Empowering Students to Succeed

Prestige Prep and ACCESS U partner to unlock scholar-athlete potential

Empowering students to succeed: that’s the ethos behind Prestige Prep, a boutique tutoring agency specializing in academics and test preparation. For 20 years, Prestige Prep has operated out of the tri-state area, offering virtual and in-person assistance for students hoping to pursue higher education. And for the last three years, those services have been extended to aid ACCESS U scholar-athletes across the nation, too.

As ACCESS U prepared to welcome its 2022 cohort of talented all-female student-athletes, Executive Director Brad Rothenberg sought a partner to build a strong academic mentorship program–and Prestige Prep stepped in. Prestige Prep Founder and CEO Phil Cohen, who has spent more than 30 years mentoring, teaching, and developing academic programs, immediately connected with ACCESS U’s mission to maximize student potential regardless of background. “I was standing on a soccer field in South Los Angeles, CA while on the phone with Phil [Cohen],” recalls Rothenberg. “He told me, ‘if you’re on the field helping kids live their dreams, I want to be the guy standing next to you. Let’s do it.’” Thus, the partnership was established.

Today, ACCESS U and Prestige Prep work hand-in-hand to provide holistic support for scholar-athletes who aspire to higher education but may face financial barriers. ACCESS U's free college pathway program focuses on four core areas: academic tutoring, SAT/ACT test prep, college counseling, and recruiting guidance. Prestige Prep delivers comprehensive support in the first three areas, offering academic tutoring, college application advising, and standardized test preparation. In working together to assess each student’s individual needs, Prestige Prep and ACCESS U staff empower students to succeed both on and off the field, helping them pursue merit-based academic as well as athletic scholarships.

Families frequently express gratitude for the flexible scheduling, which serves as a key advantage for student-athletes balancing rigorous practice and game schedules. Rather than forcing students to choose between athletic and academic assistance, the ACCESS U-Prestige Prep partnership accommodates their busy lives–an aspect Cohen personally values as he helps his son navigate attending office hours alongside soccer practice at Oberlin College. 

“The biggest difference was how they adjusted to my schedule,” said Sidney Wooldridge, ACCESS U alumna (Southern University and A&M College, Class of 2029). “Most of the [preparatory] programs I want to do require me to work on their time and their schedule, but with ACCESS U and Prestige Prep, it’s the other way around. I don’t have to stress about missing practice or tournaments to get academic help; I can do both. It feels like a unique opportunity, and it has allowed me to be more successful because I don’t have to choose.”

ACCESS U is able to provide free academic support to enrolled scholar-athletes thanks to the generous discount provided by Prestige Prep. Through this partnership, ACCESS U continues to break down financial and systemic barriers that stand between talented, under-resourced soccer players and their full potential — in the classroom and on the field.

Phil Cohen as a panelist during ACCESS’s Express Lane to College: LA Symposium in December 2024.