Your path toward academic success - and eventually to a top college - should be highly personalized and tailored to your specific strengths, interests, and capabilities. Each week, Sondra helps you discover and refine those traits and plot your individual course toward scholastic fulfillment.

It is never too early to start mastering the skill sets that lead to A’s. And as learners enter high school, it is essential that they develop a clear, cohesive brand to present through the college admissions process.  

Sondra clarifies these processes and more in a highly interactive format. Sondra helps the learners set short, medium, and long-term goals. Students are invited to bring their successes and disappointments to class for analysis, discussion, and guidance.

Learn important life lessons like not picking a college based on cost and how that is possible.


 1:  Time management.  Take control of your life by taking control of your time.  Tasks, chores, sleep, and homework can all be done much more efficiently. Success begins with timeliness and effective scheduling.  Learn this essential and extremely rewarding skill which we revisit and refine throughout this curriculum

2:  Test taking.  Knowing the material is only half the battle.  Being a good test-taker is a skill that can be learned.  Sondra’s tips on becoming an expert test-taker will help you capture extra points every time.

3:  Self branding.  Start presenting yourself effectively.  Be known for your strengths and what makes you interesting.  College admissions offices are awash in applicants each fall: effective branding is an essential step in standing out during the admissions process.  We revisit this topic throughout the curriculum to strategize and analyze our progress in this ongoing process.

4  Setting goals / dealing with disappointment / capitalizing on success. Goal setting is a critical skill.  Learning to set challenging but realistic goals is part of being an effective student.  We discuss short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals. And of course our ultimate goal of attending a top school and succeeding there.  

5:  Studying.  Studying effectively is its own skill set.  We discuss how to study for each subject.  How to prepare for different types of exams, quizzes, standardized tests, etc.

6:  Taking notes and classroom posture.  Effective note-taking is an essential element of getting good grades.  Learn how to listen to a teacher and identify the most important points, concepts, and hints at what will be included or necessary in upcoming exams and assignments.  Your notes should be an organized record of this information from each class meeting.

7:  Making a list of schools and visiting campuses.  It is never too early to start considering which colleges you may want to attend.  We discuss how to educate yourself on the options available to you.  We cover the importance of scheduling an on-campus interview with your application reader in the admissions offices.  This and much more as you start making some of the most important decisions of your academic life.

8:  Essay writing for exams.  Presenting an organized, written argument under time constraint is not something that just happens.  This is a skill that must be learned, practiced, refined, and tailored to the specific class, subject matter, even individual teacher.

9:  Essay writing for research papers / written assignments.  Effective, organized essay and research-paper writing is critical to academic success at every level.  We talk about how to choose a topic; how to capture and keep your reader’s interest; and proper style, flow, formal grammar and verbiage, etc.

10:  Getting letters of recommendation early and often.  This element of college applications is of critical importance.  And you don’t have to wait for application season to approach your prospective recommenders.  Let’s analyze and strategize the who, what, when, where, and why of getting your recommendation letters.

New topics will be added periodically and requests are always welcome. 


This class is ONGOING. Students may enroll and unenroll at any time. 
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