College Success Coaching: Personalized Support to Help Students Thrive
Behind Every Thriving Student Is a Strong Academic and Social Support System
College is a time of growth, challenge, and self-discovery—a period full of promise and potential. Even the most capable students benefit from guidance as they navigate academic demands, new freedoms, and evolving questions about who they want to become and the future they hope to create. From course selection and major decisions to study habits, time management, and building a meaningful campus life, success in college takes more than intelligence or drive—it takes connection, guidance, and strong relationships. Students don’t thrive in a vacuum—they grow through meaningful interaction, encouragement, and reflection.
At Lantern, we offer College Success Coaching to help students build confidence, clarity, and direction through a personalized, trusting relationship with someone who deeply understands the college experience, shaped by decades of guiding and mentoring students as deans and advisors. It’s a privilege to get to know our students during this transformative time—and to be a steady, trusted presence as we help them thrive.
What Is College Student Success Coaching?
College Success Coaching is one-on-one, relationship-based support designed to help students thrive—academically, personally, and socially—throughout their college years. It’s a proactive and responsive service for students who want to feel confident, connected, and equipped to make the most of their college experience.
Six Key Benefits of College Success Coaching
Through College Success Coaching students gain:
Stronger academic habits and executive function skills like time management, organization, and study strategies
Clarity and direction around academic choices, major decisions, and long-term goals
Personalized support and accountability to help them follow through on their intentions and build resilience over time
Improved self-advocacy and communication skills, especially in navigating relationships with professors, advisors, and campus resources
A stronger sense of belonging and connection to their college community
Confidence in managing transitions and navigating setbacks with self-awareness and intention
Each coaching relationship is shaped by the student’s evolving needs and goals—helping them grow not only as a student, but as a whole person.
Unlike tutoring, college coaching is not focused on shoring up skills in a particular academic subject. And unlike therapy, College Success Coaches are not clinicians, and the work is not oriented towards mental health in particular, but instead towards the student's overall academic and personal well-being. It’s also not a one-time meeting or a generic workshop. Instead, it’s a sustained, high-touch relationship with a trusted mentor who truly understands the college experience—and who helps the student make thoughtful, informed decisions every step of the way.
Unlike traditional academic advising, which often focuses on offering recommendations from an authority figure within the college, coaching is a collaborative process. We help students narrow in on their goals and discover what strategies and structure work best for them—and empower them to take ownership of their path.
What Sets Lantern’s College Success Coaching Apart?
What sets Lantern’s coaching apart is the depth of the relationship we build with each student—and the experience we bring to that relationship. Our coaches are former deans and advisors who have spent decades supporting college students through both challenges and successes. That experience allows us to serve not just as coaches, but as mentors—offering students perspective, encouragement, and thoughtful guidance as they navigate both the big questions and the small decisions of college life. We also provide gentle but consistent accountability—helping students follow through on their intentions, reflect on their progress, and stay engaged with their goals over time.
Coaching also provides something many students haven't had before:a thought partner and intellectual sparring partner who challenges their ideas in a supportive way. We help students reflect, refine their ideas, test their assumptions, and stay honest with themselves about their goals and progress. Students come away feeling more self-aware, more capable, and better equipped to thrive----not just in the classroom, but in their full lives as college students and beyond.
Another powerful dimension of coaching is guiding students to connect their academic work with their broader interests and emerging professional goals. Coaching creates space for students to make decisions that feel intentional, not just expected—and to build a sense of purpose that carries beyond college.
College Success Starts Here
Personalized coaching to help students thrive.
How a College Success Coach Can Help You: Common Challenges Even Strong College Students Face
College can be both exciting and overwhelming—even for students who excelled in high school. The academic demands are higher, the structure looser, and the expectations for independence far greater. It’s common for students to feel unsure about how to manage their time, study effectively, make meaningful connections, or find their academic and personal direction. And while some students appear to be doing fine on the outside, they may be quietly struggling with self-doubt, disconnection, or uncertainty about what comes next.
That’s where Lantern’s College Success Coaching makes a difference. While most campuses offer a wide range of resources, many students find it difficult to connect the dots—struggling to access the support they need in a way that feels cohesive and personal.
At Lantern, we provide a steady, trusted relationship with someone who knows both the college landscape and your student. Through regular check-ins, personalized guidance, and meaningful conversations, we help students anticipate challenges, make intentional choices, and feel more connected to their college experience. We don’t just help them stay on track—we help them build a college experience they’re proud of.
While coaching is not a substitute for mental health care, it often plays a key role in supporting students’ emotional wellbeing. Many students feel overwhelmed, discouraged, or isolated at points in college—and aren’t sure where to turn. Coaching offers a steady, low-pressure space to talk through challenges, feel heard, and develop habits that reduce stress and foster resilience. Sometimes, just knowing there’s someone checking in regularly—someone who sees the whole student, not just their grades—can make a profound difference.
