For many first-year college students, independence doesn’t arrive gradually, it hits all at once. New classes, new friendships, new routines, and, for the first time, full ownership over personal health. For students who grew up…

Confidence in unfamiliar environments isn’t something students “have” or “don’t have”—it’s something they build through repeated, structured exposure. Most new college students (especially those with learning differences) struggle because everything is new at once: social…

“Senioritis” is a real thing. After three plus years of hard work, many high school seniors find themselves running out of steam just as the finish line comes into view. In fact, studies suggest that…

The summer before college often gets framed as a victory lap—one last chance to relax before “real life” begins. But developmentally, emotionally, and psychologically, this summer is something else entirely.It is a turning point between…

Getting back into the swing of college after Thanksgiving break can feel rough — your routine gets disrupted just long enough to lose momentum, but not long enough to fully reset. Here are eight practical,…

At Focus Collegiate, we believe that the best way to prepare for college is to prepare yourself for life. This week we look at each high school year as it relates to a student’s future.…

Sending a student off to college is both exciting and daunting. We had the pleasure of interviewing a parent about it. Molly Ferguson’s daughter Lee participated in Focus Collegiate’s Summer Cohort, the experience offered not only…

Hey High School Seniors, this one’s for YOU! First off, congratulations. Seriously. You’ve made it to senior year—a year that’s all about opportunities, big decisions, late-night essays, and a lot of “lasts.” Whether you’re excited,…

You did it. You just dropped your beloved student off at college. It’s a moment you’ve been anticipating for years—filled with joy, pride, and yes, some anxiety. All those first-day-of-school photos have led to this…

The transition from high school to college marks a major milestone—not just for students, but for their parents too. For families of students who had an IEP (Individualized Education Program) in high school, this shift…

One of our (many) favorite sources of inspiration is Katy Milkman. In a recent episode of her behavioral economics podcast, Choiceology, she explores “our tendency to focus more attention on our negative or challenging experiences…

It’s critically important for students with learning differences not to fall behind in college for several reasons—academic, emotional, and long-term personal and professional: 1. Catching Up Is Harder Later College coursework builds on prior knowledge.…

It’s Summertime and the Livin’ is…Time Sensitive!Summer is here, but if you’re a student with learning differences heading off to college, this isn’t the time to hit pause. The months between high school and college…

Congratulations on your high school graduation! Take a moment to enjoy your success and look at how far you’ve come.Before you jump into what’s next, take a little time to reflect on everything you’ve accomplished.…

Dylan Hoffman started his college career with us at Summer Cohort and was a Focus Collegiate student throughout college. We spoke with him as he prepared to graduate with a degree in data science from…

The moment you got your college acceptance letter, your whole world shifted. Suddenly, the future wasn’t just some far-off idea—it was real. It’s happening. And this summer? It’s not just a break from school; it’s…

You’ve made your college decision and submitted your deposit by May 1st—congratulations! Your achievement is an important milestone in your life. It’s time to celebrate. It’s also time to get things done. You might think…

This week in our Ask a College Expert series, we interview Adrienne Frumberg, founder of Lighthouse Guidance, an organization that provides postsecondary options and counseling for students and young adults. Lighthouse Guidance supports students with mental health concerns, physical…

Selecting the right college is a crucial decision for any student. While academic programs, campus environment, and location play a role, students with learning differences must also assess the support structures available to them. Beyond…

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…

The college application season is almost over. If you’ve made it this far, you are one giant step closer to college success. The college application process can be a bear. It is also an excellent…

The “practice gap” is an emerging issue in higher education and beyond. This gap, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, represents a lack of experience in social and independent life skills that teens and young adults…

Our guest this week in the Ask a College Expert series is Elizabeth C. Hamblet. She is a speaker, college learning disabilities consultant, and has worked in college disability services offices for more than two…

Will Your Routine Transition with You to College? Starting college can be both exciting and challenging, especially when it comes to maintaining the routines and supports you relied on in high school. The structure and…

One of the things that distinguishes Focus Collegiate is how we interact with and support our parents. We understand that the transition to college affects the whole family. Acceptance, comparison, competition are all at play.…

Jen Hambleton is our guest on Ask a College Expert. She is an educational consultant based in Portland, Oregon. Focus Collegiate: Thank you for being part of our interview series. Tell us about yourself. Jen Hambleton: I…

Kelly Challen is Director of Transition Services at NESCA and has been since 2013. She provides transition assessment, consultation, and coaching aimed at supporting a student’s readiness for transition to college, technical training, adult learning,…

We are pleased to announce a new interview series: Ask a College Expert. While we pride ourselves on the expertise of our staff—each full-time staff member holds an advanced degree (counseling, special education, neuroscience, and cognitive psychology…

Are you a rising high school junior or senior? Summer is high time for you to build and hone your college list! College lists are comprehensive lists of all the schools you are applying to.…

September is still months away, but whether your plan is Early Decision, Early Action, or Regular Decision, there is still plenty for rising college first-years to do to prepare for the fall. Start digging into…

