<p>My daughter has strong SAT scores and a good GPA, but is very disorganized, a poor class note-taker, and a spacey manager of time (ADHD traits...she chooses against medication). She will be attending a school with challenging academic requirements next fall. I realize that the school wouldn't have accepted her if it didn't think she could do the work, but her traits mentioned above make her quite different from the profile of the average student at this school. </p>
<p>To help her prepare for what's ahead next fall, I would like my daughter to get help this summer with sort of "study aid" class to help her with her study skills (e.g., sessions from Huntington Learning Center, Sylvan, or the like). I've discussed my daughter's situation with some of these organizations...I wasn't greatly impressed with what they offered. Are these organizations the way to go for what we're looking for? Does anyone have other recommendations for this summer that would address my aims? Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>We have had personal experience with the Sylvan center with our younger daughter and were very successful.</p>
<p>They have Test Prep courses as well as Basic Study Skills courses. They have them specifically for elementary, high school, and college age kids.</p>
<p>Can I just say, I think this is a really, really good idea. I saw a lot of people falter at my college (myself included) due to poor study skills. It’s nice that you recognize it early and want to do something to assist. </p>
<p>One suggestion, outside of seekign professional assistance, which I think is smart: I was always very disorganized in high school. I would take notes, but I was hopeless about keeping my notes organized, my notebooks would get mixed up with notes from various classes all over the place and not in good order. And loose leaf pages I would just lose or again, get mixed up. </p>
<p>Going to college, and being able to take notes on a computer, totally changed that for me. I always knew where my notes were because I had the file saved. I could easily search the text within the file for the info I needed, or email notes to friends who had missed a class and needed help catching up. Nothing else ever got mixed up with my study materials. It was great. A small, portable, leightweight laptop may be helpful for her.</p>
<p>You may also want to investigate the academic supports available at her school. Schools require documentation of the ADHD, but with that documentation comes a lot of essential supports. S meets with some one weekly who helps him stay organized, chunk assignments so that deadlines don’t creep up, etc. He also gets access to course registration before it opens up to the whole school. It’s a huge help for him. </p>
<p>It may be hard to find the right education consultant before she goes- but what if gift if you could. In the meantime, I would start making it happen at home for the last half of the year & summer.</p>
<p>Set goals, print schedules, a white board for her roome w/ to do list, and dedicated time for organizing her day, cleaning her room, doing laundry, banking, etc… </p>
<p>It’s very empowering to spend an hour cleaning & organinzing-- gives a clear head. This is what the professional would have her do and then the pro would check her progress.</p>
<p>Perhaps working with a company that has a branch where her school is could offer the option of follow up throughout the semester. The small space of a dorm room offers additional challenges even to the organized - perhaps ongoing support could make this a smoother transition.</p>
<p>I always passed out a summary of the Cornell Notetaking System to my first and second year students. It is a very good system to record, synthesize and reflect on classroom material.</p>
<p>This is an good thread for any parent of a student going off to college. It’s a whole new ball game. I’ve tried to tell my son that most students that don’t do well their freshman year are simply not good ‘students’. They are smart and very capable, they just don’t do what it takes to succeed. Go to class, prepare, take notes, attend study groups, see your TA if you have questions, take advantage of on campus support. This isn’t an inclusive list, but students find themselves in a far less structured environment and have trouble because they aren’t doing what it takes to succeed. In high school many of these things were built in (homework, lots of assignments, quizzes to ensure reading had been done, etc,). Most every student is fully capable of succeeding, they just need to have the self discipline to do it.</p>
<p>Thanks to those that have recommended links for study methods and note taking. I have an excellent student who is going to find these on his inbox! :)</p>