There are plenty of students who get drunk, do drugs a lot, skip class, etc, but I don’t imagine they would act irresponsible around their parents. So, do parents tend to assume that their kids are always the way they act at home, or do they realize that there is a whole other side to their kids that they do not see?
I guess it varies from family to family. Parents probably know that kids act differently around their peers than they do around adults. And especially in the college years, kids are growing up and will explore, experiment, and generally try out life with no parental accountability. Conversely, many students have good enough relationships with their parents that they can be honest about the things that they’re doing at college. Of course, I’m sure there are students who are pretty similar to how they are at home (either “irresponsible” at home or “responsible” at school).
Plus, drinking, doing drugs, and skipping classes can all be done responsibly (I mean in a way that isn’t self-destructive and is done in moderation).
Most of us were college students once and remember how much we didn’t tell our parents. I encourage my kids to tell me the good and the bad and I hear quite a bit but I can’t imagine they tell me everything.
Could parents to overestimate their own child’s maturity/responsibility, if the way they act around their friends is the “real” them, and the way they act around their parents is just a mask?
Sure, or it could not be. I’m not sure I see the point of this thread: what’s the question / end game?
Mostly curiosity. My mom is friends with another mom at my school, so my family went to a museum with her family, and although her son seemed mature I can’t help but think that maybe he was only acting that way around his parents.
In my opinion most parents are not aware of what their kids do in college. The exception to this rule are kids that have very close or open relationships with their parents. College is generally a time where students establish independence from their parents so naturally not every detail about college life is reported back to them
My parents definetly don’t know what I do. They know that I do things bit not to the extent that I do them. I’m pretty open with my mom so I’ve told her about days that I drank too Mich and the funny aftermath of those few days but there are some things that I’m sure parents don’t want to know.
I’ll also hint about some things like I’ll say “oh that alcohol is expensive” or something lol .
I’m pretty mellow at home and I do go out a lot at school so I think that I’m different at home more because environment than my parents
It seriously depends on the family. I pretty much told my parents everything because no matter what I did, it wouldn’t top anything my parents did while they were in school. (Once your mom tells you about dropping acid and walking out into a main street in order to save a baby sheep- really a snowball- there’s not much that I can do that would shock them).
Also, there is a level of maturity in knowing when to act mature and when it’s fine to let loose.
My mother doesn’t know me at all.
Some parents see only what they want to see in their kids. Even if given hard evidence, they would never believe that sweet little Johnny does underage drinking/illegal drugs, skips class, or does anything else besides be a model student.
There are some parents that know their kids do stuff they aren’t supposed to, but they either don’t care enough to do anything about it, or they figure that since they are in college and, presumably, adults, they are old enough to understand the consequences of their actions and will inevitably learn from their mistakes.
I have spies. No hiding from me. Lol
I think that most parents of college-age kids don’t know everything, but they know A LOT MORE than their kids think they do. 
I’m pretty I sure most parents know there kids are going to not be totally up front because they were kids/in college when they were younger. And on a side note that’s not how lsd works
I hope that parents will avoid making blanket assumptions based on stereotypes about college students. You shouldn’t assume your kid acts a certain way just because you’re under the impression that everyone acts that way in college. You need to consider the individual.
We parents have one advantage. We were your age once. We were tempted by similar things and either behaved or knew others who behaved in a variety of ways. I am sure some parents wish to bury their heads but most trust but verify. I am sure there are things I don’t KNOW but I certainly don’t assume they don’t happen.