Did any of you have your children participate in any type of academic coaching prior to them going to college, prior to them starting their first year?
I ask because I’m watching videos about college students setting up their calendars and their planners using the syllabi they get from professors as well as the tips and strategies they use to stay organized. However, I am not certain my teen would even know what a syllabus is. In his H.S. the teachers just post everything on Google Classroom which automatically populates Google Calendar so there’s not much affirmative calendar planning teen must do.
I assume it is not the same when they get to college and they must plot out their own schedule.
What do people do so that teens are prepared for the different responsibility. Also, I know some colleges have learning centers where they will help with that. Do people just set up an appointment the first day of college with the learning center?
Teen is still in the college list phase and teen has not applied to college yet. I was just wondering about future stuff.
Buy the book linked below for your student. It’s written for college students, but mostly applicable to high school students too. The time management and study skills sections are excellent.
How to Become a Straight-A Student: The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less https://a.co/d/5DozOI8
I think you are right - for most, it’s trial by fire.
I don’t even understand how it works in college - everything is electronic - no one is being given a paper syllabus that I see.
Even how they submit stuff.
But these kids are all up on the technology - and I’m guessing your student will adapt like the rest.
I have no clue how the world works today - school wise - the technology has changed information (like syllabi), how things are taught, and how they are submitted.
To me the bigger issues are things like laundry, shopping, and other tasks - that some kids haven’t a clue.
When my son started his job last year, when rent was due - I asked - did you and Olivia pay the rent.
His response - huh?
We messed up there having everything handled - so life - at whatever stage they’re at - will be new and they’ll learn to adapt. Hopefully.
Trial and error. One of my kids swears by a paper planner but another prefers an electronic calendar. Fewer professors give syllabi these days so it’s on the student to create a study plan to meet class goals (e.g. weekly assignments, etc).
College is a huge transition. Balancing studying, social life, housekeeping (i.e. laundry, groceries, etc) while maintaining mental and physical health is a lot. Developing good organizational and time management skills while in high school will help ease the transition.
Mine got a planner which he says he uses. But then again, he managed to show up to class when they were having a test not knowing he had said test. Years ago, I just remembered it all somehow. Professors will give out a syllabus so students can keep track of when things are due. They figure it out.
Boarding school taught our son everything he needed to know. He hit the ground running in college. Most BS kids say that (any) college is easier than their high school. Plus, they’ve already lived away from home, dealt with roommates, completed highly rigorous course loads, learned to advocate for themselves and take advantage of help/school resources, and handled their own travel.
I’ve seen that book recommended quite a bit in the videos so I am thinking it must be really good. Will buy it now, but I am not 100% sure teen will sit down and read it. I almost wish there was a day long workshop or something to which you could send a teen where they give them mock versions of syllabi and show them what to do when they first get them and what planning tools they need, etc.
Also, by the way, I always appreciate your insight. You have given me great information a few times on CC.
It’s automated at my kid’s college, with syllabi, calendars, homework submissions, grade book, etc. online so students know what is expected and when. At orientation they meet their advisor and schedule a first semester class in which they will map out their path to graduation and learn about campus resources like tutoring.
Kids have no idea how lucky they are! We used paper master schedules and had to figure out how to piece together time slots so classes weren’t overlapping and turn in class requests on paper. They pull up an app that tells them what classes they still need to take to graduate, pick some, the app generates multiple schedules and they pick the one that suits them best and hit submit. Mine don’t even have to open a laptop, they do it on their phone.
At D’s school - not sure about other schools - they use a gmail based college email so that it is already integrated with Google calendar. They also have an electronic hub where all assignments and grades and such are posted. I am not sure if they automatically export to Google calendar - I imagine not - but once you’ve developed the habit of calendaring, it is not too difficult to check the portal for the assignments then transfer to your calendar and, of course, any meetings scheduled over email automatically get linked to the calendar. So that is what my student does.
It’s been hard for my freshman daughter. Her executive functioning skills aren’t the best. She’s muddled through though and I think most of them do. Self advocacy is maybe the most important lesson, it’s ok to ask dumb questions, to ask to be shown twice, or to find the people at your school whose job it is to help.
The rent story made me laugh I’m going to admit something terrible. When I first rented a house with friends in my junior year of college and we got a water bill, I was shocked. Didn’t know you had to pay for water.
I went to boarding school too and agree. I was light years ahead of my classmates in organization and independence. Of course, boarding school isn’t an option for most families.
My daughter was live and learn. Her one fall semester class the professor would change dates often in the Google classroom. She had to drop that class because it was too much stress and she didn’t jive with the professor.
I think she learned thru TikTok or seeing what other people were doing to generate the best formula for her.
Boarding school kid here as well, but before boarding school, he saw an executive functioning coach. Might be worth checking to see if there are any In your area that do a “boot camp” (I know there is a pre-highschool one in my area). It might even be a good idea to hire one that can do zoom meetings just short term for the first month of classes or so. Most schools will have help available through the Student Success Office. It is something you can look into as your son researches schools. Some schools also have a required First Year Experience class that might focus on organizational and study skills.
I read it myself, and then my son read it over the summer. There are so many bad books out there that I didn’t want to saddle him with something useless. I was also able to cherry pick the things I felt were most useful, mainly the calendaring method and the section on how to do deep work. the latter is such an important topic that he wrote a full book that hit the NYT Best Seller list.
From a prof at a regional college—the digital infantilization of our young adults has gotten so bad that, while I make sure that everything is laid out in crystal clear fashion, with consistent deadlines, on the course site, I refuse to program the machine to send them notifications the night before something is due. That is their responsibility, and it prepares them for real responsibility at a job.
The rent response gave me a good chuckle.
I’m going to admit something terrible. When I first rented a house with friends in my junior year of college and we got a water bill, I was shocked. Didn’t know you had to pay for water. 
