an Asian college student with a backpack and notebook smiles on a college campus

Better Grades in Less Time®

We teach study skills and time management that help students learn more efficiently, from middle school to grad school.

What We Teach

Our mission is to motivate students to do more than they think is possible, teach them how to accomplish it, and push them to achieve their greatest goals.

Motivation

Decide what you’re aiming for and what you’re willing to do to accomplish it.

Time Management

Be more strategic about when you work so you can be less stressed and have more free time.

Reading

Connect the assigned reading to your personal interests and experiences so it’s more fun.

Notetaking

Arrive prepared, pay attention, and summarize: it’s the only way to get your money’s worth.

Tests

Make the best study guides your school has ever seen so that everybody learns more.

Papers

Enjoy every huge writing assignment as a rare opportunity to practice getting smarter.

What We Offer

Options for students, families, and professionals.

a student smiles for the camera in a library

Coaching

Whether you need to learn how to study or you want to be pushed to get the most out of your new study skills, we can help you achieve your greatest goals.

the book, This Book Will Not Be On The Test by Paul Smith Rivas

Book

This Book Will Not Be on the Test is a fun and practical explanation of the motivation and study skills you’ll need to succeed in school and life. Purchase on Amazon.

multiple college-age students work on laptops in a sunny room

Online Course

Learn study skills at your own pace and on your own schedule with our convenient online course Better Grades in Less Time®.

Paul Smith Rivas speaks at The Lab School

Speaking

Help your students and staff learn the science of learning by providing them with professional study skills training.

Who We Help

We specialize in students whose grades don’t reflect how smart they are and students who want more free time.

High Achievers

Caltech? MIT? Top-tier Ivies? Bring it on. We can help the smartest kids, because we’ve worked with even smarter ones.

Learning Differences

Your learning differences aren’t going away, but your accommodations will. Prepare for the real world now.

ADHD

Whether or not you’re on medication, you need study skills. We’ll help you make your ADHD work for you.

Athletes

Our students have made it to the NBA, MLB, NASCAR, and almost every NCAA sport you can think of (even squash).

Creatives

We’ve helped serious young actors, dancers, musicians, and writers make more time for their craft, and we can help you.

In Crisis

We can help anyone. No challenge is too big.

Our Impact

Stanford University logo

“Remember when my son took your one-hour group class in 8th grade? Well, he’s in his 4th year at Cornell, and he still remembers when the best time is for studying!”

Tracey Weisler

Stanford professor

Shane Bieber, MLB All-Star Game MVP & Cy Young Award Winner

“D1 baseball is a grind. SMITH RIVAS gave me the study skills and confidence I needed to excel in college, which helped me achieve my dream of being a big-leaguer.”

Shane Bieber

MLB All-Star Game MVP & Cy Young Award Winner

Rajah Caruth, NASCAR Driver

“Study skills have helped me learn how to not only manage my time and busy schedule, but also to work smarter and not necessarily harder.”

Rajah Caruth

NASCAR Driver

Columbia University logo

“Thank you very much for giving James your time and helping him think smart and build good habits at a critical time in his life. I can still see the impact of your work with him many years ago, and the results have been amazing!”

Danielle Donovan

Mother of a Columbia student

Texas Christian University logo

“Thank you for teaching Emilie such important study skills in a fun, engaging way last summer. I just wanted to reaffirm how much she got out of those sessions with you. And we’ve still got one more year of high school to go!”

Maria Wallis

Mother of a TCU Founders Scholar

Georgetown University logo

“Thank you, on many levels, for your work with my son. I think an objective, firm coach was just what the doctor ordered. You helped tremendously in bringing back his moxie, drive, and results. I greatly appreciate that from both an academic and life standpoint.”

J.D.

Mother of a Georgetown freshman

Oprah logo

“We can’t begin to explain the gratitude we feel towards you. We dearly appreciate all that you have shared with us throughout these six months.” Read More

“We can’t begin to explain the gratitude we feel towards you. We dearly appreciate all that you have shared with us throughout these six months, as you have played a significant role in not only helping us adapt to American culture, but also in showing us how we can make the most of our college years. Your words of wisdom will always be with us.”

The Veloz Fellows

Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls

Xue Wang, New York University Master's in Economics

“Paul帮助我发掘了自己独特的闪光点. 这不仅可以很好地写进我研究生申请的自荐信,同时还增加了我作为一名英语非母语学生日后可以在美国取得成就的信心. Paul非常乐于帮助别人. 非常有帮助并且很有耐心. 相信Paul有能力帮助更多国际学生申请到他们梦想的学校.”

Xue Wang

New York University Master’s in Economics

We’ve taught students at all the top colleges how to study.

Amherst College logo
Caltech logo
Columbia university logo
Cornell University logo
Massachusetts Institute of Technology logo
NYU logo
Princeton University logo
Stanford University logo
The University of Chicago logo
University of Pennsylvania logo
Williams College logo
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a mother and daughter sit at a kitchen table discussing information on a laptop