During a time of increasing parental engagement in the lives of college-going students, we examined how first-year students' perceived interaction with their parents predicted their academic performance. Data were collected from college students living in residential housing at a diverse and selective public research university in the western United States at two points in time (N=995). Results revealed the value of quality over quantity of communication on students' academic performance. Notably, students interacted differently with their mothers and fathers, suggesting that when designing programs, administrators should recognize the different ways mothers and fathers contribute to academic performance.