Success Coaching in Action: Helping a College Student Rebuild Confidence And Momentum
One student we’re currently supporting began her college journey with a strong first year at a highly selective institution, but faced unexpected challenges during her second year. After a difficult sophomore year, she returned home and enrolled in two courses at a local community college. Through regular coaching meetings with Lantern College Success Coach Karen, she worked to rebuild her academic confidence, develop better study habits, and strengthen her time management skills. With steady guidance and a clear plan in place, she earned strong grades this spring—and, even more importantly, regained a sense of momentum and belief in her ability to succeed. Now, she’s preparing competitive transfer applications with a renewed sense of direction and a stronger foundation for the future.
College Success Coaching helps students build confidence, find direction, and thrive.
How Our College Success Coaching is Different: Our Approach at Lantern
At Lantern, our College Success Coaching is grounded in trust, experience, and a deep understanding of college life—its demands, its opportunities, and its complexities. We offer two types of support depending on where students are in their journey:
First-Year Transition Coaching begins in the spring of senior year and continues through the first semester or first year of college. During this pivotal time, we help students manage orientation tasks, course selection, and registration—and we make sure they feel connected to the full range of resources available to them on campus—but we also support the broader transition to college life. That includes developing strong academic habits, navigating campus resources, finding connection and purpose, and adjusting to the new rhythms and responsibilities of college.
Ongoing Success Coaching is available for any enrolled student—whether they’re trying to gain clarity about their path, strengthen academic habits, navigate a moment of change, or simply feel more grounded and confident in their experience.
College success often depends on skills that aren’t taught in the classroom—like managing time, prioritizing tasks, staying organized, and following through on longer-term projects. These executive function skills are essential to thriving in an unstructured environment, but many students haven’t had to develop them before arriving on campus. College offers tremendous freedom—but that flexibility can feel overwhelming without strong systems in place. Through coaching, students build practical strategies that match how they think and work best, creating routines, habits, and structures that make the most of their independence. They learn to manage complexity with greater confidence—and to approach their academics with more consistency and less overwhelm.
Coaching also helps students develop sustainable life routines that support their wellbeing—inside and outside the classroom. From organizing academic work to building healthy habits around sleep, nutrition, exercise, and time for reflection, we help students design a daily life that fosters resilience, focus, and overall success.
Beyond academic support, coaching also helps students develop a skill set that’s essential for long-term success: the ability to advocate for themselves. Through regular reflection and guided decision-making, students learn to identify what they need, communicate clearly with professors and advisors, and take ownership of their path. These habits don’t just help in college—they carry into graduate school, internships, and careers.
Coaching also gives students something rare: a steady, personalized relationship with someone who knows them well and supports their growth over time. Working with a smaller number of students allows us to build meaningful continuity across semesters—helping students spot patterns, sustain progress, and make decisions with greater confidence and self-awareness.
College Success Coaching
Celebrating Growth, Building Success
What Kind of Students Benefit Most From College Success Coaching?
Our coaching is designed to support a wide range of students—not just those who are struggling, but also those who are doing “fine” but feel like something’s missing. Some are first-years adjusting to a new academic and social environment. Others are sophomores or juniors seeking direction as they consider majors, internships, or future plans. Some are students returning from a leave—whether due to a leave of absence, gap semester, or time away for other reasons—while others are going through a period of personal transition or seeking a deeper sense of belonging and purpose in college.
Some students want help setting a strong foundation; others are ready for deeper reflection and strategic planning. Coaching meets them where they are—no matter the starting point.
How Parents Stay Informed And Involved
Every family is different, and we tailor our communication accordingly. Some parents want regular updates and open lines of communication as their student adjusts to college life, while others prefer to step back entirely, trusting the student to take full ownership of the coaching relationship. In all cases, our communication with parents is guided by the student’s comfort and consent. When appropriate and with the student’s agreement, we provide parents with updates and reassurance. Our goal is to build trust on both sides: students know they have a steady, nonjudgmental support system, and parents know their student is receiving thoughtful, personalized support from someone who understands how college works—and what it takes to thrive there.
At Lantern, we take the time to understand each family’s preferences and values. While the coaching relationship is always centered on the student, we work with families to find the right balance—whether that means helping a student step into greater independence, or offering reassurance to parents as they learn to let go. Our goal is to build trust on both sides: students know they have a steady, nonjudgmental support system, and parents know their student is receiving thoughtful, personalized support from someone who understands how college works—and what it takes to thrive there.
College Success Coaching: A Smart Investment in Your Student’s College Experience
College is more than a set of classes—it’s a time of profound growth, decision-making, and discovery. And while the structure of college encourages greater independence, the truth is that no one thrives in isolation. With steady, personalized support, students don’t just stay afloat—they flourish.
At Lantern, we’ve worked with thousands of college students across decades of advising, mentoring, and academic leadership. We know what helps students succeed, and we’ve seen the difference that consistent, trusted guidance can make—not just in academics, but in confidence, direction, and long-term success.
Your college journey, supported every step