College is a time to become independent and learn how to navigate life without your parents so for some people, going to school where your parent works might feel a little weird. You might feel like you won’t be able to be as independent or free to make your own choices as some of your peers. In reality, it can be a really great thing to have a parent on campus and you may even enjoy your college experience more because of it.
It is what you make of it. Truthfully, it really is what you make of it. You can see your parent as much or as little as you want to and it’s really up to you to work out that level of interaction with them. In fact, if your major doesn’t interact with the department they teach/work in, chances are pretty slim that you’ll just run into them on campus all that much. However, it is nice to know that you can always go to their office if you want to see them or meet up for lunch from time to time. You may decide to check in with them weekly or you may choose to see them only a few times a month. For me, I have loved being able to see my mom frequently while I’ve been at school. Whether it’s going to her office to vent about some horrible group project or getting lunch at the Bistro together, it’s been great to know that she’s always around if I need her. In our case, she’s very good about not “keeping tabs on me” so to speak, and I never feel like I’m being watched or hindered from doing normal college things.
You have access to the benefits of home. We’ve all been in a situation where we realize that the dress we realllyyyy wanted to wear to an event is hanging in our closet at home. It truly is awesome when you have a parent that can bring that dress to you the next time they’re in the office. Also, you can ship everything you order online to your home and have your mom or dad bring it to you at school instead of having to deal with the mailroom. This is amazing especially at the start of the semester when it takes forever for the mailroom to process packages. Last but not least, you have access to so much more food! Again, this depends on your parent and your level of interaction with them, but it can be a wonderful thing. For me, my mom will often bring me homemade muffins or call me when there has been a function in her department and they have lots of leftovers up for grabs. Your roommates will benefit from this too and mine have certainly enjoyed it! (See below for a photo of my roommate and me enjoying leftover cake from a retirement party hosted in my mom’s department…)
There can be perks. This one is tricky because I’m certainly not saying that you get special treatment just because your parent works at your school, but it can be nice to have the connection. The obvious perk would be if your college offers tuition remission for their employees’ children. Most colleges require employees to have worked there for a certain number of years before they are eligible for tuition remission, but it varies between schools. This can be a huge financial help and for me, it was what decided where I would go to school. Beyond that, sometimes just having someone who knows where to go and the right people to talk to for things can be very helpful. However, I certainly wouldn’t recommend “name dropping” or using the fact that your parent works at your school as a way to get what you want. For me, I usually don’t broadcast the fact that my mom is a professor to anyone unless it naturally comes up.
It can make your college experience even better. While you may be skeptical at first, I can assure you that having a parent on campus really can enhance your college experience. You’ll certainly be able to make some wonderful memories with them that you wouldn’t have been able to otherwise. One of my favorite memories was having my mom as one of the faculty servers at Midnight Breakfast my Sophomore year. She made sure that my entire table was taken care of, and it was cool to experience that with her! Small things like that will definitely stick with you and you’ll be glad that you had those opportunities in the long run.All in all, having a parent who works at your school can be a really awesome thing. If you’re worried about it at first, just remember that it truly is entirely what you make of it and that you may even experience some perks along the way!