Lockwood College Prep — Local services in Town of Oyster Bay

We cannot say enough about how great an experience we had with Andy & Pearl and how lucky we were to find them.

We have two seventeen year old boys who will be attending college in the fall. To be perfectly honest, we were quite skeptical about a lot of the things Andy presented in the beginning as far as what his company would be able to do. We figured we might have a couple of the things he mentioned in his presentation happen, but not all of them. Their service is not cheap, but he indicates the money that is saved in the first year tuition on one kid will cover what he costs. Sounds great....but come on really?

Well it turns out he was wrong, we saved enough on tuition through merit aid in one year on one kid to pay his fee two and a half times over for both boys. We are sending our boys to two excellent small liberal arts colleges, Loyola and Holy Cross, at discounts of $38,500 and $29,000 from sticker price per year. You can do the math, that's a savings of $270,000 over their four years of college. I know without Andy's guidance there is no way we would have found the right schools for our boys much less get any kind of discounts like these.

We went from being complete novices about finding Colleges to being experts with Andy's guidance. I have to say the things that Andy educates you on and the information he provides you will not find anyplace else. We can honestly say that at this point we know about ten times more than the boys' school guidance counselor about this process. Sad, but true. Their process addressed every aspect of the college process including the boys taking tests to evaluate their personality to find their best fits as far as majors/careers to their own exclusively designed computer software that realistically predicts ability to get in to schools.

We really could go on all day about how great our Lockwood College Prep experience was. If you are very serious about this process, willing to put the time and effort as a family required, able to have an open mind, and listen to the guidance given, we know you will not be disappointed with their service. Andy doesn't sugar coat things and you need to leave your ego at the door, but you will come away from this process with the best college for your student at a fair price. You additionally will come away knowing more than 99% of the parents going through this process. We are actually surprised on a daily basis in speaking to other parents, the lack of knowledge their is and how they came to their decisions. You will come to find in the end that this whole process is a game and if you choose to use their service, you will put yourself in a...

The whole college preparation/application process can be overwhelming. Thinking I knew everything I needed to know because I had been down this particular road before with my oldest, I was shaken into a harsh reality that I really knew nothing. My academically strong and extremely determined middle child, set her sights on a couple of schools with a 14% acceptance rate. I knew she had the grades to shoot for these schools so through the referral of a family friend, she quickly went to work with Marissa on a one on one basis. What an incredible experience. Marissa is amazing at what she does. Analyzing my daughter's baseline scores from both ACT and SAT, she quickly focused in on my daughter's weaknesses and helped her to play up her strengths. Her first SAT was incredible. Marissa worked with my daughter through two more SAT's and I believe she was able to pull the best possible score out of my daughter. But that is only half of the story. Lockwood had so much more to offer ME, as a parent. It's not just about the kids. Being a client for SAT tutoring, I had access to the many webinars covering topics from "How to get into your Dream College; which explained what it was these schools were looking for in an applicant, "Financial Aid Do's and Dont's" and "Negotiating with the Colleges"; all topics necessary to understand during this onslaught of craziness. Andy would sit in front of his computer and give it to us straight. Parents had the ability to ask any question, prompting answers that got straight to the point. His webinars were a valuable forum of knowledge that helped me to navigate the various aspects of my daughter's complex application. I am so happy and proud to say that it paid off. My daughter was accepted into her first choice school and is excited to start her college journey. I could not have survived this process without the help from Lockwood. My only regret is that I did not find them sooner. Understanding the college process should not wait until your child is a junior. The earlier you understand what is ahead of you as a parent, the more prepared you will be in this process. The knowledge will help alleviate some of the pressure on you so you can support your child through their preparation process. Thanks Andy, Pearl & Marissa. I will be...

Referred by trusted friends, we reached out to Andy Lockwood for advice for our son. Andy was wonderful and engaging but more than that his years of experience was clearly evident. He didn’t sugar coat anything. He was a straight-shooter and it was refreshing after the phone calls with other college advisors. Andy suggested a face-to-face meeting to meet our son, who, in the 5th grade, was diagnosed with a learning disability. Although an excellent student, determined and bright, learning for him comes with challenges. Andy suggested that we set up a time to talk with Marissa. It was critical to us that that we connect our son to a professional who understood the way in which he learns best so that the ACT test wasn’t viewed by him as something he could achieve. At that meeting, Marissa briefly explained her approach but more importantly asked questions and listened. Marissa, wanted to know and understand everything about our son - - his work ethic, his grades, his extracurricular activities, the disability, when he was diagnosed, symptoms. She requested any written documentation that we obtained from his medical/educational assessments so she could delve deeper and have greater insight to benefit our son. Marissa, the student learning her new subject, our son. Over the course of three months, she and our son met each week. She taught him an array of English and math concepts and test-taking strategies all the while boosting his confidence with each and every session. She was his teacher, his partner and his cheerleader. And boy, did he perform well! His diagnostic score was very low. No one ever imagined that he would score 11 points higher on the first take of his ACT. We are SO grateful to Andy and Marissa. Fortunate doesn’t begin to describe it. The experience for our son and for us as parents was exceptional. Although I write this testimonial, the best recommendation I can provide will be future referrals. Why wouldn’t I want our friends and family to be as lucky as we were with Andy and Marissa. We will...