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Road to College: Executive Functioning Skills for All

September 9, 2021 by F. Tony Di Giacomo, Ph.D.
College Planning, Study Skills, Tips for Students

Originally published by the author in the riverjournalonline.com Road to College series 

On the road to college, organization is paramount. Throughout a student’s academic career, organizing school work, academic activities, extracurriculars, and life in general is an exercise through which many students must ultimately learn to become increasingly independent over time. In supporting this pursuit, we have found that those best able to manage the complexities of student life incorporate the very best of executive functioning skills. These students tend to be the most efficient, disciplined, and focused, with the result of optimized grades and test scores. Decades of research have supported these findings, illustrating the positive impacts that key skills such as task prioritization, organization, planning, time management, and more have on improving the outcomes of underperforming students. 

Our work has found something even more remarkable. Supporting students of all learning profiles, we have found that those with learning difficulties also benefit from the increased scaffolding and routine that developed executive functioning skills provide. Even students with already-high performance levels benefit greatly from the improved efficiency with which these skill sets allow them to then produce these same results. No matter your student’s learning profile, as they near the end of high school and begin to formally engage with the college application process, this additional work often exposes weaknesses in students’ underlying foundation of study skills and routines. This can make it difficult for those unequipped with the right skill sets to maintain pre-existing levels of academic performance and will certainly result in increased stress. 

Incorporating study skills and academic enrichment into college planning helps students not just get accepted to a particular school, but also persist and succeed at that institution. Increasingly, we are seeing college planning as an activity through which students must look certainly outward to the formal deadlines and to-do lists of required tasks, but also look inward to understand the decisions they are making and how their current mindset, focus, motivation, and routines may support, or inhibit, their ability to find and thrive at a best-fitting college.

We strongly recommend incorporating executive functioning skills, such as planning, prioritization, organization, and more, into the life of the prospective college student to not only ensure success in the application process but, more importantly, to prepare students to navigate and perform efficiently in college. 

The work does not end with an admission letter. Rather, that piece of paper simply signifies a new waypoint on the larger road through college.

Novella Prep’s Executive Function Coaching Program

Research consistently shows that mastering skills like task prioritization, organization, and time management can turn struggling students into successful learners. Beyond improving grades, these skills significantly reduce stress and help students adapt to life changes more fluidly. Moreover, all students, regardless of their learning abilities, benefit from honing their executive functioning skills; it aids those with learning difficulties by providing a structured approach, while high-achievers become even more efficient.

At Novella Prep, we concentrate on elevating students’ executive functioning skills through a comprehensive approach that addresses the fundamentals necessary for academic and personal success in all environments. As the core of our Skill Programs, we seek to optimize this essential component to student success by improving students’ capacities to self-evaluate, learn, and implement these key skills, including time management, planning, organization, proactive communication, task prioritization, problem-solving, reasoning, and analysis. Our program allows students to develop healthy study habits that champion hard work, focus, and discipline, preparing them for both academics and life.

Novella Prep is dedicated to providing students with academic support services that lead to noticeable improvements in both school and beyond. If you’re interested in our college planning or additional Study Skills programs, call today to begin the journey toward successful learning. Contact Novella Prep today to schedule a free consultation and learn more about what we have to offer.

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  • [email protected]
  • Hours of Operations
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    • Friday: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
    • Saturday - Sunday: Closed

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