Prior research has found that students whose parents attended college begin college with more understanding of higher education than do first-generation students (Engle, 2007). Parents pass on knowledge along with advice and emotional support that help their children when they encounter new challenges, such as the transition to college. This study investigates parent-student communication about college during the transition to college. First-year college students at a large public university participated in an online survey about these communication experiences. Participants were asked about the frequency of their communication with parents about college and their perceptions of the helpfulness and quality of emotional and instrumental support in these interactions. Emotional support is concern about the child's feelings about college. Instrumental support is parents' availability as a resource about college. The relationship with students' first-year academic success was also studied. Responses of students who are the first in their family to attend college and students whose parents attended college were compared using t tests for mean levels of responses. Researchers found that parents' support can affect students' college success regardless of whether parents attended college. Youth who want to attend college and their parents should know about the value of parent-student communication in this endeavor.