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Guest Post Guidelines

GUEST POST GUIDELINES

Thank you for your interest in writing for CollegiateParent. 

Please know that we receive far more guest post submissions than we can accept. Before submitting, make sure you are a good fit for CollegiateParent. Please read all of the information in the tabs below.

Requirements for CollegiateParent Posts:

  1. Demonstrated expertise. What is your background in higher education, college admissions, health and wellness (specifically for teens/young adults), career preparation, financial planning (specifically for families of college students), academic success and parent-child relationships? Provide a professional CV as well as links to previously published articles.
  2. Understanding self-promotion.
    1. If your goal is to promote or sell a product or service, please contact [email protected] for information about sponsored content, native advertising and other marketing opportunities.
    2. If self-promoting within a content-rich article, please do so discreetly and remember that your author bio is a good place to include your details and links. We reserve the right to edit your post if it is too self-referential.
  3. Self-disclosure. Please disclose any relationships or partnerships you have when providing content (e.g., if you are a paid spokesperson or if you are including information about your client or company, please indicate this in the post).
  4. Original concepts, compelling arguments and high-quality writing. We will not republish anything that’s been published elsewhere. And due to Google’s algorithms, you may not republish your guest post in its entirety anywhere else after it appears on https://www.collegiateparent.com. Typos or grammatical errors immediately disqualify a post from consideration.
  5. Article reflects the writing style and tone of CollegiateParent’s content and is a topic needed by our readers. We aim to be informative, relatable and helpful. Browse content on our website BEFORE submitting!
  6. Proper attribution of data, quotations and outside content referenced in the article. Give credit. Check all your facts and quotations. Cite your sources.
  7. No more than two links to your company’s website in the body of the post.
  8. Word count: Most of our articles are 800–1,200 words. Make your piece long enough to engage and enrich our readers, and no longer.
  9. Biography: Your bio should be approximately 100 words and can include your social media handles as well as any other relevant links you wish to display.
  10. Supporting images, interactive content and videos:
    1. Copyright Free Images (png, jpg): Provide any high resolution images you’d like to include within your Word doc. Royalty Free and Copyright Free images are required. When saving your images, please provide a descriptive name (e.g., student-parent-money-conversation).
    2. Infographics, videos and interactive content: Include the embed code for the infographic within your Word doc.
  11. We ask that you share your published content through your social media channels with links to https://www.collegiateparent.com and tags to our social media platforms.

What Makes a Good CollegiateParent Post?

  • To develop a sense of what we publish, we recommend you read our content and follow us on social media, as well as subscribe to our eNewsletter, the Loop to get our most recent posts.
  • Write to provide value to our readers, who are the parents of college students looking to better understand the experiences of their student and support their success from move-in through graduation.
  • Include a catchy and click-worthy title.
  • Have, and hone, a main message. Edit your intro so that the point of your post is completely clear.
  • Be prescriptive. Don’t tell readers to do something; explain how. Provide examples, anecdotes and metrics. Deliver “a ha moments” for readers who may be scratching their heads.
  • Tell a story like a journalist. Cover who, what, where, how and why. Make it personal. Share tips you’ve learned, new discoveries in your field of expertise, resolutions to problems you’ve solved, etc.
  • Be thoughtful when including links. Posts with too many links will look spammy and will be rejected.

What Topics Are We Looking For?

We welcome posts from expert voices in the following categories:

HIGHER EDUCATION: Student success and engagement, first-year transition, academic support, campus resources, Parent and Family Programming, housing and residence life

INFORMATION FOR FIRST GENERATION STUDENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES

HEALTH/SAFETY: General student wellness, mental health, healthy relationships and sexuality, information about alcohol and substance use in college, personal safety

FINANCE: Affording college, student loans/managing debt, financial aid/FAFSA, budgets, financial literacy, insurance

CAREER PREP/EXTRACURRICULAR EXPERIENCES: Job search, summer employment and internships, volunteering and service learning, mentors, networking, student involvement on campus, leadership

OFF-CAMPUS HOUSING AND LIFE

PARENTING PERSPECTIVES: Changing roles, empty nest, relationships with teens/young adults, sandwich generation (caring for aging parents), personal reinvention, ideas for family fun and connection

SUPPORT FOR HIGH SCHOOL PARENTS: College search and application process, college admission trends, advice for parenting teens, alternatives to college

What We Won’t Accept:

  • Anything that may be construed as a link-building scheme.
  • Anything that’s too promotional for your company or organization.
  • Anything that’s overly critical of individuals or companies — this is not a site to air grievances.
  • Anything that’s offensive or inaccurate.

Making a Submission

Submissions must meet the CollegiateParent editorial team’s quality standards in order to be published. We expect content to be submitted publication-ready. We reserve the right to edit and adapt your guest post and update it in the future for accuracy and comprehensiveness. To start the process, please fill out the form below.