A Parent's Guide to Executive Function Coaching for College Students
Congratulations! Your child was accepted to college. They're smart, capable, and motivated.
Alongside the excitement, you may find yourself wondering: Do they have the skills to manage the sharp increase in self-management without the scaffolding of home? Do they have the emotional regulation to handle academic pressure and social stress with less supervision?
Then the semester begins and they’re missing deadlines, overwhelmed by assignments, and calling home in crisis mode. You want to help, but you’re not sure how.
Executive function coaching helps fill the gap between academic ability and independent execution. This guide explains what executive function coaching is, how it works, and how to know whether it's right for your student.
What Is Executive Function Coaching?
Executive function is what allows intelligence to show up consistently.
Academic success depends less on intelligence and more on a student's ability to plan, organize, manage time, and regulate emotions.
- Executive function research consensus
Executive function coaching helps college students build the underlying skills they need to manage academics and daily life. These aren't study skills in the traditional sense; they're the mental processes that make studying, planning, and following through possible in the first place.
Executive functions include time management and planning, task initiation (getting started on work), organization of materials and information, prioritization (knowing and acting on what matters most), focus and sustained attention, emotional regulation, and self-advocacy with professors and staff.
When these skills are underdeveloped, even extremely bright students can struggle. They know what they need to do but can't seem to do it. Coaching addresses that gap.
Learn more about executive functioning and how it affects daily life.
Signs Your Student Might Need Support
Many capable students struggle not because they lack ability or motivation, but because the demands for self-management increase faster than their executive function skills.
You may be reading this because something feels off. Perhaps your student is underperforming, highly anxious, or pulling frequent all-nighters. They may have been successful in high school, but college is different. The structure is gone. No one is checking in. The strategies that worked before may no longer be enough.
Common signs that executive function challenges are affecting your student include:
frequent missed deadlines or last-minute all-nighters
difficulty starting assignments, even when they understand the material
a messy or chaotic living space that mirrors internal overwhelm
trouble keeping track of syllabi, due dates, and course requirements
feeling overwhelmed without a clear sense of what to tackle first
struggles adjusting to college independence
avoiding office hours or asking for help when it’s needed
emotional calls home about feeling lost, behind, or incapable.
struggling to engage in big-picture planning, such as exploring summer internships, research opportunities, or longer-term goals
If this sounds familiar, executive function coaching targets these challenges directly.
Not sure if coaching is the right fit? See if this sounds like your student.
How Coaching Works (And How It's Different from Therapy and Tutoring)
Executive function coaching helps capable students learn how to manage college demands independently– without relying on last-minute stress or constant reminders.
Executive function coaching is highly collaborative, practical, skills-based, and action-oriented. Rather than telling students what to do, coaching helps them learn how to manage their work, time, and responsibilities more effectively- skills that extend far beyond any single class.
Through regular one-on-one coaching sessions, the student and coach work together to set goals, identify obstacles, and build personalized strategies that fit how the student’s brain actually works. A coach helps a student figure out how to sit down and start the calculus homework in the first place, how to plan the week so the essay doesn’t become a 2 a.m. emergency, and how to build systems that work across all of their classes.
Coaching often focuses on strengthening skills such as task initiation (getting started), planning and prioritizing work, identifying distractions and developing strategies to minimize them, time management, and consistently using a calendar to manage both academic and personal commitments. Students also learn to zoom out and see the bigger picture—planning ahead for exams, projects, and longer-term goals like internships or summer opportunities—rather than constantly operating in crisis mode.
Alongside academic systems, coaching emphasizes self-care and stress management. Students learn how sleep, workload balance, and emotional regulation directly affect performance. Between sessions, students practice new strategies with external accountability and support.
Over time, coaching intentionally shifts from being coach-led, to shared responsibility, and ultimately to independence. The goal is never reliance on a coach, but the development of reliable executive function skills and self-monitoring that students carry forward into work and adult life. When students move on from coaching, they trust themselves. They have built consistency, flexibility, and follow-through. “I’ll just do it” is no longer their only strategy.
Therapy helps students understand their emotions and supports emotional well-being. Tutoring supports academic content and subject-specific learning. Executive function coaching builds the self-management skills that connect the two- helping students manage academic and daily life demands with increasing independence. Coaching is not a substitute for therapy; many students benefit most when coaching and therapy work together.
Hmmm, do I want this? I have actually never been asked this. I do get asked how it is different from therapy… Actually, I made the above instead. Parents often ask how coaching differs from tutoring. The distinction matters.
Tutoring focuses on subject-specific content. A tutor helps with calculus problems or essay structure. Coaching focuses on the skills underneath. A coach helps your student figure out how to sit down and start the calculus homework in the first place, how to plan the week so the essay doesn't become a 2 AM emergency, and how to build systems that work across all their classes.
In practice, coaching involves weekly one-on-one sessions where your student and their coach build a personalized system for managing coursework and commitments. Together they set goals, identify obstacles, and develop strategies that fit how your student's brain actually works. Between sessions, your student practices these strategies with accountability check-ins as needed.
The goal isn't to create dependency. It's to build skills your student carries with them after coaching ends and into their career.
What to Expect as a Parent
Your involvement still matters, it just shifts towards support rather than management.
At EF College Coaching, weoften begin with a parent conversation. You know your student better than anyone, and your perspective provides important context about theur history, strengths, and whjat has worked (or hasn’t worked) in the past.
