Academic Coaching • College Mentorship • Educational Consulting

Online Academic Coach & Graduate School Mentor for College, Graduate & High School Students

I offer one-on-one academic coaching and mentorship for high school, college, and graduate students across the U.S. who want to stand out, write with confidence, and navigate demanding academic paths, from college applications to competitive graduate and PhD programs. I also partner with schools, universities, and student success programs that want expert support for their students.

PhD Student Chancellor’s Fellow at Washington University in St. Louis
Published Scholar Invited writer for Families in Society and SAGE Perspectives
Speaker & Consultant Experience with universities, county government, and nonprofit agencies

Academic coaching is different from tutoring. Instead of focusing on one subject or homework assignment, I help students build confidence, strengthen their writing voice, navigate college systems, prepare strong college and graduate school applications, and create routines that fit their lives, lived experiences, and long-term goals.

College Application Strategy Grad School & PhD Applications Personal Statements Academic Writing Work & Careers
L. Patty Flores, MSW PhD Student & Chancellor’s Fellow at Washington University in St. Louis
L. Patty Flores providing academic coaching and college mentorship to a student
For Students & Young Professionals

Navigating Grad School Applications|

Balancing demanding classes, applications, internships, and the expectations of family and yourself can be exhausting, even for students who look like they have it all together. You don't have to figure it out alone. Let's work through it together.

Imposter Syndrome

Feeling like you don't belong in the classroom, the lab, or your first job? We'll work on quieting your inner critic and recognizing that you earned your place.

Academic & Career Burnout

The pressure to keep achieving can wear you down. We'll build realistic study routines, set healthy boundaries, and make room for rest without guilt.

Identity & Life Transitions

Starting college, finishing a degree, applying to grad school, or entering your first career can shake your sense of direction. Coaching gives you a space to plan your next steps with clarity.

Selected Recognition

Academic Coaching & Mentorship Backed by Scholarship, Speaking, and Public Recognition

My academic coaching and academic mentorship are informed by doctoral training, public scholarship, lived experience, and work that has been recognized by universities, academic publishers, nonprofit agencies, and media outlets.

Doctoral Training

PhD Student at Washington University in St. Louis

My work is grounded in doctoral study, research training, and a commitment to supporting students navigating education, systems, identity, and opportunity.

Fellowship

Chancellor’s Fellow

Selected as a Chancellor’s Fellow at WashU, a recognition that supports doctoral scholarship, leadership, and academic development.

Academic Publishing

Invited Writer for SAGE Perspectives

Invited to write for SAGE Publications’ SAGE Perspectives platform, connecting scholarship, lived experience, and public dialogue.

Published Work

Published Author in Families in Society

My peer-reviewed work focuses on lived experience, child welfare, epistemic injustice, and how institutions engage knowledge from people directly impacted by systems.

University Feature

Featured by the UPenn Field Center

My writing and perspective have been featured by the University of Pennsylvania Field Center in conversations about child welfare, advocacy, and lived experience.

Media Recognition

Featured by NBC Los Angeles, LAist, Univision, and The Imprint

My story and work have been highlighted in media outlets covering foster care, education, resilience, advocacy, and systems change.

Academic Coaching & Student Success

Academic Coaching for High School, College & Graduate Students

As an academic coach, I provide personalized one-on-one support for high school, college, and graduate students who want to improve organization, study habits, writing, time management, motivation, and overall academic performance. Whether you are preparing for college, adjusting to campus life, or navigating graduate school, coaching helps you build sustainable strategies that extend far beyond a single assignment.

Academic Coaching for High School Students

Build confidence, strengthen study habits and organization, develop strong writing, and approach college applications and personal essays with a clear strategy instead of last-minute stress.

Academic Coaching for College Students

Personalized academic coaching for undergraduates who want support with time management, executive functioning, homework and project planning, research papers, scholarship and fellowship applications, accountability, and balancing a demanding course load.

Graduate Student Coaching & Academic Mentorship

Coaching for master's and graduate students seeking support with research planning, academic writing, fellowship and graduate applications, professional development, confidence building, and navigating the expectations of higher education. Community advising and research guidance are available, but dissertation writing services are not offered.

Coaching for Students Navigating New Academic Environments

Support for students stepping into unfamiliar academic territory, including first-year college students, transfer and international students, first-generation students, and anyone learning the unwritten rules of a new school, program, or field.

