Now that you have your grades, test scores, activity lists and interests, where should you consider applying?  We will help you find a set of schools that meet your needs.  We are problem solvers and can find great options for any student, no matter what the circumstance.  

Think you can’t afford college? Worried that test scores or grades don’t reflect actual abilities?  Want to apply to the most elite institutions?  Interested in special career paths? We can find the solution that works for you.

Call us now to schedule a consultation and let us help you find best-fit colleges for you!

The cost of a college education is one of the second largest financial investment next to purchasing a home. Currently, many private tuitions range between $180,000 and $250,000, and state governments have been decreasing their funding. Your financial decisions will benefit from our professional guidance.

As many students choose a college without adequate investigation and research regarding what the college has to offer them, research shows that one out of three college students leave or transfer to another college and five out of ten students require five or more years to earn a degree. Our objective assessment of the student’s needs at Lee Academia help us to use current research beyond website information to find the right “student-college fit”.

Many colleges have become more selective and Lee Academia's College Consultants understand what is needed for top students to gain admissions. However, finding the right college for the average or learning differences students is just as important. Many less competitive colleges have higher drop out rates and lower graduation rates, therefore it is essential we carefully place average students in appropriate educational settings.

High school counselors – both in public and private institutions – are so overwhelmed with student caseloads, federally mandated paperwork for special needs students, dealing with disciplinary situations, and scheduling courses. There is little time left for quality personal contact between counselor and the student applying to college. Guidance counselors will write a letter of recommendation, assemble a transcript, and include a student profile in the college packet – nothing more.

For more information and to contact us for a consultation: click here.

Last week, Ms. Stephenie, our college consultant brought 14 high school students around the Columbia University undergraduate campus at Morningside on 116th Street, Manhattan, for a tour. They were told the superstitious stories about the Alma Mater and the students rushed to find the owl to determine who would become the incoming class' Valedictorian. Stories about the Tunnel and Manhattan Project were told as the students walked around and had a firsthand look at the academic classrooms. The infamous Havemeyer classroom where most filming take place was visited, as well as Dodge Fitness Center. Students had the opportunity to ask informal questions and to see a typical Columbia day in progress with many undergraduate and graduate students walking around campus, sitting at the Low steps, and playing soccer at the South Lawn.

After lunch at Columbia's popular cafe, the students toured the Butler Library and had the opportunity to visit the Stacks, observe the old card catalogs, and see hundreds of books that dated back to the early 1900s. The tour concluded at Columbia's Bookstore, where students had the opportunity to rest and buy Columbia logo clothing.

For more information about future tours and the opportunity to have Ms. Stephenie provide you with a fun unofficial Columbia University tour, contact us.

Last week, top high school students from around the world found out whether they were attending one of the eight prestigious Ivy League universities Fall of 2014.

This year was extremely competitive for some of the Ivies, as Princeton University, Cornell University, and University of Pennsylvania had one of their most selective admissions classes ever recorded, and Brown University, Yale University also had a lower acceptance rate than last year's rate.

Princeton admitted 7.28% of applicants and accepted 1,939 students out of 26,641 applicants. This was down slightly from their 7.29% in 2013.

Cornell admitted 14% this year, taking 6,025 students from 43,041 applications. Cornell accepted 15.2% of applicants last year. While Cornell has the highest admissions rate in the Ivy League, the school dropped their admissions percentage point this year.

University of Penn admitted 9.9% applicants to the Class of 2018, where it was 12.1% for the Class of 2017. 3,551 of 35,788 applicants was accepted.

Brown University admitted 8.6% acceptance rate, with 2,619 of 30,291 applicants accepted. Last year, Brown had a 9.2% acceptance rate.

Yale University was the last to release their admissions data, and posted a lower acceptance rate than last year's 6.72% Yale admitted 6.26% acceptance rate this year, admitting 1,935 of 30,932 applicants.

The other Ivies saw their acceptance rate rise from last year.

Harvard University admitted 5.9% of applicants from last year's 5.8% admissions rate, accepting 2,023 of their 34,295 applications.

Columbia University admitted 6.94% of applicants, up from their record low of 6.89% acceptance rate for Class of 2017. Columbia accepted 2,291 of their 32,967 applicants.

Dartmouth College took 11.5% of applicants to the Class of 2018, which was up from last year's 10% admissions rate. Dartmouth received 19,235 applications and accepted 2,220 this year.

Other top colleges also released their admissions data this week. MIT took 7.7% of applications. Here's a summary of the data:

• Brown University — 30,291 applicants (2,619 accepted)
• Columbia University — 32,967 applicants (2,291 accepted)
• Cornell University — 43,041 applicants (6,025 accepted)
• Dartmouth College — 19,235 applicants (2,220 accepted)
• Harvard University — 34,295 applicants (2,023 accepted)
• University of Pennsylvania — 35,788 applicants (3,551 accepted)
• Princeton University — 26,607 applicants (1,939 accepted)
• Yale University — 30,922 applicants (1,935 accepted)

The U.S. News & World Report surveyed more than 1,300 graduate schools and programs and ranked them according to their methodology.

