ESM Prep Launch Academy

ESM Prep Launch Academy is a program offered by ESM Prep, which describes itself as “The Mentorship Company.” ESM Prep offers services including academic tutoring, standardized test preparation, and college admissions consulting, and ESM has helped thousands of students gain admission to elite universities around the world.

• Ages: 15–18 years old
• Schedule: Camp runs from Sunday, July 30 to Friday, August 4, 2023.

ESM Prep Launch Academy is hosted at the University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC). Launch Academy 2023 registration is described as open. ESM mastered remote learning long ago.

The program is led by Billy Downing, the Founder of ESM Prep. Billy Downing is a globally recognized education expert, author, and college admissions strategist who has helped thousands of families worldwide navigate the university admissions process. He pioneered the student-specific “academic mentorship” model, which combines academic tutoring, standardized test preparation, and college admissions consulting. He is the author of Million Dollar Degree and College Greatness: A Family’s Guide to the Admissions Process. He is a graduate of Jesuit High School, UC Berkeley (B.A.), and the University of San Francisco (M.A.).

Billy Downing serves as a Trustee at Sacramento Country Day School and Jesuit High School (Sacramento), sits on the Advisory Board of Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business, and is a Board Member at College Track. ESM Prep states that its mission is to help students around the globe achieve their goals in the classroom and beyond.

Parent and student comments about ESM Prep include: “It’s with the happiest of hearts to tell you that I got into Stanford!! Thank you for everything you’ve done. This has been a dream since I was a little girl.” Another states, “With your help Katie was able to improve her ACT scores. That improvement was enough to get her in the #1 ranked film and production school in the world, USC.” One student shared, “Working with you made me go from dreading any thought of biology to being curious and wanting to learn more.” Another comment says, “I feel very lucky we have you to keep Ellie (and I!) calm during this stressful testing year.”

Last updated June 21, 2026.