Ouachita Stories

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Setting Your Student Up for Success

July 15, 2025 - Counseling Services

Move-in is right around the corner! The transition to college life can be intimidating for any new student (and often for returning students, too). For some, this milestone marks their first significant time away from home and their family. It’s a time that brings greater responsibilities and independence, and it’s also one that comes with new, exciting opportunities.

The best part – at Ouachita, your student doesn’t go through this season alone! Through opportunities like our Freshman Outdoor Orientation Trip (FOOT) and Welcome to Ouachita’s World (WOW), students get to meet their classmates and learn the ins and outs of life at Ouachita. They’ll also be introduced to resources that can help them throughout their time here, such as the Academic Success Center and our Office of Student Development’s counseling services.

During their first semester on campus, your student can continue to become more involved in campus life and the local community through events such as Spotlight on Arkadelphia – a showcase introducing them to businesses, organizations and services in our area. They can also participate in Tiger Tunes, an event during Homecoming Week featuring a series of shows organized and performed by students. Chapel and Campus Ministries activities like Fall Retreat and Refuge will allow students the opportunity to hear God’s word and worship alongside friends.

In addition to classmates, our faculty and staff will personally invest in your student from their first day on campus to Commencement. Here, everyone is a Tiger for Life, and we want to help them find their place and their people.

Still, it’s important to ready your student for the journey ahead. Before they arrive on campus, consider these ten skills they should be learning as they prepare for college:

Able to initiate conversations with new people, including professors and classmates.
Can get up in the morning on their own, keep to a daily schedule and manage coursework without frequent help from home.
Capable of doing their laundry and keeping a shared living space clean.
Knows when studying and academic responsibilities need to take priority over fun, even if it means missing out or telling a friend “no thanks.”
Can navigate their way around campus, including buildings with important resources like the library.
Handles conflict and difficult conversations in healthy ways, showing emotional self-control.
Can cope reasonably well with disappointments, discouragements and stressors, looking for how to improve and what lessons they can learn from tough situations.
Willing to try new things and take reasonable risks when necessary, without being paralyzed by a fear of failure.
Recognizes how relationships are developed over time and looks to build connections with healthy people.
Understands the importance of balanced rhythms and seeks healthy habits of sleep, work, eating and recreation for their overall well-being.

How do you develop these skills? Talk with your student about them, including specific goals, if needed. We also encourage you to ask your student four questions every time they seem to have a problem.