Ask a College Expert: Meet Stephanie Mitchell

Stephanie Mitchell is our College Expert this week. She is a partner at The Bertram Group and has been working in college placement and transition planning since 2007 helping students with learning differences and their families find appropriate boarding school and post-secondary options through a comprehensive and individualized process.

Focus Collegiate: Thanks for being with us. What is your specialty?

Stephanie Mitchell: I work with boarding-school-bound and college- or transition-program-bound students on post-secondary planning and selecting appropriate, best-fit schools. I work exclusively with students with learning differences, ADHD, and Autism.

FC: How is this learning difference determined? Do your students have to have a diagnosis?

SM: That’s the first time I’ve been asked that question. They don’t necessarily have to have a diagnosis, but they must have some awareness that they have some academic or social challenges and will need additional layers of support in planning their postsecondary pathway. 

I’m like a traditional educational consultant in that I help with things like course selection, school lists, application strategy and prioritization, etc. But in addition to this I provide:

A. A lot of structure.

B. A lot of education and information about the differences between high school and college, the differences between support and accommodations, and what is and is not offered at the college level. Many families are not aware of the differences. 

C. We need to talk about skill building while they are still in high school so they can be prepared. They gain awareness around questions to ask about support and accommodations as they engage in the college process.

Sometimes students need additional skill building that can be addressed through a transition program and this is something I can put on the student’s radar. This is different from what people often think of as “gap year,” however. My specialty is not in helping students find a service trip to Africa, for example, but I can help kids identify if they need to take some time to build skills in preparation for college, if that is their goal, and beyond. 

FC: How do you know when time off is appropriate?

SM: The programs I recommend are filling a different need than the traditional gap year, though they are often linked to the same amount of personal development. My kids tend to have different needs. A lot of students I work with can experience burn out. Every kid is working really hard but when you add a layer of challenge like a learning difference, the effort they put into high school success can be extraordinary. Sometimes they might just need some time before engaging in more academics. Some students aren’t sure they want to continue in academics.

When students struggle in the areas of academic, social and independent living skills that are needed to be successful in college, taking the time to participate in programs that focus on building these skills can be extraordinarily beneficial as they prepare for the next stage.

FC: What are indicators it’s time to sign up for a summer program?

SM: There are so many signs. Those signs have also shifted slightly and increased post-Covid and have gone beyond the LD population. If a student is not engaged in their own post-secondary planning process, that’s a big sign. If their parents are navigating all the schedules and communication, that’s a red flag. If they’re saying to me “I don’t know if I want to go to college,” or “I’m tired… I’m done,” I heed these comments very attentively.

When I work with a student, I’m also looking at their day-to-day life in school, home, and their lives as members of the community. What kind of support are they receiving? What is their level of independence? That is another clear indicator. If they are so heavily supported, they might need more time to increase their independence before going to college. 

FC: What does college-readiness look like for your students?

SM: There are several abilities I think students need to develop in order to be successful in college. 

First is self-awareness. Everything develops from this point going forward. Do they understand their learning profile or what they need to be successful to navigate the college or work environment?

Second is self-advocacy. We cannot self-advocate if we are not self-aware. Is the student able to ask questions, are they able to seek out support? They don’t need to do it all on their own, they just need to know how to ask for help. 

Third is motivation. It is really hard to power through four—and sometimes more—years of school if you’re not truly motivated to do that.

And they need resilience, to be able to bounce back from setbacks. There is so much happening in the first couple of weeks of school, if kids don’t have the resilience to navigate a bad grade or a roommate problem, that can be detrimental to their success. 

FC: Let’s talk about helping students build their college lists. What are the most important facets students should consider in building their list?

SM: I always try to encourage kids to get all the noise and the chatter out of their heads about what members of their family or community think is a good school versus what is a bad school. It is all relative to the student’s needs. What is the best fit for the student? What are their interests? What kinds of settings do they thrive in? Greek Life or definitely not Greek Life? Urban or suburban? Sometimes we need to develop and identify these clearly. 

Are they going to need continued support in college? Do they need to choose a school that has a support program, or can they work with a remote specialist like Focus Collegiate who supports students in their journeys?

What are their hopes, wants, interests? These need to be considered.

FC: How many schools do you recommend students apply to?

SM: That is such a good question. I don’t go by a specific number, but I do think a sweet spot is around 12. It could be a list of six carefully curated schools that the student feels strongly about and that represent a best fit for them. 

Students should ask themselves why is the school on the list? Does it make sense for that student to have that school on the list? Will they thrive there? Students must be aware of and accepting of their learning profile. They might think they’d love to go to a school like NYU, for example. But when you look at admissions requirements, pace, and expectations, the school they think they want might not be the best fit.

Sometimes parents are not supportive in the development of this awareness, but I don’t get to dictate where they’re applying, I am their guide.

FC: How do you advise parents to get on the same page with their students (and vice versa) in this very important choice? 

SM: To be perfectly honest we don’t always get on the same page. My goal is consistent, frequent communication. I ask them to back up their decisions with reasoning.

I work with students during one and a half to three-year periods. A lot happens in the process, there are many openings where I might be able to see that the student is really struggling in particular areas, and I have to gently guide them to understanding. My years of experience are often enough, but sometimes we don’t get there and that’s tough.

The possibility of being rejected is really hard for any student—and potentially harder for students with learning differences. However, if we have a well-curated list, the student should be getting into most of the schools they apply to. They should not have to face outright rejection.

It’s helpful to point out to families that I am the parent of two neurodiverse kids. My younger one is about to head off to boarding school; my older one is applying to college literally as we speak. Not only have I been doing this for almost 20 years, I’m in the middle of it right now. This helps parents and students trust me. I can connect with and understand what they’re saying from a personal experience standpoint, as well as a professional one.

FC: You obviously love your work. What is your greatest joy in your job?

SM: Student success. Any kind of success on any level. One thing that makes me so happy is when I start with a student and we are worlds apart and there’s a dance we do over several months or years, and slowly that empowerment, awareness, self-advocacy dawns and they take control of where their dreams are going. It’s such a beautiful thing.

FC: What question do you wish you were asked more often?

SM: I wish parents and students would ask more often about differences between high school and college. They are not always aware that they need to ask this question. This is a big part of my job.

I work hard to avoid that moment when a student gets to college and doesn’t know what their accommodations are or where they can go for help. When it comes to accommodations for example, students who have an accommodation to take tests in a reduced distraction room need to know that they usually have to put in a request to use that space prior to each test. This can be difficult for students with executive function challenges. Students and parents are often surprised that this responsibility is not that of the office of accommodations but up to the student. 

I always tell my students that they are going to have a million surprises when they get to college. Making sure their accommodations are in place and understanding how they work should not be one of them. Those surprises can make the transition to college so much harder and grander.