“I’m so tired I can’t sleep at night.”
“I’m so stressed, I have to study for my exams AND prep for my SATs!”
“Why don’t my teachers understand that, by giving me more homework, I have less time to dedicate to my college applications?”
Over the years, I have repeatedly heard my students voicing the same anxieties and shown the same level of stress, and wished there is more I can do to address and relieve their concerns.
I always wished there were more tools available to provide them with even more support. How could I further relieve their stress? How could I relieve more of their agony? Of course, I knew from their feedback and their successes I was doing my job well, but I felt I needed to build a deeper connection with my students. Clearly, the admissions process was not just about filling out college applications.
I spend several one-on-one sessions with students and their families introducing them to the process, while educating them on what it means to seek their right-fit colleges and develop well-balanced college lists. During peak application season, I work endlessly with my students on their college applications, helping them choose the appropriate teachers to write their letters of recommendations, scheduling their college visits, guiding them through their essays and preparing them for their college interviews.
Last year, after endless researching, I stumbled upon Academic Life Coaching. It did not take me long to realize that this was just what I needed to better support my students. Through this program, students would improve their relationships with their teachers, become more self-aware and self-motivated and, above all, decrease their level of stress especially anxiety associated with college applications. Students who go through the Academic Life Coaching program have the unique opportunity to learn new skills, while also creating steps to achieve their goals and align their values with actions. Students acquire the academic skills needed to be better students in high school, college and beyond.
I am happy to be able to now provide this new, additional support to my students! My current students have been practicing these new concepts and skills, and have already seen the benefits of the program! I have since completed my certification as an Associate Academic Life Coach, offering this program to many more students, while simultaneously offering new, additional workshops.
Jumpstart now combines college counseling with academic life skills, in order to better prepare students for their future! This uniquely blended program helps ensure students not only find the right fit colleges, but also prepares them to assume the challenges of their future university life and beyond with surety and enthusiasm, not anxiety and stress.