by Gretchen | Oct 21, 2019 | College Prep, podcast
Does college still work? Is the system designed just to protect the privileged and leave everyone else behind? Or can a college education today provide real opportunity to young Americas. Join us for an interview with journalist and author Paul Tough, who has just...
by Gretchen | Oct 21, 2019 | College Prep, podcast
The most common question Megan gets from families is how to choose between the ACT, SAT or both? The answer is sadly not clear cut, so Megan walks parents through a number of considerations around the following three questions: Will either test work for my student?Do...
by Gretchen | Oct 21, 2019 | College Prep, podcast
One of the hardest new habits for parents of middle and high schoolers to learn is how to talk to their students about grades. Last year in May 2019 Gretchen had an indepth email conversation with the parent of one of her 8th grade executive-function challenged...
by Gretchen | Oct 3, 2019 | College Prep, podcast
Gretchen’s former client Tatiana had a bumpy transition from her last two years of high school into college. She quickly dropped out of a college that she wasn’t very excited to attend, that that started a long but fruitful journey into ADHD diagnosis, community...
by Gretchen | Oct 1, 2019 | blog
How’s your morning routine? Are you always running late? I have a client whose mom texts me every morning with a report about how the morning routine went for her 9th grader. Usually, her daughter is running about 1 minute late for the carpool, and so...
by Gretchen | Oct 1, 2019 | blog
One of the most frequent questions I get from parents of clients AND the coaches I train is this — what do you do when a student doesn’t think they need to use a planner because their teachers post the assignments all online? In this quickie video made...
by Gretchen | Oct 1, 2019 | blog
Parenting students in this day and age is so, so anxiety-provoking. In this moment I’m thinking about all the parents of scattered students who struggle to keep up with their homework, keep track of their papers, turn their work in, and study effectively, etc....
by Gretchen | Oct 1, 2019 | blog
Are you used to making flashcards to learn vocab and other key terms? Do you love it or hate it? I find that most of the students I work with think flashcards are the best method to prep for tests. Although they’re kinda bored with testing themselves using...
by Gretchen | Oct 1, 2019 | blog
Do you write in your planner? Congratulations!! You’re a step ahead of many students. 😉 But do you write THESE words in your planner? Please don’t! I’ll explain why in the video, but if you don’t have time to watch, scroll down for a copy of...
by Gretchen | Sep 27, 2019 | Academic Coaching
The perfect planner is so elusive! Gretchen shares some reflections about the criteria that EVERY planner system must meet in order to help students organize their lives… especially if they executive function issues. Specifically she and Megan discuss: Four problems...
by Gretchen | Sep 27, 2019 | podcast
Top students think they are the top of their class — so shouldn’t their admission into top universities be a sure thing? A look at the numbers tells a different story. About 35,000 valedictorians in US– not enough seats in the freshman classes of the top 20...
by Gretchen | Sep 27, 2019 | podcast
It’s time for another super relevant podcast from the archives! For juniors and seniors, there are so many important dates to remember and plan around related to academics, extracurriculars, and the college search. Megan walks you through how to sit down for a few...
by Gretchen | Sep 24, 2019 | blog
Do you feel like you’re jumping out of your skin when you read books? Is it super hard to focus? Maybe you have ADHD, and your brain just can’t concentrate on the written word? I have a client in this boat. She’s in 9th grade right now, but when we...
by Gretchen | Sep 20, 2019 | podcast
Parents: What if you know your teen needs coaching, but they simply aren’t interested? Gretchen gives you some pointers for how to get them ready to accept the idea of getting academic support. Specifically, she shares tips for how to: Introduce the idea of coaching...
by Gretchen | Sep 20, 2019 | podcast
The website College Confidential is problematic if it’s the main place you get your college search info. However, there are some ways it’s useful, and Megan breaks down exactly how. Specifically, she shares: Two great things about the purpose College...
by Gretchen | Sep 20, 2019 | podcast
Did you know that LinkedIn is a great place to search for information about what kinds of jobs students get after graduating from which schools? Megan and Gretchen had no idea…but a parent listener Mary did. Listen in as she shares: How she discovered this cool trick,...
by Gretchen | Sep 20, 2019 | podcast
Many families of high achieving students sign up for too many specialized courses in high school, and forget to prioritize the core curriculum. Megan walks us through a set of reasons why we don’t want to make this mistake. Specifically, she discusses: which classes...
by Gretchen | Sep 16, 2019 | blog, note-taking, Student Life
How’s your note-taking? Do you love it? hate it? Last spring I was working with a client who broke his wrist and couldn’t take notes for several weeks. I was right in the middle of teaching him a skill called “Honing Notes”, which requires...
by Gretchen | Sep 3, 2019 | blog, Organization, Student Life, Study Skills
It’s the beginning of the school year! How the heck should you organize all your stuff? I’m sure that’s a question that comes up for most students, parents, and educators. At the end of last semester, I worked with a new student who needed to...
by Gretchen | Sep 2, 2019 | blog, Procrastination
What’s the biggest lie students end up telling themselves? “I’ll do it later!” So many of my clients tell themselves that lie so that they can feel better in the moment about not doing their work. But how many truly do end up doing their work...
