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As parents, we spend years preparing our children for college. We encourage them to earn good grades, take challenging classes, study for the SAT or ACT, participate in extracurricular activities, and build a strong college application. We worry about whether they will get accepted, how we will pay for college, and whether they will be prepared for the academic demands ahead.

But once our students arrive on campus, what will help them truly thrive?

A new study analyzed 79,246 students and was published in the Journal of American College Health. It offers an interesting answer, and it may not be what many parents expect. According to research involving nearly 80,000 college students in the United States and Canada, spending time with friends and other people in person was the strongest predictor of student flourishing. In other words, meaningful social connections were more closely associated with students’ overall well-being than factors such as sleep, exercise, or studying.

The findings, reported in The Independent in an article by psychology professor Roxanne Prichard, offer parents an important reminder: preparing our children for college means more than getting them ready to succeed in the classroom. We also need to help them develop the skills and relationships that will support them throughout their college years.