You Don't Know What You Don't Know - An Educational Consultant's Perspective with Liz Cooper

Our guest, Liz Cooper, is an Independent Educational Consultant who helps high school students with learning differences strengthen their self-advocacy skills, navigate the college admissions process, and transition to colleges that will support their learning needs, thus enabling them to achieve academic success.

Liz and her colleagues at the College Consulting Collaborative (CCC) college-readiness consulting work focuses on six areas of essential skills:

1. Academic and Study Skills
2. Executive Function – time management
3. Independence
4. Self-Determination – goal setting and self-advocacy
5. Social/Emotional Skills – effective communication and self-regulation
6. Motivation and Resilience

We discuss what Liz calls the American obsession with college, i.e., the acceptance letter. She suggests that “Getting out is more important than getting in,” and that students should focus on elements that will support their long-term success in college such as the learning environment and their continuity of care.
 
We also discuss the matter of parents letting go. It’s a parent’s instinct to try to smooth the way for their child, but by making it easier for their college-age student (especially those who learn differently), parents can make it harder for that student to gain important self-advocacy skills.
 
And we cover the components of the right college fit. Are you college-ready? Which college is the right fit for you?

Listen in.