The First Year for Families

Attending college is a life-changing experience, both for the student and their family. Suffolk University provides a variety of ways for families to connect with our community, and begin to understand the role of family in the college experience.
As a family member of an incoming first-year or transfer student, you typically have many questions, including how to navigate campus, pay tuition, and stay on top of campus calendars and policies. You may also be thinking about how this new transition will affect your relationship with your student, and how to provide the support they need in an effective way. The Office of Orientation & New Student Programs encourages all family members of incoming undergraduates to attend orientation as an introduction to the resources and programs available.

Helpful Links for First-Year Families

For parents who wish to reflect further on what it means to send a child to college, we recommend the following publications. Please visit the Publications and Resources page for more details on these titles and other texts you may find informative.

  • You're On Your Own: But I'm Here if You Need Me by Marjorie Savage (2003)
  • I'll Miss You Too: An Off-to-College Guide for Parents and Students: What Will Change, What Will Not, and How We'll Stay Connected by Margo E. Woodacre and Steffany Bane (2006)
  • Almost Grown: Launching Your Child From High School to College by Patricia Pasick (1998)
  • When Your Kid Goes to College: A Parent's Survival Guide by Carol Barkin (1999)
  • Letting Go: A Parent's Guide to Understanding the College Years by Karen Levin Coburn and Madge Lawrence Treeger (2003)
  • Don't Tell Me What to Do, Just Send Money by Helen E. Johnson and Christine Schelhas-Miller (2000)
  • A Parent's Guide to Sex, Drugs, and Flunking Out: Answers to the Questions Your College Student Doesn't Want You to Ask by Joel Epstein (2001)