Academic coaching is different from tutoring. Instead of focusing on a single class or assignment, coaching helps students develop effective study strategies, improve executive functioning skills, strengthen writing and organization, increase accountability, and build long-term habits that support academic and professional success.

Why Work With Me as a College Mentor

Academic Mentorship for College Students Grounded in Scholarship, Practice, and Lived Experience

I bring together academic training, writing, public scholarship, social work, speaking, and lived experience navigating education and systems. This combination allows me to support students with both practical strategies and a deeper understanding of what it can take to belong, persist, and grow.

Mentorship That Goes Beyond Study Tips

My support is shaped by years of learning how to find opportunities, build relationships, seek funding, communicate with institutions, and move through academic spaces with strategy and persistence.

01 Searching for scholarships, grants, and educational funding +

I have years of experience searching for funding opportunities, educational resources, scholarships, grants, and fellowships. I help students think strategically about where to look, how to organize opportunities, and how to prepare materials that clearly communicate their goals.

02 Fundraising, resource building, and asking for support +

My background includes fundraising and resource development. I understand how difficult it can feel to ask for support, explain your vision, and connect your story to a larger purpose. That experience informs how I mentor students around opportunity seeking, communication, and confidence.

03 Building relationships with organizations and institutions +

I have built relationships with organizations, institutions, programs, and professional networks. This matters because many academic opportunities come through communication, follow-through, and learning how to approach people and institutions with clarity.

04 Connecting with professors, researchers, and scholars +

From a young age, I learned how to connect with professors, researchers, and scholars across the country and internationally. I help students understand how academic relationships can support their development, research interests, applications, and professional growth.

05 Writing with impact before formal academic recognition +

I was invited to write for SAGE Perspectives before my PhD acceptance, which speaks to the impact of my writing, scholarship, and public voice beyond formal academic titles alone. I help students strengthen their ideas, clarify their voice, and write with purpose.

06 Speaking in governmental, nonprofit, and academic spaces +

I have been invited to speak in major county government, nonprofit, and academic spaces. This experience informs how I support students with professional presence, communication, confidence, and learning how to share their work in ways that feel grounded and clear.

Now, as a PhD student and Chancellor’s Fellow at Washington University in St. Louis, I bring these experiences together to support students who are trying to access opportunities, strengthen their writing, build confidence, and navigate academic spaces with more clarity.

Academic Coaching vs Tutoring

What Makes Academic Coaching Different than Tutoring?

Many students do not only need help with one subject. They need support understanding how they learn, how to stay organized, how to manage pressure, and how to build confidence in academic spaces.

Traditional Tutoring

Tutoring usually focuses on a specific subject, course, exam, or assignment.

  • Homework help
  • Subject-specific instruction
  • Test preparation
  • Course content review
  • Short-term academic assistance

Educational Coaching

Educational coaching looks at the bigger picture of how a student moves through school and what support helps them grow.

  • Academic confidence
  • Motivation and structure
  • Writing and voice development
  • Graduate school preparation
  • Systems navigation and long-term goals
Human Mentorship in an AI Era

Beyond AI Generated Advice

AI tools can help students brainstorm ideas, summarize information, organize notes, and get started with writing. But academic growth, graduate school preparation, PhD development, and early career direction often require more than quick answers.

Students today have access to more tools than ever, but access to information does not always create clarity. High school students, college students, graduate students, PhD students, and early career professionals may still feel unsure about how to make decisions, build confidence, communicate their story, or move through academic and professional spaces.

AI can generate suggestions, outlines, and language. What it cannot do is understand the full context of your life, your goals, your background, your relationships, your fears, your strengths, and the systems you are navigating.

Educational coaching and academic mentorship provide a space to think through decisions, strengthen your writing, prepare for applications, develop your voice, and build structure in a way that is personal, realistic, and connected to your long-term goals.

My role is not to replace the tools students already use. My role is to help students move beyond generic advice and develop direction, strategy, confidence, and a clearer sense of what comes next.

What Human Mentorship Offers

  • Personalized Guidance Support that considers your background, goals, strengths, and current stage of development.
  • Writing and Voice Development Help strengthening essays, statements, research ideas, applications, and professional narratives.
  • Academic Strategy Support with planning, organization, motivation, time management, and academic confidence.
  • Graduate and PhD Preparation Guidance with applications, research interests, faculty fit, interviews, and doctoral readiness.
  • Early Career Direction Mentorship for students and emerging professionals clarifying their next steps, opportunities, and long-term goals.