They offered a sneak peak of the 2015 Best Graduate Schools rankings. Surveying 453 accredited master's programs in business, the U.S. News & World Report listed in alphabetical order the top 10 highest-ranked business schools:

Columbia University (NY)
Dartmouth College (Tuck) (NH)
Harvard University (MA)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan)
New York University (Stern)
Northwestern University (Kellogg) (IL)
Stanford University (CA)
University of California—Berkeley (Haas)
University of Chicago (Booth)
University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) 

The actual ranking and score of these and other graduate schools – including those offering full-time, part-time and executive MBA programs – will be available March 11, 2014, on usnews.com. Use #BestGradSchools.

Lee Academia's professional experts can help you with your graduate/professional school journey. Contact us for more information.

Whether you've been studying for months, or just realized that your March SAT is only two weeks away, speak to us about our 2 week study calendar to help you study smarter.

Here are the three steps to ensure you get your dream SAT score on March 8th:

1. If you haven't already done so, sign up for our sample cram session. If you enjoy learning with Lee Academia then purchase our program!
2. Use the calendar below and work through the recommended modules, video concepts, and practice quizzes.
3. Wake up calm and relaxed on March 8th, and rock the SAT!

Since Lee Academia's Online SAT Program is completely online, you can prep for the SAT whenever you want, wherever you want. In fact after your test, continue to use Lee Academia to prepare for your next SAT. Good luck!

So now, ace the SAT!

As students are consulted by their Lee Academia Consultant and waiting to receive their College Athlete Game Report, here are the next 4 steps to prepare:

1. Develop your Initial Email correspondence.
2. Develop your Student Athlete profile.
3. Develop your Personal Video.
4. Organize your upcoming schedule to be included in your correspondence.

After receiving and understanding the College Athlete Game Report, here are next 4 steps to take:

1. Send out your finished email to your initial contact.
2. Be sure to respond to every correspondence you receive from the coaches.
3. Expand your contact list, as needed. Your College Athlete Game Report will only have 30-50 schools.
4. Master the college interview process... Be prepared to talk to college Face to Face.

Need Help developing your email, student athlete profile, and/or your video? Call Lee Academia @ 347-948-8863 for more details on these services. Get your College Athlete Game Report today!

By 2018, 63% of all job openings will require a post-secondary education.

In other words, almost 2 in every 3 jobs will be COMPLETELY CLOSED to you if you don’t have a college degree.

And considering that those with a college education make an average of 64% more than those who don’t...This fact should really freak you out.

If you haven’t started earning college degree, or if you took classes but never finished, the time to take action is NOW.

Lee Academia experts can guide you through choosing degree programs available, and help you qualify for government grants or scholarships.

With approximately 450 boarding schools in 2012 and tuition at these schools ranging from free (yes, free!) to well over $50,000 per year, many parents and students choose to go to boarding schools.

There are plenty of reasons why attending an independent school is a great idea. With boarding school experiences adding another dimension because it involves the student 24/7 for weeks at a time; the academics, athletics and extracurricular activities are interwoven into a student's schedule in a remarkably balanced way. So whether a coed school or a boys' school or girls' school is chosen, you will find a boarding school which meets your requirements. Additionally, you can find boarding schools that offer military training, educating students with learning differences and special needs.

Financial aid is given at several boarding schools with general financial aid packages.

Everyone boarding school is unique so ranks do not matter there. What does matter is finding the school which best fits the child. Find the right boarding school for a child is one of the most important and expensive decisions you will ever have to make, similar to the college process.

Parents and students can research thoroughly on their own, only to find that most websites look alike and very few give information on the profile of typical accepted students. Families who want the guidance often turn to independent educational consultants, like Lee Academia's Educational Consultants, who have worked with over 50 students and parents this past admissions cycle.

These professionals are paid by the families to advise them on the boarding school search and admissions process. Many offer full service comprehensive packages that span over a year’s time, and others have shorter packages or an hourly rate.  A typical consultation will start with a focus on the student’s background and interest in boarding school; this includes a review of his transcript, testing, activities, interests, and academic successes and challenges of the past.  Lee Academia's professional consultant will talk with the student and parents about goals for the future and what they hope to get out of the boarding school experience.  We have given examples of schools that are nurturing or offer learning support, or those which give extra help to students when they need it. We discuss the pros and cons of the more rigorous schools, or might help a family decide whether to repeat a year.   Lee Academia's professionals know the inside scoop on boarding schools, and they get this through their campus visits, meetings with admissions officers, and by seeing the successes of the students who they place at schools.  We help families determine a list of schools to apply to, and this discussion customarily takes many months, but in certain cases can be done within one meeting.

For information or a consultation to see if boarding schools are right for you or your child, contact us.

Stay tuned to our success and admissions results, as they will be posted up on the website as we receive them.