Episode
188. The Academic Skills Most Teens Are Missing Before College (And How to Build Them)
- Podcast
- Healthy Teen Life
- Published
- May 20, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 1898
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://www.leslierosecoaching.com/podcast
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Summary
If you're a high school senior heading to college, or already a freshman who's hitting some academic walls, this one is for you. There's a stretch of skills your teachers probably aren't teaching, your parents may not have had to learn the same way, and that nobody is sitting you down to walk you through. They're the skills that decide whether your first year of college feels manageable or completely impossible. Today's guest is Dr. Tara Williams, owner and founder of Innovative Collegiate Consultants, an organization that helps neurodivergent students with IEPs transition from high school to college and thrive in a neurotypical environment. Dr. Tara has been teaching for over 20 years and is currently a chemistry professor at College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, California. She works with students every single day on the exact skills you're about to hear about. In this episode you'll hear what self advocacy actually looks like and why it's the single most important skill to start practicing now, why time blocking in 60 to 90 minute chunks works better than trying to white knuckle a four hour study session, the chunking method for breaking down a paper or huge assignment, why writing your own notes by hand makes the information stick, and the real reason office hours are your best friend in college (even if walking in feels intimidating). Plus the email habits that quietly separate students who thrive from the ones who fall behind in their first month. What self advocacy really means and why it's the single most important skill to practice in high school Why time blocking in 60 to 90 minute chunks works better than trying to study for four hours How body doubling and study groups help your brain focus even when nobody is forcing you to The chunking method for break…