Strong students do not only need information. They need mentorship, reflection, strategy, encouragement, and support from someone who understands how academic and professional systems work.

Graduate School Coaching & Application Support

Applying to graduate school involves much more than submitting an application. As a graduate school application coach, I help students exploring master's and PhD programs build a strategy, identify faculty fit, write a compelling statement of purpose, and prepare for interviews. As a current PhD student and Chancellor's Fellow at WashU, I know what competitive programs look for because I recently went through the process myself. Need help with a grant or research proposal? See my research and grant consulting.

  • Graduate school application coaching: Explore graduate programs, compare options, create application timelines, identify faculty interests, and develop a strategy that aligns with your academic and career goals.
  • Statement of purpose coaching: Receive feedback on personal statements, statements of purpose, and academic essays while learning how to communicate your experiences, interests, and future goals with clarity and authenticity.
  • Research interests & academic identity: Clarify your research interests, lived experiences, intellectual questions, and professional direction to strengthen graduate school applications and future academic opportunities.
  • Graduate school interview preparation: Practice common interview questions, discuss faculty fit, prepare for admissions conversations, and build confidence communicating your academic experiences and goals.
  • Academic & research career coaching: Explore careers in higher education, research, nonprofits, and public scholarship while receiving community advising on publishing, conference presentations, networking, and navigating graduate school expectations.
Who I Coach

Academic Coaching for Students on Demanding Academic Paths

Success in competitive schools and programs is about more than grades. Students are also expected to find research opportunities, build relationships with faculty, network, land internships, communicate professionally, and meet expectations that are rarely explained in the classroom. Academic coaching gives students a strategic partner who knows how these systems work from the inside.

Whether you are a high school student preparing strong college applications, a college student managing a heavy course load and big goals, a graduate student facing a rigorous program, or a professional considering a return to school, coaching focuses on strategy, accountability, writing, and long-term success.

Coaching Backed by Research, Scholarship & Experience

My approach combines academic coaching, social work, research, public scholarship, and lived experience supporting students through major educational transitions. Coaching is collaborative, strengths-based, and designed to help students develop study skills, executive functioning strategies, academic confidence, and a stronger sense of belonging in higher education.

High School Juniors & Seniors Honors, AP & IB Students College Students Pre-Med, Pre-Law & Pre-Grad Students Graduate & PhD Applicants Master's & Doctoral Students Student Athletes International & Transfer Students First-Generation Students Bilingual & Spanish-Speaking Students LGBTQ+ Students Early-Career Professionals Adults Returning to School
Online Academic Coaching Across the United States

Online Academic Coach for High School, College & Graduate Students

All coaching takes place online through secure video sessions, so students anywhere in the United States can work with me, whether they are at a university across the country, studying abroad for a semester, or preparing applications from home.

Online sessions fit around classes, labs, jobs, and time zones, and many students find it easier to stay consistent when they can meet from their own space. For more tips, read my academic coaching and college success articles.

Virtual Academic Coaching Services

Sessions can focus on graduate school and PhD applications, statements of purpose and personal statements, academic writing, homework and project planning, executive functioning, research planning, and weekly accountability.

For Schools, Universities & Student Success Programs

I partner with independent and public high schools, college counseling offices, universities, honors and scholars programs, graduate programs, student success centers, and education nonprofits. Programs can bring me in to coach their students directly, lead workshops, or train staff, with the credibility of a doctoral scholar and published researcher.

Request a partnership proposal →

Student Coaching Partnerships

One-on-one or small-group coaching for students your program refers, with flexible packages for a semester or academic year.

Workshops & Seminars

Sessions on graduate school and PhD applications, personal statements, academic writing, executive functioning, imposter syndrome, and burnout.

Staff & Faculty Training

Trauma-informed education, student belonging and persistence, and how stress and lived experience shape learning.

Keynotes & Program Consulting

Keynote talks and consulting on student success, youth voice, and engaging lived experience ethically. See speaking topics.

Academic and Emotional Support

Practical Strategy Meets Motivation, Confidence, and Structure

Educational coaching supports both the practical side of school and the emotional side of learning. Students often need more than reminders to study. They may need help understanding what gets in the way, building realistic systems, and developing confidence in how they learn.

