Altior Academy

Altior Academy is a US college admissions mentoring firm that prepares students in grades 6 through 12 for admission to highly selective American universities, naming Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford and Wharton as target institutions. The company frames its method as applying the structured, hours-accounted, progress-measured discipline of Korean academies to the American admissions process, pairing that framework with mentors who hold degrees from Ivy League or peer institutions including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Wharton, Columbia, MIT, Duke, UChicago and Yonsei.

The firm offers five programs: a flagship four-year track covering grades 9 through 12 (course strategy, testing calendar, summer planning, extracurricular development and the application itself); a program for international families covering planning, applications, school visits and the transition to US campus life; a 12-month junior-year intensive addressing test scores, course rigor, summer activities and early decision; an 8-to-12-week urgent-support program for single deadlines such as Common App essays, deferral letters, transfer applications or scholarship cycles; and a middle-school early-start program for grades 6 to 8 focused on reading habits, mathematics acceleration and early competitions.

A Techstars company listing characterizes Altior Academy differently, as AI-powered adaptive learning that evaluates each student's learning style, strengths and weaknesses to tailor course content dynamically, with interactive, gamified and multimedia-rich courses and integration of state-approved certification to grant college credits.

Founding story

Founder Eric Lee grew up inside the Korean education system and subsequently studied at Yonsei University and Korea University in Seoul, and at Harvard University and The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania; he also lived and studied near Stanford University, where the company says much of its method was shaped. He states he founded Altior Academy to provide families the kind of mentorship he wished he had had as a student, aimed at students and families seeking a mentor who has been through the same institutions.

Business model

Altior Academy sells structured, mentor-led admissions consulting engagements to families, organized into five defined programs of varying length and scope (multi-year tracks, a junior-year intensive, short 8-to-12-week urgent support, a middle-school early-start program, and an end-to-end international-student program). Families enter by consultation on a rolling basis, and engagements include an onboarding and diagnostic intake step, monthly one-on-one meetings with a mentor team, check-ins between meetings, and email and phone access. The company states it works with a limited number of families per cohort, with each mentor carrying 8 to 12 active students. A separate Techstars listing describes the company as offering AI-powered adaptive learning that customizes courses to each student.

Revenue comes from paid family engagements across the five programs, including an onboarding and diagnostic intake fee that the company offers to waive under its promotional terms.

Traction

The company reports that its students have been admitted to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, MIT, Wharton, Columbia, Brown, UChicago and Duke, that all senior mentors hold Ivy League or peer degrees, and that each mentor supports 8 to 12 active students with monthly one-on-one meetings plus regular check-ins.

Latest developments

Altior Academy was named in Techstars' June 2025 update among the Build in Tulsa Techstars Accelerator companies. Company materials reviewed reference open enrollment for a fall cohort and a welcome offer expiring July 1, 2026.