Methodology

What defines a fulfilling academic career? Success in grades? Sure. Growth in problem solving? Certainly. Fulfilling interests cultivated over time? Absolutely.

Now, what if we view a student’s academic career in terms of doors it opens up? If I’m an admissions officer at Harvard College, or at Yale Law School, or if I’m a recruiter at Google looking to hire promising talent, how do I compare the academic careers of several students? How does one academic career stand out among tens of thousands?

Right from our first Goal Setting Meeting at Lakhani Coaching, we set out three major paradigms on which we evaluate an academic career: Academics, Problem Solving Ability, and Character. Each reflects something important: work ethic, critical thinking skill, contribution to a larger community. We then set out a plan, be it over a few months, or more ideally, over a few years, of specific goals in coursework, standardized testing, and character pursuits, and a plan to achieve these goals, supported by our expert one-on-one coaching at every step of the way.

Coaching vs. Tutoring

We began as private tutors and our instructors are masters in their fields. Much of our work is one-on-one instruction, like that of a tutor, but our mission is to go beyond  tutoring. We get to know our students and encourage their active participation in their goals, whether that is improved writing skills, a certain standardized test score, or a dream college choice. We become intimate partners in the success of our students. It’s no coincidence then that parents frequently report gains in confidence, ownership, and maturity in their children after working with Lakhani Coaching.

Discovery   

We begin with a true discovery process. Before formulating an individualized plan, our President, Hafeez Lakhani, spends several hours in conversation with both student and parent to better understand the student’s goals, desires and fears, as well as current strengths and areas for improvement.

Goal setting

We believe in the power of identifying specific goals, and being accountable—if only to ourselves—for our own aspirations. Our goal setting meetings plant the seeds of hard work—and push each student beyond his expectation.

One-on-one instruction

Each session includes dedicated face-to-face time with an expert coach either in person or online. Skype meetings use robust online tools such as Google Docs and our online whiteboard. Using resources as simple as “Find” and as complex as our proprietary “College Planning File,” our Skype meetings can be even more impactful than in person sessions. By harnessing the latest technologies, we've helped students in over ten countries achieve life-changing results since 2010.

Feedback

After each and every meeting, our coaches send a personal email to the student's parents accounting for specific examples of positive progress, as well as challenge areas as our work continues.

On a monthly basis our President, Hafeez Lakhani, crafts a customized progress report for every student, incorporating individual coach evaluations as well as focused consideration of progress against goals.

At every step, the entire team—the student, coaches, and parents—is kept in the loop, so we can all work to make the student's goals a reality.