Special section: College & Careers, Fall 2018

The college application process can seem pretty mysterious to the uninitiated.

But what colleges want from their applicants isn’t a secret. Schools telegraph what they’re after in the form of big data that’s available online to anyone.

Andrea Rosenthal has a son at a university. She’s a supportive and experienced mom, no more than that. She rejects any suggestion that she’s a helicopter parent, a negative label for people who go too far to help their kids.

But the mother from Fairfax County, Virginia, also knows a great deal about higher education and thinks college parents should not cut themselves off from what is happening. The advice she has been giving online to parents at the university her son attends is so good I want to share it, because it shows how parents can help their kids without overdoing it.

College-bound students can visit with representatives from more than 120 colleges during the Omaha Area College Fair. The fair is Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. at the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Sapp Fieldhouse at 60th and Dodge Streets. Admission is free. Free parking is available in lots or garages.

The college fair is sponsored by EducationQuest Foundation in partnership with Omaha-area school counselors and the Nebraska Association of College Registrars and Admissions Officers. If you have questions about the college fair, contact Joan Jurek of EducationQuest at 888-357-6300 or visit EducationQuest.org.

Iolani High School in Honolulu, Hawaii, is 3,819 miles from Creighton University. But for Cody Ching and his parents, it was worth the trip.

The junior, who dreams of becoming a doctor, was checking out the campus on a private tour in August, comparing it to three other Midwest universities that piqued his interest.

You have your plush comforter, shower shoes and Command strips and are as ready as can be. But friends? That’s one area in which you might feel a little less prepared. If the thought of making friends makes you want to cry in a corner or persuade your mom to get another degree so she can be your campus bestie, you’re not alone. Here is some advice on how to make friends as a freshman.

Noah Allmon

How are you going to pay for college?

Start with FAFSA — the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

Congratulations. You’ve earned that degree, and now will put it to good use. Exciting years are ahead. Oh, except, those student loans are no longer a far-off future concern. Naturally, you’d like to keep putting off the day of reckoning.

Fight that impulse and take a slow, deliberate look at your loans, experts advise. Knowledge of your rights and options greatly increase the odds that your payback will go smoothly — and more quickly — than if you stumble into trouble you could have avoided.

LINCOLN — On campus or off?

That question comes to the minds of many college students considering where to live. They must weigh whether to stay in a residence hall on campus or move into an apartment off campus.

The days of choosing the perfect shade of ivory heavyweight paper for your resume, then mailing it off in a matching envelope on a wing and prayer, are gone.

In today’s electronic world, jobseekers impress through digital portfolios, not paper stock.

Be prepared to make some adjustments during your freshman year of college — especially in the first semester. Here are some challenges you may face:

Feeling out of place and lonely