There are many great ways students benefit from attending the Summer Cohort, our three-week college readiness experience. Students entering college are headed to a new world of opportunities. Our residential Summer Cohort prepares them for that adventure. Simmons…

It might bump up against mindful notions of “be here now,” but where you’re going is more important than where you are now. Especially if you’re in college. Especially if you’re bouncing back from a…

You made it through your first semester in college. Congratulations! You have accomplished something extraordinary. Give yourself some credit. College can be hard.Your college expectations and your college reality may not have lined up. The…

The end of the first semester is a challenging time for first-year students and their families. As students face finals, they may also question their performance and even their future in college. Calls home can…

It’s our business to know college readiness. We live and breathe it; we write about and discuss it often. We regularly scour the academic landscape for outstanding college-readiness models, the programs we find are largely…

First-year college students know their life is about to change, but generally have little experience upon which to base expectations for their new life. They crave freedom and differentiation from their parents, which makes sense…

Joanna Lilley recently interviewed Focus Collegiate founder Grant Leibersberger on her popular podcast, Success is Subjective. Joanna is a therapeutic consultant and head of Lilley Consulting specializing in supporting young adults who have mental health histories…

A smooth transition to college is not just about the college student. Adjusting to college life can also be challenging for the parents. On one hand our hearts break to pieces as we leave our…

Some students go to college knowing exactly what they want to do. But most don’t. Faced with a continuously growing number of choices, students must select their academic major from among hundreds of options. For…

“Mindset” has made its way into our vernacular. It is the subject of popular podcasts, self-help books, and Google searches. Mindset is the concept that our beliefs about our capabilities exert tremendous influence on how…

After making such a concentrated effort writing your essays, getting letters of recommendation, and applying to colleges, there are few things more exciting than reading the acceptance letter to your “reach” school. While it is…

Now that you’ve completed your first semester of college, you know first-hand that success doesn’t happen automatically. It takes determination, hard work, and especially planning. Self-advocacy and good planning in the three main areas of…

There is no simple answer to the question, “How many classes should I take each semester?” The number you take depends upon several factors beyond your aptitude and the course level of difficulty. A learning…

Tell me about yourself.I am a very busy student at Lesley University. I live in an apartment with my girlfriend and our cat, Stormy. I will be graduating in May with a degree in children,…

Lynne Mooney Teta  Lynne Mooney Teta is an Ed. D and an adjunct faculty at Boston College where she works in school leadership. She is also the proud mom of Amelia, a Focus Collegiate graduate. Why…

The term college readiness often tops Google trends just as rising high school seniors contemplate their next step. Most of us understand the general concept of preparedness for post-secondary education, but what does college readiness really…

We are thrilled to announce that Geoff Anstatt has joined the Focus Collegiate team as our Summer Cohort Learning Specialist and Guest Lecturer. Geoff’s work with us represents an exciting new partnership with Worth Learning LLC, where he…

College is a huge step forward in your journey to independence. The accommodations and IEPs you relied upon in high school are about to disappear. Now is the time to stand up for yourself and…

Ann-Marie is a connector who sees the potential in others. Her superpower is building relationships. In the context of Focus Collegiate, that means connecting students who learn differently and their families to the educational resources…

We are delighted to report the success of our Summer Cohort! During this extraordinary time, we achieved a simultaneous in-person and virtual four-week program in one of the most resilient cities in the country. And our students got…

Pattern disruption has long been a recognized method for creating positive change. The Socrates character in Dan Millman’s Way of the Peaceful Warrior puts it this way: “You have many habits that weaken you. The…

Self-advocacy is the key to getting accommodations in college. In high school, most students with learning differences are accustomed to having services come to them, in fact this approach in mandated by law. In college,…

Resilience is the ability to adapt and thrive despite adversity. We all need it. The pandemic was a global demonstration of our need for resilience. Businesses and organizations that adapted to the unprecedented difficulties we…

As the fall semester approaches, our phones and video chats are busy. Parents want to know what distinguishes Focus Collegiate from other organizations that support college students who need extra support. Simply put, our biggest…

We are pleased to welcome Shawna Graichen to Summer Cohort, our four-week college-readiness experience July 12-August 1. As Student Skills Specialists, Shawna’s focus is student self-care emphasizing essential life skills in a college setting. She…

Comfortability starts with strong relationships. We foster them not just with our students, but with their families. From the moment a student signs up, they become part of our family.

