The Icon Strategy Academy

The Icon Strategy Academy is a year-round, flexible support system designed to give high school students and their parents something most families don’t have in the college admissions process: a clear, structured strategy that grows with them from 9th through 12th grade.

The Icon Strategy Academy is our flagship program and the foundation of the Icon community, a place where students don’t just get tips, but build identity, direction, and momentum over time to make them the most competitive and compelling applicants possible when it comes time for them to apply. 

  • The Icon Strategy Academy is a monthly, self-paced program that combines:

    • Grade-specific strategy classes

    • Practical tools (workbooks, guides, and exercises)

    • Access to an admissions expert (Mason)

    • Big-picture personal growth summits

    This allows students to build a strong admissions profile over time, not in a last-minute sprint.

    Every student is placed in a year-level cohort (freshman, sophomore, or junior) so that the content they receive actually matches where they are in high school. Seniors will eventually have their own Strategy Academy track, launching in Summer 2026.

    All core content is delivered via Zoom (recordings) and email, making it accessible from anywhere in the world and for students to watch multiple times at their convenience over the month.

  • Each month’s class is taught by Icon’s Founder, Mason Hill, a former admissions officer and private admissions consultant with over 10 years of experience.

    Instead of piecing together random advice, your student hears directly from someone who:

    • Has read and evaluated thousands of applications

    • Knows how colleges think about course rigor, activities, essays, and context

    • Understands how to translate “real life” into a compelling application story

    Mason doesn’t just lecture; he teaches students how to think strategically about their own choices and apply high level college admissions strategy to their own story.

  • Every month, your student gets access to a pre-recorded virtual class delivered on the 1st of the month. Each class focuses on a strategy topic directly related to admissions and long-term development, such as:

    • Subject and course selection across four years

    • Extracurricular strategy and deepening impact (not just collecting activities)

    • Developing an application “spike” instead of trying to be superficially “well-rounded”

    • Break planning like how to use summer and holidays without burning out

    • Testing strategy to help decide if, when, and how to test

    • Building a coherent, authentic narrative over time

    Because the classes are pre-recorded, students can “attend” whenever it works best for them within the month, whether that is after school, on weekends, or in small chunks over a few days. They also have the opportunity for unlimited rewatches for that lecture over the duration of month.

  • Information is only useful when it’s applied. That’s why every monthly class comes with at least one supporting resource, such as:

    • A workbook to help students map their courses, activities, and goals

    • A guide that translates big ideas into concrete steps

    • A set of reflection or planning exercises tailored to that month’s topic

    The goal is simple: by the end of each month, your student should have made a real decision, clarified a direction, or taken a tangible step forward in their profile.

    This turns passive watching into active planning.

    Students also always have the option to register for a private 1:1 Strategy Meeting with Mason to take things one step further to strategize specific elements of their high school plan with him directly. Mason’s 1:1 Strategy Meetings are meant to compliment the Strategy Academy and to deepen a student’s competitiveness with a tailored roadmap that your family designs with Mason.

  • Every quarter, students are invited to a live Summit, which is a longer Zoom webinar with Mason and guest experts focused on deeper themes that shape both life and admissions, such as:

    • Unlocking Your Leadership Identity: Understanding Your Natural Style and How to Lead Authentically

    • Becoming Your Future Self: Vision, Babits, and Intentional Choices

    • The Personal Branding Workshop: How to Talk about Who You Are and What You Stand For

    • Reflect & Redirect: How to Respond When Things Don’t Go as Planned

    Recordings are made available for any student who can’t join live.

    These summits zoom out from the “what do I do this month?” questions and help students work on who they’re becoming, which is exactly what colleges care about.

  • At just $33 per month, the Icon Strategy Academy is intentionally set up to be one of the most affordable ways to access expert admissions strategy across the full high school journey.

    • No long-term contracts

    • Cancel anytime, no questions asked

    • Keep access for as long as the program is helpful to your family

    You can treat it as your student’s monthly strategy check-in to keep them moving forward with clarity, while you step out of the role of full-time project manager. Collaborative, honest, and straightforward. We're here to guide the process, bring ideas to the table, and keep things moving.

    • The Icon Strategy Academy is the flagship program of Icon Admissions. It’s where most families start and where the Icon Community lives day-to-day through shared content, common language, and aligned goals.

    • The Academy is designed to feed naturally into our other programs when the timing is right for each student, including:

      • Our 8-Week Admissions Accelerator for students who are ready for a more intensive, application-focused push

      • Our 4-Week Essay Bootcamp for students who are actively drafting and refining their essays

      • Two new programs launching in 2026 focused on:

        • Leadership (developing authentic, campus-ready leaders)

        • Research (helping students explore research-style projects and inquiry)

      Many students will start in the Strategy Academy, and then add one or more of these programs to their Icon program as they enter sophomore, junior, and senior year.

    • The program is delivered entirely online via Zoom and email, so students can participate from anywhere, including international locations and busy schedules.