
The habits that carry you through middle school stop working in high school — usually right around the time the stakes get highest.
Starts Thu, Jun 25
4:00 PM UTC · 1h
4 sessions

Joanna
Build a reliable personal planning and organization system that keeps deadlines, projects, and commitments from slipping through the cracks
Develop time management and prioritization skills that allow you to handle multiple demanding classes simultaneously
Create efficient, effective study routines that produce real retention — not just the feeling of having studied
Understand and manage the executive function demands of high school: planning, task initiation, sustained attention, and flexible thinking
Recognize and replace the academic habits that worked in middle school but will hold you back in high school
Approach large projects and long-term assignments with a structured process rather than last-minute cramming
Build the self-monitoring habits that high-performing students use to stay ahead without burning out

A proud alumna of Georgetown University, Joanna has decades of experience in the college admissions and standardized testing space. She's a longtime admissions interviewer and current member of the Board of Governors at Georgetown, has worked for standardized test agencies (the Graduate Management Admission Council and HR Certification Institute) and prep companies (Veritas Prep), partnered with a great many admissions offices, and served as a college admissions consultant for hundreds of applicants to elite programs. As a nonprofit marketing executive, she focuses her efforts on educational technology and higher education, and volunteers her spare time at a variety of athletic and military organizations including Dog Tag Bakery, Team Red White & Blue, the Ironman Foundation, and the Pat Tillman Foundation.
The habits that carry you through middle school stop working in high school — usually right around the time the stakes get highest. High School Ready is a course for students in grades 7–9 who want to get ahead of that transition: building the executive function skills, study habits, and self-management routines that high school demands before they actually need them. Students who wait for high school to force these changes often spend their first year firefighting. Students who build them now walk in with a genuine competitive advantage — better focus, more reliable follow-through, and the kind of organized, intentional approach to academics that opens doors all the way through college admissions.
Live Q&A
Cameras / mics optional
Recordings
Available within 1 hour, kept 90 days
Materials
No special materials required
free with a Varsity Tutors membership
18
DAYS07
HRS53
MINThu, Jun 25 • 4:00pm UTC
Starts in 18 days
High School Ready: Executive Function & Study Skills for 7th–9th Graders