ABOUT KRISTIN SCHLEICHER
Helping students build independence before college starts demanding it.
Executive function coach, psychologist, and founder —
working at the gap between high school preparation and college reality.
Most students who struggle in their first semester of college aren't struggling because they're not smart.
They're struggling because no one ever taught them the skills college quietly expects.
Starting.
Planning.
Managing time.
Following through.
Recovering when things go off track.
And by the time it shows up, it's already costing them.
That's the gap my work focuses on.
College doesn't just raise the bar.
It removes the scaffolding.
WHO I WORK WITH
Bright, capable students — and the families preparing them.
I work with families of students — often with ADHD or executive function challenges — who are preparing for college. Not to "fix" anything. But to build the systems, habits, and support structures that make independence actually work.
Because independence is not about doing everything alone. It's about knowing what to do — and what to do when it stops working.
WHERE STUDENTS ACTUALLY STRUGGLE
Most readiness conversations miss the real problem.
The focus is usually on grades, test scores, and applications.
But that's not where students fall apart.
THE CONVERSATION
​Grades.
Test scores.
Application essays.
Class rank.
GPA targets.
THE ACTUAL GAP
Knowing when to start.​
​Managing unstructured time.
​​​Asking for help.
Recovering when they fall behind.
Holding it together without external structure.
These are not personality traits.
They are skills. And skills can be built — if you focus on them early enough.
BACKGROUND
A pattern I kept seeing — and decided to address.
My background is in psychology, executive functioning, and human behavior. Over the years, I kept seeing the same pattern: students who were capable on paper, but overwhelmed in reality. Families who thought "they'll be fine" — until they weren't.
That pattern is predictable. And in many cases, preventable.
MY APPROACH
This work is not about motivation.
It's about structure.
• Clear systems for planning and follow-through
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• Realistic routines that hold under pressure
• Communication patterns between parents and students
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• Support structures that don't collapse in the first semester
KS
>A NOTE FROM ME
Kristin Schleicher
Psychologist · Executive Specialist · ADHD Coach
I'm a psychologist, certified clinical hypnotherapist, Executive Function Specialist and ADHD Coach.. But the work I do at College Independence Lab comes from somewhere more personal than credentials.
I'm also the mom of two boys — one of whom is gifted and navigating life with ADHD and dyslexia. I've watched firsthand how bright, creative, capable kids can struggle not because they lack ability, but because the systems around them were never built for how their brains work.
"I've seen how self-doubt and unstructured environments can dim their light — and how much changes when they finally have the right tools."
That experience didn't just shape my perspective. It became the lens through which I built everything in this program. College Independence Lab exists because I needed it to exist — and because too many families reach out after the first semester, when the cost of not preparing is already real.
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My work is compassionate, structured, and rooted in how these students actually think. Not how we wish they did.
TOOLS & PROGRAMS
Built to answer one question.
Through College Independence Lab, I've built a set of tools to make this process concrete:
A Readiness Check to identify hidden gaps
A structured Agreement to align expectations between parents and students
Programs that build real-world independence skills before the first semester begins
→ What will college expect — and is your student actually ready for it?
Let’s Work Together
Get in touch so we can start working together.
College Independence Lab provides educational tools and coaching to support college readiness, executive function, and student independence. We do not provide clinical or therapeutic services.