Once coaching begins, the primary working relationship is betweenyour student and the coach. Your student is a navigating adult responsibilities, and coaching respects that. At the same time, looping parents in can be helpful and hasten the process. College goes quickly and time is of the essence. Some parents prefer regular check-ins. Others want to step back and let their student take the lead. Together, we find the balance that works best for your family.
At home, your role shifts from managing to supporting. Encourage your student to use the strategies they’re developing in coaching. Support without solving. Notice and celebrate progress, and resist the urge to manage their schedule or fix problems for them.. The goal is independence, and that requires practice. Parents can also rely on the coach for guidance and support along the way.
Why Parents Choose EF College Coaching
We work primarily with college students.College places heavy demands on executive function skills- prioritization, planning, organization, task initiation, self-monitoring, and emotional regulation- often without the external structure students relied on in high school. This specialization means we understand the specific challenges your student faces, from managing the transition from high school structure to college independence to securing internships and jobs (Henerei, should I keep the part about Northeastern?). Weknow the campus resources available and how coaching complements them.
We offer both in-person and virtual coaching, including an in-person option that most coaches aren’t able to provide. We meet students at Northeastern University, Boston College, and Wentworth Institute of Technology directly on campus. We meet students at Boston University, Emerson College, and other Boston-area schools, at the Boston Public Library Copley.
In-person meetings can help coaching feel more tangible and integrated into students’ daily routines. Virtual coaching is also a core part of our practice and works well for many students, whether they are studying elsewhere or benefit from added scheduling flexibility.
Moira’s credentials include a Master of Social Work from Boston University, an ICF Associate Certified Coach credential with specialized ADHD coaching training, and professional membership in CHADD, the ADHD Coaches Organization, and ADDA. She maintains a small client roster so that every student and their family receives timely, individualized attention.
Does My Student Need an ADHD Diagnosis?
No. Executive function challenges affect students with and without ADHD diagnoses.
Many students who benefit from coaching have never been formally evaluated. They struggle with the skills that make college manageable: planning, starting tasks, staying organized, managing time. These challenges are real whether or not they come with a diagnosis.
That said, if your student does have ADHD, coaching is often recommended alongside other supports like therapy and accommodations. The combination tends to be more effective than any single intervention alone.
How Coaching Complements Campus Resources
Boston-area colleges offer valuable support services, and each plays an important role. At the same time, these services have defined scopes. Disability services can provide accommodations like extended test time. Academic advising helps students select courses and meet degree requirements. Counseling services focus on mental health and emotional well-being.
Executive function coaching works alongside these supports by reinforcing essential skills such as planning, organization, follow-through, and self-monitoring. Executive function skills develop through repeated practice and feedback, not just insight. Executive function coaching focuses on the practical skills required to get things done in a balanced, sustainable way.
Executive function coaching helps bridge the gap between available campus resources and a student’s day-to-day needs. Coaching supports students in learning how to use accommodations and resources effectively, so that they become tools students rely on consistently.
See how coaching works alongside Northeastern's campus resources.
Get Started Today
The first step is a free intro call. We'll talk about what's going on with your student, what you're hoping coaching will accomplish, and whether this is the right fit. (I crossed that out because I am unsure if I like the sounds of it) Just a conversation to see if working together makes sense.
You're welcome to schedule the call yourself, and we can include your student when they're ready. Because the student is the one who will be working directly with the coach, it’s important that they also have the opportunity to meet the coach and decide whether the fit feels right. Often parents reach out first to learn more about coaching before involving their student in the decision.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Coaching is an investment in your student's academic success, day-to-day functioning, and long-term independence. Because each student’s needs, goals, and level of support are different, coaching is customized rather than one-size-fits-all.
Pricing is discussed during the free intro call. Session frequency and level of support are recommended after the student intake, once we’ve had the opportunity to understand your student’s needs more fully.
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Most students work with us for at least one semester, and often two. Some continue longer as they build skills, navigate new challenges, and value the consistency and accountability coaching provides. As students develop more consistent skills and routines, the frequency and duration of coaching are often reduced. There's no minimum commitment. We check in regularly about whether coaching is still serving your student's goals.
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In both our experience and research on executive function and student outcomes, coaching tends to be most effective when a student is open to trying it. Executive function skills are goal-driven processes; students engage more readily when they see value in the work and are willing to put effort into applying strategies in real time.
It’s common for students to feel hesitant about coaching, especially if they’ve had discouraging or unhelpful experiences with past support or feel embarrassed about accepting help. If this sounds familiar, it will be helpful to talk through these concerns during the free intro call. We can think together about whether coaching feels like a good next step and how to introduce it in a low-pressure, student-respecting way.
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Yes. Summer can be an excellent time for coaching because it allows students to apply strategies to real-life situations with fewer academic pressures. Coaching can support students taking summer classes, as well as those building foundational skills through everyday routines.
Some students use summer coaching to prepare for transitions, such as starting college, returning after a challenging year, or managing internships or jobs. Summer coaching is optional and not required to resume with their coach in the fall. This allows families to decide what level of support makes the most sense for their student at any given time.
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Yes. Virtual coaching is available for students anywhere. We regularly work with students studying outside the Boston area, including those studying abroad- even as far as Australia. While in-person sessions are an option for Boston-area students, coaching is designed to be just as effective in a virtual format.