Gustavus Adolphus College

Reading Resources for Parents

Gustavus Reading in Common Program Each year the first-year students are asked to read the same book that is discussed during new student orientation. Click here for more information: Reading in Common

Books Here is a list of books that cover various parental concerns while embarking on the college experience. Provided are links to book reviews and more in depth information for each book title listed.

• Almost Grown: Launching Your Child from High School to College, Patricia Pasick
• An Educated Choice: Advice for Parents of College Bound Students, Frank A. Brock
• A New Beginning: A Survival Guide for Parents of College Freshmen, Kaye Bernard McGarry
• A Parent's Guide to Sex, Drugs and Flunking Out/Answers to the Questions Your College Student Doesn't Want You to Ask, Joel Epstein
• Becoming a Wise Parent for Your Grown Child: How to Give Love and Support Without Meddling, Ph.D. Betty Frain, Eileen M. Cleeg
• Bringing Home the Laundry: Effective Parenting for College and Beyond, Janis Brody
• Campus Daze, Easing the Transition From High School to College, George Gibbs
• Don't Tell Me What To Do, Just Send Money: The Essential Parenting Guide to the College Years, Helen Johnson
• Doors Open From Both Sides, Steffany Bane, Margo E. Bane Woodacre
• For Parents Only: From Homeroom to Dorm Room, Julia Johnston, et al
• Empty Nest, Full Heart: The Journey From Home to College, Andrea Van Steenhouse, Johanna Parker
• In Addition to Tuition: The Parents' Survival Guide to Freshman Year of College, Marian Edelman Borden, Mary Anne Burlinson and Elsie R. Kearns
• Let the Journey Begin: A Parent's Monthly Guide to the College Experience, Jacqueline Kieran MacKay and Wanda Johnson Ingram
• Letting Go: A Parent's Guide to Understanding the College Years, Karen Levin Coburn & Madge Lawrence Teeger
• She's Leaving Home: Letting Go as My Daughter Goes to College, Constance M. Jones
• The Launching Years: Strategies for Parenting from Senior Year to College Life, Laura Kastner & Jennifer Wyatt
• The Truth About College: 50 Lessons for Parents Before They Start Writing Checks, Will S. Keim
• You're on Your Own, But I'm Here if You Need Me: Mentoring Your Child During the College Years, Marjorie Savage
• When Kids Go to College/A Parent's Guide to Changing Relationships, Barbara M. Newman and Phillip R. Newman
• When Your Kid Goes to College: A Parent's Survival Guide, Carol Barkin
• 133 Ways to Avoid Going Cuckoo When the Kids Fly the Nest: A Parent's Guide for Surviving Empty Nest Syndrome, Lauren Schaffer, Sandy Fleischl Wasserman

Web Site Resources

• College Parents of America
• College Is Possible
• Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
• National Resource Center for First Year Experience and Students in Transition
• The Parent Connection
• US Department of Education-FAFSA