Academic coach helping a college student plan assignments and writing

Academic and Practical Support

Students learn how to plan their week, manage their time, stay organized, and approach academic tasks in a way that fits their learning style and goals.

  • ✦ Study skills, time management, and organization
  • ✦ Writing support for essays, statements, and research papers
  • ✦ Goal-setting and academic planning
  • ✦ Support for college or graduate school applications
Academic coaching for imposter syndrome, motivation, and academic confidence

Emotional and Motivational Support

School is not only an academic experience. Many students are also navigating stress, perfectionism, imposter feelings, avoidance, or pressure to perform.

  • ✦ Academic anxiety and perfectionism
  • ✦ Stress, avoidance, and imposter feelings
  • ✦ Building self-esteem and academic confidence
  • ✦ Mindset, motivation, and accountability coaching

How Academic Coaching Works

Coaching is structured, goal-focused, and built around your calendar, from a single application season to a full academic year.

1

Free Consultation

We talk through your goals, deadlines, and what feels stuck, and decide whether coaching is the right fit.

2

Personalized Plan

We map out priorities, timelines, and the skills to build, whether that is a grad school application or a heavy semester.

3

Ongoing Sessions

Regular online sessions for strategy, writing feedback, and accountability, adjusted as your goals change.

Coaching Options

Choose the level of support that fits your goals. Contact me for current rates and availability.

Strategy Session

A focused session to review an application, a writing project, or a semester plan.

Application Package

Support across a full graduate school or PhD application cycle, from program list to interviews.

Semester Coaching

Weekly or biweekly coaching for organization, writing, homework strategy, and accountability.

Institutional Partnerships

Coaching, workshops, and training for schools, universities, and programs. Learn more.

Schedule an Educational Coaching Consultation

Whether you are preparing for college, navigating graduate school, rebuilding academic confidence, strengthening your writing, or seeking support through a major educational transition, coaching can provide a structured space to clarify goals, strengthen skills, and move forward with greater confidence.

Not sure where to start? Feel free to email me with questions about educational coaching, graduate school mentorship, or academic writing support. Schools and programs can email me to request a partnership proposal.

SUPPORT

FAQs

No. This is not tutoring. I don’t reteach class lessons or sit with students to complete daily homework. Instead, I help students understand how to think through assignments, organize their workload, strengthen their writing, and build the academic habits that help them succeed in rigorous programs. It is about learning how to learn, not just getting through tasks.

Yes, but not in the traditional tutoring sense. I can support students with homework when it involves brainstorming ideas, planning out a project, understanding expectations, or developing stronger writing and critical thinking skills. My goal is to help students build independence and confidence.

Yes. Educational mentorship and coaching are available nationwide. Because this is not therapy or clinical treatment, students from anywhere in the United States can work with me online.

I work with high school, college, and graduate students, as well as early-career professionals. Many are motivated students in competitive schools and programs who want sharper strategy, stronger writing, and more confidence. Others feel overwhelmed, unsure where to start, or ready to level up as they prepare for college, graduate school, a PhD, or life after graduation.

We look at the whole picture: your goals, your workload, your strengths, and the areas where you feel stuck. Sessions may include academic planning, writing support, time management, study strategies, and mindset work. Everything is tailored to your needs and the direction you want to grow.

Yes. All coaching and mentorship sessions are offered online, which makes it easier for students across the country to access support. Sessions are flexible and designed to fit into busy school, work, and family schedules.

Yes. Many students I work with are exploring paths outside of academia. I can help you build skills that translate into any professional setting, including communication, organization, planning, confidence, and decision-making. Whether you are preparing for college, graduate school, or a career, you will receive support that fits your goals.

Yes. I partner with high schools, college counseling offices, universities, honors and scholars programs, graduate programs, and student success centers. Partnerships can include one-on-one or small-group coaching for referred students, workshops on applications, writing, and executive functioning, and training for staff. Email me to request a proposal.

Yes. For high school students, I often start with a conversation that includes parents or guardians to understand goals and expectations. Sessions are with the student, and I share general progress and next steps with families while respecting the student's need for space to speak openly.

No. Academic coaching focuses on goals, skills, strategy, and accountability. It is not therapy or clinical treatment, which is why I can offer coaching to students anywhere in the United States.