What Are Executive Function Skills For College Students And How Can EF Coaching Help?
- Sean McCormick
- Sep 30, 2024
- 8 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
Last Updated: November, 2025
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If your bright, capable college student keeps missing deadlines, losing track of assignments, or spiraling into last-minute panic, executive function skills are probably the missing piece.
In today’s post, I'll teach you what executive function coaching for college students is and how it can guide them to develop essential skills for independence.
Table of Contents
Meet Sophia, a bright college freshman who swears she “tries her best,” yet somehow misses deadlines, forgets readings, and pulls frantic all-nighters every week.
Her professors see potential, her parents see effort, but no one can quite explain why she’s always behind.
This is where executive function skills come in.
In this article, we’ll break down what executive function skills actually are, why they matter so much for college success (and life), and why so many students struggle with them once they’re on their own.
This guide is for parents, educators, and maybe even pro-active college students who want to do everything possible to ensure a valuable experience during the "college years."
I'll help you think through which students may be a good fit for these executive function coaching and how you can find the right coach for your college student.
But first, what are EF skills? 👇
What Are Executive Function Skills?
Executive function skills include:
Planning
Organization
Self-awareness
Initiation
Time management
Inhibition
Visualizing outcomes
Evaluating priorities
And much more!
These skills mainly reside in the frontal lobe and help people:
select AND monitor behaviors that facilitate the attainment of chosen goals.
account for short and long-term consequences of our actions and planning for those results.
make real-time evaluations of our actions and making adjustments if those actions are not achieving the desired result.
Basically, EF skills are the skills that help us set and attain our chosen goals.
Why Do Executive Function Skills Matter?
Much research has shown that students with better EF skills fare better in life. For example, in Dr. Adele Diamond's study, "Executive Functions," she found:
“Children with worse self-control at ages 3–11 tend to have worse health, earn less, and commit more crimes 30 years later than those with better self-control as children, controlling for IQ, gender, social class, and more.”
Conversely, students who develop strong executive function skills can expect to see:
Better organization systems
Increased confidence in handling responsibilities
More effective management of academic and daily tasks
Overall greater quality of life.
Just check out some of the research on how EF skills impact adults 👇
So, what is stopping college students from developing these essential skills?
Why Do College Students Struggle With Executive Function Skills?
Many college students struggle with executive function skills for a variety of reasons, which may include:
Lack of exposure to independence
Some students enter college without ever managing tasks like laundry or budgeting on their own.
Throughout their teens, their well-intentioned parents may have acted as their frontal lobe, doing all the planning and cognitive work for them.
Transition shock
For college students leaving home for the first time, the sudden shift from parental support to self-reliance can feel overwhelming.
This can lead to a variety of self-destructive behaviors, such as:
Excessive drug or alcohol use
Avoiding classes or sleeping in late
Increased video gaming and time spent on YouTube
Without anyone monitoring their behavior (beside the hall monitor), these behaviors may be hidden from the watchful eye of their parents.
Inappropriate support
Students may receive support from tutors or a therapist when the core issue is organization, not content or emotional challenges.
If you are not sure whether your student needs EF coaching or therapy, check out my article: 5 Key Questions to Ask When Choosing Between a Therapist or Executive Function Coach for Your Child with ADHD
If you prefer a video on this topic, check out my YouTube video College with Executive Dysfunction?👇
What Do Executive Function Coaches Help College Students With?
Here is what you can expect an executive function coach to work on with your college student.
Being independent
Good executive function coaches will guide students to face and overcome challenges independently.
This might look like helping them develop routines to:
Do their laundry
Create a schedule for the week
Manage their finances
A quality executive function coach will start by assessing your student's learning needs, helping them develop goals, and working with them to develop a weekly routine to work on those areas of need.
Being accountable
A quality executive function coach will meet with college students weekly, providing consistent support and helping them stay accountable.
Usually, sessions are about 45 minutes and are a combination or planning and taking actions on problems of performance.
For example, many students struggle with prioritizing assignments when they have multiple exams and papers due in the same week.
The coach might use a planning dashboard with them like the Student Dashboard Template we offer for free at EFS.
The coach will then teach them how to break down overwhelming tasks, like a long-term research paper or preparing for finals, into smaller, actionable steps.
This teaches students how to manage their time effectively and avoid last-minute stress, thus reducing anxiety and preparing them for careers after college.
Being structured and routine-based
Another common challenge is balancing coursework with extracurricular activities or a part-time job.
A good coach will help their students map out their week, ensuring that all responsibilities, including studying and self-care, are addressed in a structured plan.
In our certification program through the Executive Function Coaching Academy, we teach coaches how to use Google Calendar and Tasks, so they can effectively support their students in using the tools at their fingertips for productivity, rather than distraction.
Being realistic
Many college students take on too many classes or set overly high expectations for themselves, thinking they need to load up on courses or aim for perfection in every subject.
