massachusetts.

Parents can consider the following advice and pass along some of these tips to students to help them succeed in summer college courses.

    1. Make and follow a schedule: Summer courses may be much shorter than fall or spring classes and cover the same amount of content.

Students should keep a schedule – for studying and downtime – and stick with it, says Lesa Skukan, assistant director of University of Pittsburgh’s college in high school program. Students should do everything that is supposed to be done before the next class, such as readings and other assignments, because it’s very easy to fall behind, she says.

Parents can help by ensuring students have some structure at home, Skukan says. Students should be able to commute to class easily and on time. They should also have time to complete their assignments after class. “Help the student to keep this class as the priority,” she says.

Students should expect to spend at least two hours studying for every hour spent in class, she says. “That might not be something they are used to or had to do in their high school, but there is certainly more content and more independent work that is required of them.”

     2. Take advantage of on-campus resources: College faculty have different expectations than high school teachers, Bruno says. They are not going to chase after students for assignments, which may count for higher percentages of their grade, she says. Students are in charge of their own success.

Skukan says teens can meet with academic advisers to talk about how things are going and ask for advice. Teens should also meet with professors during office hours, she says.

If they are intimidated of approaching them, Skukan suggests they could strike up conversations by asking how professors became interested in their fields. “They love to talk about how they got there," she says.

Tutoring sometimes has a negative connotation, she says, but can be a good resource for students. Students usually have access to peer tutors – other college students who help students through a class or explain a topic, among other things.

Parents should encourage teens with these efforts, but Skukan says parents should also step back and let students make the call or reach out to faculty and staff on their own. But Bruno also says that parents shouldn't call their teen's professor for updates on the student's grades.

   3. Don’t overbook the summer: Families shouldn't plan a vacation during the summer session, since students will fall behind quickly if they miss a class, given the accelerated pace, Skukan says. She says teens should also think carefully before trying to do something else over the summer that requires a big time commitment, such as camp or a part-time job.

"A college course takes a lot of time, and they want to be successful," she says. Most of the parents she works with are supportive of the required time commitment. Skukan also recommends high schoolers only take one summer college class.

“It’s important that the student is interested and looking forward to the course,” she says. “This should be fun,” she says. “It’s going to be work, but it should be something they look forward to.”