Lockdown and distance learning are teaching us a fundamentally different way of having a relationship. Like our students, we’ve had to be flexible. Life online requires greater focus and diligence, but by sticking to our…

There has been a great deal of focus on student transitions to distance learning but little on its impact on college professors and their effectiveness in an all-online course delivery model. As we approach the…

A recent cartoon in the New Yorker depicts a man and woman sitting together at their kitchen table. The woman asks the man for clarification: “Are you talking about the new normal of an hour…

Dear Community, We hope that you are well and adjusting to this viral reality. Here is an update on college life as we see it. Student Life The most important work we’re doing right now…

Colleges in Boston and around the United States suddenly shuttered, leaving every student in our community and everywhere else asking, ‘What Now?’   Student NeedsSuch a disruptive and radical routine change has left many students grappling with…

Organizations, businesses, households, and individuals regroup and take stock each Spring. It’s a natural time to clear weeds and plant seeds. This clearing and planting are foundational to our organizational development and, more importantly, to…

John Marinilli is our Collegiate Life Coordinator. He’s affable and light-hearted. It’s easy to see why he enjoys such good rapport with students. We caught up with him by phone to talk about his work…

The success of our organization is due to the excellence of our team. Because of them, we are able to bring success to those students who may not have not known it before. To honor…

An integral part of the learning process is the opportunity to test our nascent theories about ourselves as they develop. Experimenting with new ideas and new behaviors and getting good feedback from the world is…

“Who are you?” said the Caterpillar. This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, “I—I hardly know, Sir, just at present—at least I know who I was when I got…

By now some of us have already broken our New Year’s resolutions. Like goals, New Year’s resolutions can generate feelings of obligation, i.e. “I ought to eat better,” and “I ought to exercise more.” Obligation…

It’s that time of year when the airwaves and the ether are filled with good intentions for behavior in the season and in the new year. As the holidays loom, we strive to be our…

Thanksgiving is an excellent time for reflection and renewal. Learning comes about not only from doing, but from thinking about what we do. Reflecting on a student’s path through the semester, or what we call…

The holidays are notoriously fraught with difficult conversations. Conversations about next semester, conversations about progress, choices, direction, expectations – the list goes on. Many of these conversations are bound to take place at the holiday…

You may not have received your grade yet, but you do have a sinking suspicion that is growing into a panic. You have failed a midterm—or two. You are stressed, your self-esteem just took a…

Simply put, our approach works. We use Appreciative Inquiry to facilitate lasting positive change in our students. “Appreciative Inquiry is the cooperative search for the best in people, their organizations, and the world around them.…

Psychologists Keith Stanovich and Richard West refer to two systems in the mind, System 1 and System 2. • System 1 operates automatically and quickly, with little or no effort and no sense of voluntary…

When our College Life Coordinators talk to students about following their dreams, they are not referring to rainbows and unicorns but to real, heart-felt student aspirations. The charge to pursue your dreams (i.e. do what…

This is not something you will find on Spotify. Your Midterm survival playlist is more like the old Boy Scouts motto, “Be Prepared,” in which the scout is ready, willing, and able to do what…

So many First Years in college feel like everything is happening all at once. This is what the internal dialogue might be like as you drag yourself out of bed to face a new day…

“These are the best days of your life.” How many times have you heard this statement in reference to your college days? If you are like most new students (and even of you aren’t!) you…

We are happy to announce that we have partnered with the International Guest House to provide an alternative housing option for Focus Collegiate students. The International Guest House is an independent dorm conveniently located in…

G.I. Joe was an action figure who, to placate parents, ended each of his 1980s cartoons with the PSA, “Now you know. And knowing is half the battle…” The PSA was given within the context…

Do a Google search of the word “crisis” and you will find countless results. Okay, that’s not true. Google is counting. There are approximately 1,030,000,000 search results (and counting). Topping the list of crises are…

It sounds ominous, but interrupting college can be a good thing. The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation lists poor preparation, not enough quality time with teachers and counselors, and a de-motivating college environment among the…

Most of us feel anxious or depressed at times, especially during times of significant life change like starting college. Given the number of stressors college introduces—especially within the first semester—it is not surprising that many…

Educators and parents know that everything can impact academics—including a healthy social life. New studies show that academic performance can depend upon good social integration skills—skills which, for many First Years, are put to the…

My best friend was “born in the first half of the last century.” He introduces himself this way as he proffers his hand to my son, a hipster college student, who ignores the hand and…

Remember the Freshman Five? The phrase refers to the pounds we gained during our first semester in college. For many of us, college was our first opportunity to eat unsupervised. And we did! We ate…

It’s college landing season. Social media is flooded with images of exuberant students unpacking their parents’ minivan. As one, we are caught up in energy and excitement about the future. Filled with pride at the…

All of our programs are based upon student goals and student buy-in, without them, we and our students are nowhere. Because we know that the foundations of success are desire and determination, we start with…

Good routines shape our lives. You start the coffee maker, walk to the mail box, grab the paper, recycle the ads, and get back into the kitchen just as the last drop of coffee drips…

You’ve been accepted to college. You got the letter! You’re in. You’re going to the college of your dreams. It’s an incredible achievement. Congratulations. Now it’s time to do some serious planning. After the celebratory…

Transition to College is Hard. If you have a Learning Difference, it can feel impossible. Until Now… That’s what Focus Collegiate is all about. We guide students with learning differences toward independence using their current…