This often leads to unnecessary stress, burnout, and a feeling of being overwhelmed when they realize they can’t keep up with the workload.
Many parents and educators are unaware of the emotional challenges of ADHD and would benefit from learning more about the 'ADHD Iceberg'.
Students may also feel pressured to balance academics with extracurricular activities, internships, or part-time jobs, leading to unrealistic demands on their time and energy.
A skilled executive function coach will gently guide students to reassess these expectations and be more realistic.
Instead of overloading on classes or striving for perfection, the coach encourages students to focus on what’s manageable and productive.
By helping them prioritize their goals and break down tasks into achievable steps, the coach shifts their focus from trying to do everything at once to taking concrete, action-oriented steps toward success.
As we say at Executive Function Specialists,
"Action alleviates anxiety."
The coach will also work with students to understand their limits, teaching them that being strategic and intentional about their workload leads to better long-term outcomes, rather than succumbing to the pressure of doing it all.
Being assertive
Lastly, an experienced executive function coach helps students develop the confidence to be assertive and self-advocate with both professors and parents, rather than falling into the habit of being people pleasers.
Many students may feel uncomfortable asking for extensions or accommodations, or they may hesitate to tell their parents when they are overwhelmed by their workload.
Coaches guide students in recognizing their own needs and understanding that advocating for themselves is key to their success.
At EF Specialists, we teach students to use the PING Method to communicate their needs via email, which stands for:
Pleasant introduction
Inform and inquire
Negotiate your need
Gratitude for their assistance
You can deep dive on our communication techniques in our article: How To Have The Best Semester Yet (part 3): Learn the art and science of communicating with teachers 📧
Through role-playing conversations and providing communication strategies, the coach helps students learn how to respectfully and clearly express their boundaries, whether it’s asking a professor for clarification on an assignment or explaining to their parents that they need space to manage their responsibilities.
This assertiveness allows students to take control of their academic journey and reduce unnecessary stress.
How Do You Find An Executive Function Coach For Your College Student?
To start, you can check out our team at EF Specialists and book a no-cost inquiry call, or search through our directory.
Here is a detailed guide on how to find an executive function coach which includes:
Questions you can ask prospective coaches
Directories to find executive function coaches
Facebook groups where EF coaches hang out
FAQs
How is executive function coaching different from tutoring or therapy?
Executive function coaching focuses on the “how” of school and life—planning, organizing, initiating, and following through—rather than teaching specific content like a tutor or processing emotions like a therapist.
A good EF coach helps students build practical systems and habits so they can manage their work and responsibilities more independently over time.
How long does it take to see progress with an executive function coach?
Many families start to notice small wins, like fewer missed assignments or better use of a planner, within a few weeks of consistent coaching.
Bigger shifts in independence, time management, and confidence typically build over a semester or more, as students practice and refine their new habits.
What if my college student is resistant to working with a coach?
Resistance is common, especially if students feel coaching is just another way for adults to monitor them or criticize their effort.
Framing coaching as support for their goals (less stress, more free time, better grades) and giving them a voice in choosing the coach and setting goals often makes them much more willing to engage.
The Bottom Line
When college students strengthen their executive function skills, they’re far more equipped to handle the complex mix of classes, responsibilities, and newfound independence that college demands.
To recap, a strong executive function coach will focus on helping your college student grow in these core areas:
Being independent
Being accountable
Being structured and routine-based
Being realistic
Being assertive
Hope this helps 🤙🏻
This article is a part of the larger category of:
Related articles:
Ultimate Guide on Executive Functioning Skills for College Students
18 Tips to Overcome Test-Taking Anxiety for College Students (evidence-based strategies)
5 Steps to Help College Students Who Struggle with Late or Missing Assignments
4 Steps To Prepare Your High School Student for College (Without Doing Everything for Them)
P.S. If you want to work on executive function skills with your students, consider joining hundreds of other educators and parents who have completed my Semester Success Blueprint Course. In less than 2 hours, this comprehensive course will teach you and your student the system I developed to help hundreds of students learn how to manage school effectively and raise their self-awareness and engagement with school.
About Me
Hey! I'm Sean 👋
I'm a former public school special education teacher who realized that executive function skills are more important than knowing when George Washington crossed the Potomac.
Since then, I've made it my mission to teach anyone who will listen about how to develop these key life skills.
In 2020, I founded Executive Function Specialists to ensure all students with ADHD and Autism have access to high-quality online executive function coaching services. We offer online EF coaching and courses to help students and families.
Realizing I could only reach so many people through coaching, in 2021 I started the Executive Function Coaching Academy which trains schools, educators, and individuals to learn the key strategies to improve executive function skills for students.
In 2023, I co-founded of UpSkill Specialists, to provide neurodivergent adults with high-quality executive function coaching services.
When not pursuing my passions through work, I love spending time with my family, getting exercise, and growing my brain through reading. You can connect with me on LinkedIn.
Want me to speak on executive function skills at your event? Learn more about my speaking topics here.