Time flies, doesn’t it, Melissa Rivers? In an exclusive new interview with Closer Weekly at The Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust Gala on Wednesday, Dec. 5the 50-year-old star revealed she’s starting to “panic” about becoming an empty-nester when her 18-year-old son, Cooper Endicott, goes off to college next fall.

“My son will be graduating from high school and leaving for college, and I know he is looking forward to that, and I am slowly trying to prepare myself for the nightmare… the combination… not the nightmare, the combination of sadness and pride and loneliness and fear and panic that will all overtake me,” Melissa said.

“I keep saying to my son throughout the whole process, ‘You know, when you pick your schools and narrow it down, let’s discuss, because I always wanted to get my masters, and I think it would be a great time for me to do it,'” she joked. “You want to watch your child [turn] so pale and then start to scream? [Say], ‘Make sure that when we narrow it down that there’s something where like… you know, where I really am considering getting my masters.'”

Wait, so is Melissa really planning to go to college with Cooper?! “No. But let me tell you, it panicked him for longer than it should have,” the proud mom told Closer of her prank. “Parenting tip of the day: Instill just enough doubt and fear of what you [are] as a parent… [what] you’re going to do to keep him sharp.”

“As I often say to him, I was tortured and embarrassed by my parents. I am torturing and embarrassing you and when you have children I hope you carry on the great family tradition,” Melissa added. We can’t wait to hear where Cooper chooses to go to school next year!

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