7 Questions Families Should Discuss When Choosing Colleges

The college admissions cycle is a long process with a lot of moving parts. In the midst of all of the upcoming deadlines, parents and students may overlook some of the ways that college will affect the family dynamic. Discussing expectations beforehand can help students choose the best school for them and help families feel more confident about the transition to campus.

College admissions experts encourage parents to consider the following questions as they set expectations before their teen applies to or chooses a school.

1. What expenses will your child be responsible for? Students and parents need to have a clear idea of how much they can afford and who is paying for what, experts say. That includes everything from who will pay for books and transportation home during the weekends or holidays to who is handling bills for credit cards and student loans.

Experts advise parents to make sure their children really understand the student loan process and how taking on debt will affect them after college. Families should also take time to consider student jobs and what percentage of their income their teens are expected to contribute to college expenses.

[Read these five questions for students and parents to answer about college finances.]

2. What happens if your teen wants to pick a new major ? "If you're going to an institution or picking an institution singularly for an academic program, what happens if that program turns out to be something that you don't like or something that you have a change of heart in?" asks Timothy Lee, director of undergraduate admissions at the University at Albany--SUNY.

Students should know how the schools they plan to attend support students who want to change majors, if those colleges offer other academic programs that interest them, and if those schools have complementary programs that will allow students to transfer some of their credits from their existing majors to a related field.

3. How often will you talk when your child moves to campus? Students and parents often have different expectations about how often they need to communicate and through what means, says Patti Lux-Weber, assistant director for parent relations and special events at the University of Wisconsin--Madison. "Students might just want to text and parents might just want to hear their voice to make sure that they're OK," she says. Families should discuss how they plan to communicate and how often.

[Think about different ways to keep in touch with college students.]

4. Does your teen need to maintain a certain GPA, and how will grades be monitored? For many, college will be the first time that parents won't have access to their kids grades. Families should have direct conversations about how students will share grades with parents, what kinds of grades they expect and if there are any privileges or penalties -- including financial -- attached to academic performance, experts say. They should also outline a plan for what to do if the student starts to struggle academically.

"Having an actual GPA expectation might be a little much for some families," says Christine Self, associate director of parent and family relations at Texas Tech University. Students might be hesitant to talk to their parents if their classes aren't going well if GPA expectations are too high. Instead, Self encourages parents to be supportive and find out the dates for midterms and finals and check in on grades during those times.

5. How should your teen deal with social, academic or health issues? Parents should encourage their teens to utilize campus resources to get the help that they need to succeed in college, experts say. That could include anything from tutoring to student health services to treat stress and mental health issues. Parents should also encourage students to find a mentor that can help them adjust to college and map out a career trajectory.

"We want parents to remind their students that there are those resources and that it's OK to go talk to somebody," Lux-Weber says.

6. What should your teen do to stay safe? Families need to take time to discuss emergency protocols and how they will communicate if something does happen, but they should also discuss what students should do to prevent harm. That includes drinking alcohol responsibly and traveling in groups instead of alone at night , experts say.

[Ask these 10 questions about campus safety.]

7. What does it mean to be a socially conscious adult? Families can use recent coverage of college protests to discuss learning and living with different kinds of people. Admissions experts encourage families to research the campus culture of the school's they're applying to and find out what support schools offer to make sure their student would feel safe and welcomed.

"Parents need to have some discussions with their students but also understand that this is a time for the students to grow and hopefully mature and to kind of explore things on their own," Lee says. "Students need to be their own advocate, and they need to realize that it's time to start making some adult decisions."

Searching for a college? Get our complete rankings of Best Colleges.

Briana Boyington is an education Web producer at U.S. News. You can follow her on Twitter or email her at bboyington@usnews.com.