So called “helicopter parents” appear to be hovering over their children in increasing numbers as they apply to colleges, according to a new survey, and it may not be in the best interest of the students to have their parents overhead.
Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions released a new survey of college admissions officials from 386 universities. Seventy-seven percent of those officials said they felt parents have become increasingly involved in their children’s application process.
Kristen Campbell, executive director of Kaplan’s college prep programs, said they have been asking admissions officials this question on and off for the past decade, and it is not new to have more parents involved in the process. But it did increased significantly this year.
Campbell said parent involvement has increased as the admission process has gotten more competitive at large public schools and top private schools.
Wren Singer, director of the Center for First-Year Experience at the University of Wisconsin, said in an email to The Badger Herald she has seen a steady increase in the involvement of parents in the lives of their college-age students.
“Unlike previous generations, parents and students in this generation are friends. They talk daily, and students consider their parents their best source of advice,” Singer said.
Campbell said it is important for parents to let their children speak for themselves when they are filling out college applications and let them ask their own questions.
Parental over-involvement can also lead to negative consequences, including students not gaining the necessary independence to navigate life on their own, Singer said.
Singer added university faculty and staff need to devote more time and resources to answer parents’ concerns.
While parents should stay informed on their child’s progress, Campbell said, they should also let their child take the wheel.
“It’s important to note parents have an important role to play in the process,” Campbell said. “These results are a little startling, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing for parents to be involved.”
She added college applications are a stressful process for students, and parents need to be supportive.
Campbell said more students are second-generation applicants, meaning at least one of their parents or siblings have gone through some form of secondary school. These family members all have their own experiences and opinions and bring them to their children’s applications.
UW sophomore Danielle Emmer said she did most of her application by herself, but her older sister – who also attends UW – helped out.
She added neither of her parents attended college so they did not know a lot of the process, but they were supportive of her decisions.
“I was on the waiting list here, and I was going to go to [UW-Whitewater,] but when I got in they said ‘Just go with whatever you feel best,'” Emmer said. “There really wasn’t any pushing on their part.”
Campbell said if students feel their parents are getting too caught up in the process they should give them a friendly reminder.
“If your parents are getting a little over the top it’s a good time to say gently and firmly you need your independence in the process, but you do still want them involved,” Campbell said.
