ACADEMIC COACHING
FOR MIDDLE & HIGH SCHOOL, COLLEGE & GRAD STUDENTS
Think of an Academic Coach as both a personal guide and a trusted partner in your child’s educational journey—someone who helps them stay focused and approach school with clarity, confidence, and a plan. Working regularly with an Academic Coach means your child always has an empathetic mentor in their corner to provide steady encouragement and honest guidance, allowing them to feel known, supported, understood, and empowered to reach their best.
Quite simply, our students gain academic confidence and ability. We work with them throughout their education, building a deep understanding of their educational history, strengths, shortcomings, and potential. This intimate knowledge allows us to provide practical, effective tools to develop academic skills and habits, and equip them to handle new challenges, aim high, take healthy risks, and find success. We guide them to find increasing degrees of self-reliance and self-discovery, while nurturing a love of learning and intellectual curiosity.
Always mindful of both cognitive and social-emotional development, our approach to Academic Coaching centers on meeting students where they are, supporting their hearts and minds, and guiding their personal and intellectual growth through proven methods. And at the appropriate time, we also organically weave-in a college counseling and application process that respects the authentic individuality of each student and opens doors to highly competitive colleges.
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FOSTER A GROWTH MINDSET
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NAVIGATING SCHOOL & TEACHERS
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SELF-ADVOCACY, INDEPENDENCE, & MOTIVATION
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WORK HABITS & STUDY SKILLS
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EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING & TIME MANAGEMENT
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DEVELOP AN INTELLECTUAL IDENTITY
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DISCOVER & EXPLORE EMERGING INTERESTS AND PASSIONS
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BUILD CONFIDENCE AND ENCOURAGE LEADERSHIP
MAXIMIZING COLLEGE
A FLEXIBLE PLAN JUST FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS
The value of a college education is dependent upon the student's investment.
Access to our personalized advising gives college students an invaluable educational lifeline and the support needed to maximize their experience. Through Academic Advising, we help students transition and adapt to the demands and expectations of college-level academics, including best practices for classroom engagement, communication with professors, managing independence, and staying focused on academic goals.
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FLEX PLAN - STUDENTS MAY USE TIME INCREMENTALLY AS NEEDED
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NAVIGATING COLLEGE RESOURCES AND PROFESSORS
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TIME MANAGEMENT, ORGANIZATION, and STUDY STRATEGIES
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REDUCE STRESS
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OVERCOMING PROCRASTINATION
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PRACTICAL STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE FOCUS & PRODUCTIVITY
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PREPARING FOR VARIOUS EXAM TYPES AND MANAGING TEST ANXIETY
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WRITING UNIVERSITY-LEVEL PAPERS
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CONDUCTING UNIVERSITY LEVEL ACADEMIC RESEARCH
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BALANCING ACADEMICS & PERSONAL LIFE
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MAINTAINING PRIORITIES WHILE HANDLING COLLEGE FREEDOM
ADMISSIONS SERVICES
COLLEGE and PRIVATE SCHOOL APPLICATIONS COUNSELING
COLLEGE AND GRADUATE SCHOOL ADMISSIONS COUNSELING
Applying to college can be stressful and overwhelming––especially because admissions has become hyper-competitive and there is a ton of false information circulating on social media and societally. We specialize in providing accurate, proven, strategic guidance while minimizing the stress that so often consumes students and their families during the admissions process. We are proud that our students are routinely accepted into the country's most elite and highly competitive universities and most gain admission to their "first choice" schools.
We believe that the key to a successful college admissions process is to open a range of doors that all feel like great options, and then determine the best one to walk through. Having a personal advisor makes navigating applications and decisions manageable. Whether you are in the earliest stages of determining interests and priorities to identify "best fit" safety, target, and reach colleges, need guidance thinking about which teachers to ask for letters of recommendation, trying to figure out which activities to include in an application, or working on drafting effective Personal Statement and Supplemental Essays, we can help with every phase of the application process.
Don't worry if you are getting a late start. If application deadlines are approaching and you don't know where to begin, contact us right away––we can help!
We also offer multi-year, long-term guidance (starting in middle school) custom-designed to nurture the mindset, habits, and actions most impactful in gaining admission.
PRIVATE SCHOOL (PRE-K - 12) ADMISSIONS COUNSELING
For families applying to private elementary, middle, & high schools, we have the expertise and inside knowledge to demystify the admissions process and coach you through every step including: finding schools that align philosophically, interview prep (for students and parents), student essays, parent questionnaires, communication with admissions departments, and every other facet of the process.
