Wondering if coaching might help your student? Getting to know your family’s needs is the best first step. Send us a note or schedule a free consultation below to get started!
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Academic life coaching is a personalized way to support your student in both their coursework and collegiate life. Students need a variety of skills and tools to study effectively, maintain motivation, stay focused, and reach their academic potential. Many times the skills needed to get INTO college are different than the skills needed to SUCCEED IN college. An academic life coach helps bridge that gap and avoid pitfalls like dropping out, missing a semester or academic probation.
My approach is based on the field of positive psychology and uses three primary tools: powerful questioning, active listening and a growth mindset. We work primarily in the domains of the 12 Executive Functions, the cognitive processes that determine many of our behaviors: time management, stress tolerance, sustained attention, emotion regulation, task initiation, metacognition (the ability to think about your thoughts), cognitive flexibility, planning and prioritization, organization, goal-directed persistence, working memory, and response inhibition (also called impulsivity).
Student with ADD/ADHD or EF deficits commonly experience lower measures self-esteem and have a much harder time believing in their abilities. That’s why I also frame all of my client’s sessions through the lens of what they ARE good at, their naturally occurring character strengths, things like honesty, creativity, teamwork, fairness, kindness, humor, bravery, love of learning, and many others. This helps the ciient draw on those strengths as they face the work of behavior change. It’s an empowering process.
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I work with students on time management, organization, academic strategies, motivation, persistence, and personal accountability, among others. Students are encouraged to bring their own personal challenges to coaching sessions so we can tailor our approach to their situation.
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I’d love to get to know you and your student! The first step is to schedule a free 30-minute consultation here. This is a great chance to connect and see if Collegiate Success Coaching might be the right fit for your student.
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The most popular package is our Signature 15-Session College Success Coaching package. This option allows students to have a consistent and thoughtful approach to navigating their classes over an entire traditional college semester. This is great for students who have lived with their ADHD but college rigor has created new challenges.
We now offer a group coaching experience based on cognitive behavioral principles that is excellent for a student who has been recently diagnosed and knows very little about how ADHD actually affects them.
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Yes! I have clients from coast-to-coast. I’m happy to work with your student to find a time that fits with their schedule. I am in the Eastern time zone, but I work until 9 PM three nights per week to accommodate students in other time zones.
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I’m happy to work with your student to reschedule a session at a time that works for both of us within the week. If the student cannot reschedule within the week (I try to be as flexible as my schedule will allow), that session will be skipped and we will meet as planned the following week. Since the package includes a mid-week mini session, all is not lost. I will still touch base during the week.
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Your student’s institution may provide aspects of academic life coaching, but few offer the kind of personalized and intensive support that I do.
You may see titles like "Graduation Coach," "College Concierge," or "Academic Success Coach," and the professionals in those positions may offer any aspect of Lynn’s services in a small group workshop format or in occasional private sessions. In general, these departments do a great job, but they have notable constraints. They rely on the student to drive action with no real accountability if the student doesn’t follow through, they do not maintain daily contact with the student like Lynn does (if they do, it’s from a chatbot), and they carry large case loads with limited staffing. They also have traditional weekday, 8am-5pm hours and aren’t available to communicate with students when they need it most.
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I am an independent coach so I am able to work with students nationwide! I hold many coaching certifications and prior experience in higher education at Clemson University, Reinhardt College, and Kennesaw State University.
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A typical session begins with Lynn asking the client what they would like to work on. This could sound something like, “Every time I go to the library to study, I get all of my materials out, but then I just play on my phone the whole time.” Lynn then clarifies the outcome f the session, which might sound like this, “ So by the time we finish here, you would like a set of strategies for how to stay focused when you go to the library?” Lynn then expertly asks questions about the client’s habits, attitudes, behaviors, values, desired outcomes, and beliefs that either support or detract from that outcome. The end result is a new level of awareness and a plan for how to navigate behavior toward success. Lynn then pairs the plan with accountability, empathy, and reflection so that the student is in a perpetual state of learning and growth toward their goals.
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Spot coaching sessions are daily text communications designed to support students during the week as they work to implement the plans made in the full session. Spot-coaching may include an accountability check-in, a mini celebration when action steps are taken, or support when a client is struggling to follow through on action steps. It’s essentially (near) real-time support. If a student does not directly request a spot-coaching interaction, Lynn checks in with each of her clients anyway with a compelling coaching question, a graphic that illustrates a more positive way to view effort, or a well-timed reminder about one of the agreements entered into during the full session. Think of it as daily support and encouragement for behavior change.
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Typically, I speak to a parent first about their student and then meet the student separately in the Discovery session. Once we decide it’s a good fit for everyone, I work directly with the student. It is important for the student to build independence and own their goals. It’s a tough thing to hear, but the student is the client, not the parent. I keep parents in the loop of major milestones or concerns but I primarily focus on the student by design. With the student’s permission, I send a mid-semester report called the Benefits of Coaching Scale. It provides a visual measure of the student’s self perception in 10 different areas of executive skill growth. I repeat this again at the end of the semester so that we are tracking growth over time. That’s helpful for parents to see. There are some other encouraging things parents can do. I am happy to share those after a Discovery session and recommendations have been made.
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Academic coaching focuses on behaviors in the present and academic performance over 15 weeks, and it contributes to long term personal development. Therapy focuses on healing the past so that a person’s mental health and wellness are optimized in the present. Many times, they go hand-in-hand to help students build a well-rounded life. The best outcomes occur when a client has a doctor, a therapist, and a coach.
“Lynn’s friendly, consistent approach has taught our son valuable time management skills necessary to stay on top of his assignments and responsibilities. She gave him positive guidance and tools for having a positive mindset that helped him stay focused on his goals. Lynn is an asset to our child’s college success story.”