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LONG OR SHORT TERM STRATEGY FOR COLLEGE ADMISSION
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COLLEGE COUNSELING TO IDENTIFY "BEST FIT" SCHOOLS
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WRITING PERSONAL STATEMENT & SUPPLEMENTAL ESSAYS
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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PERSONAL INSIGHT QUESTIONS
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TRANSFER APPLICATION STRATEGIES
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EARLY ACTION & EARLY DECISION STRATEGY
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GETTING OFF WAITLISTS
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INDIVIDUALIZED SUPPORT BEYOND SCHOOL COUNSELORS
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MINIMIZING FAMILY TENSION DURING APPLICATION PROCESS
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APPLICATION GUIDANCE & INTERVIEW PREP FOR PRIVATE SCHOOLS
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PARENT INTERVIEW PREP FOR PRIVATE SCHOOL ADMISSION
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AVOIDING "RED FLAGS" IN PRIVATE SCHOOL INTERVIEWS AND ESSAYS
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MAXIMIZING EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES & COMMUNITY PROJECTS
APPLICATION ESSAYS
PERSONAL STATEMENT & SUPPLEMENTAL ESSAYS
Colleges now receive more applications than ever before. It can be difficult for students to differentiate themselves in applicant pool of students who all have strong grades, advanced classes, and similar activities. Great essays can often mean the difference between an acceptance or a rejection, and it's really the only place in the application for students to present themselves. Students who find the most success don't necessarily write about achievement, but rather allow colleges to get to know them as human beings––to share aspects of their inner life in an engaging and compelling way that connects with readers and provides a sense of what the applicant will bring to campus. The essays can be a special opportunity to tell a deeply personal story in an authentic voice, while also revealing/highlighting desirable attributes of character, worldview, problem-solving, intellectual curiosity, and growth mindset.
Since high schools primarily assign analytical writing, most students do not have much experience writing personal narrative. There is always a learning curve. We specialize in helping students overcome the hurdles of approaching this kind of writing and develop a customized plan that boosts their confidence from start to finish. Throughout the writing process, we keep the student focused on maintaining authenticity, while we handle all aspects of strategy. When it's time to submit, our students always feel proud that their essays reflect their best effort and accurately represent them personally.
Whether a student is supremely driven and aiming for Ivy League Universities, or getting a late start on applications, we will help them write effective, authentic Personal Statements and Supplemental Essays that open college doors. Our proven approach empowers students and shepherds them through this facet of the application process––and along the way, they also become much stronger writers!
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ELEVATING APPLICATIONS THROUGH THE ESSAYS
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FULL PROCESS FROM BRAINSTORMING TO SUBMISSION
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STRESS-FREE APPROACH WITH CONSTANT SUPPORT
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CRAFTING "ONE-OF-A-KIND" ESSAYS
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FINDING TOPICS THAT WILL RESONATE WITH ADMISSIONS
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HELPING STUDENTS FIND A VOICE
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PROTECTING AUTHENTICITY, WHILE STILL BEING STRATEGIC
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AVOIDING COMMON PITFALLS & "RED FLAGS"
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ASYNCHRONOUS FEEDBACK ON DRAFTED ESSAYS ALSO AVAILABLE
ADDITIONAL WAYS WE HELP
STUDENTS & FAMILIES
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WRITING INSTRUCTION (CREATIVE AND ANALYTICAL)
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WRITING ASSISTANCE FOR ADULT PROFESSIONALS
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WRITING WORKSHOPS
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PRIVATE TEACHING
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CUSTOMIZED ENRICHMENT FOR HIGH ACHIEVING OR UNDER-PERFORMING STUDENTS
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FINDING A NEW SCHOOL
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SPARKING LOVE OF LEARNING & ACADEMIC MOTIVATION
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READING IMPROVEMENT
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STRATEGIES FOR ATTENTION AND BEHAVIORAL ISSUES
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MANAGING SETBACKS
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NAVIGATING SOCIAL CHALLENGES IN SCHOOL
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IMPROVING COMMUNICATION WITH TEACHERS
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ACADEMIC TRANSITIONS INTO A NEW SCHOOL OR GRADE
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ACADEMIC TRANSITIONS DURING DIVORCE
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GETTING THE MOST OUT OF A SCHOOL
ABOUT ROB
Rob Stone is an educator and educational coach who holds a Masters degree from Harvard University and a Bachelors degree from Colorado College. He has spent over 25 years assessing, advising, and guiding students (both underachieving and supremely gifted) to overcome academic and social-emotional stumbling blocks, develop practical strategies, stay motivated, and achieve their very best. Rob has taught middle and high school (in one of the country’s most prestigious private schools for over 18 years), trained teachers, lectured at top universities and schools of education, published articles in educational journals, conducted school evaluations, presented at national education conferences, served on admissions committees, consulted families through the process of applying to elite independent schools, and helped students gain admission into Ivy League and other highly competitive colleges and universities through long-term planning and application assistance (with particular focus on writing effective personal statements and supplemental essays). As an Academic Coach, he works in a one-on-one capacity with 5th-12th grade students, college & grad school students, and adult professionals.
Mindful of cognitive, as well as social-emotional development, Rob identifies the skills, habits, and aspects of mindset most in need of guidance, and works closely with families to create a customized, healthy and realistic plan of action, designed to deliver results.