The Story of
JL Academics
EST. 2019
How Jonathan Laurence turned down a career on Wall Street to build an online classroom for a global community of young scholars
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- Harvard UniversityMaster of Education, Entrepreneurship
- Williams CollegeBachelor of Arts, English
Senior year.
Williams College.
Jonathan Laurence spent the summer prior to senior year working in investment banking at JPMorgan. Now, a full-time offer was waiting on Wall Street.
Saying no
to Wall Street
Instead, Laurence moved to New York City to launch a jazz band and study on scholarship at Manhattan School of Music. To support himself while in graduate school, Laurence began teaching SAT/ACT part-time at a New York City tutoring company.
Starting Local
Laurence began teaching students in his own artistic way, helping them achieve SAT/ACT scores in the top 1% of test takers worldwide. He expanded into instructing AP Calculus, AP Statistics, and AP English; counseling college essays; and offering full-service college admissions strategy, with unparalleled results. But when he petitioned his tutoring company for more students, they couldn’t accommodate.
If Laurence wanted this idea to sing, it was time to improvise.
To perfect his craft,Laurence studied both the SAT and ACT in meticulous detail, authored what would become a leading SAT textbook, and developed a proprietary curriculum for his students across SAT/ACT and 15+ curricular subjects.
To earn his first students, Laurence started from scratch, knocking door-to-door on the streets of New York and taping handmade flyers in basement laundry rooms of Manhattan apartment buildings.
When Covid-19 remade the world,
Laurence transitioned to an online classroom and began serving a global community.
A small studio of online students became a word-of-mouth engine that carried JL Academics across international borders.
- Students
- 300+
- Schools
- 50+
- Countries
- 15+
- Years of instruction
- 10+
- Hours taught
- 10,000+
Student Secondary Schools
New York, New York
- Horace Mann
- Fieldston (ECFS)
- Columbia Prep (CGPS)
- Hunter
- Nightingale-Bamford
- Chapin
- Browning
- Avenues
- Trevor
- Millennium
- Bronx Science
- Trinity
- Brooklyn Tech
- Packer
- Dalton
- SAR High School
- Riverdale
- Bard Early College
- Heschel
- Baruch
- Ramaz
- Poly Prep
- Churchill
- Eleanor Roosevelt
- Special Music School
- Loyola
Elsewhere in the US
Long Island, New York
- Cold Spring Harbor
- Jericho
Westchester, New York
- Scarsdale
- Frisch
- Masters
Fairfield, Connecticut
- Greenwich High School
- Darien High School
Suffield, Connecticut
- Suffield Academy
Williamstown, Massachusetts
- Mount Greylock
Plymouth, New Hampshire
- Holderness
San Francisco, California
- Branson
- Redwood
Atlanta, Georgia
- Palmetto High School
Miami, Florida
- Ransom Everglades
San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Saint John's School
London, UK
- Eton
- Harrow
- Francis Holland Regent's Park
- Godolphin & Latymer
- Westminster
- Wycombe Abbey
- American School in London (ASL)
Europe & the Middle East
- Institut Le Rosey
- American School in Paris (ASP)
- American School in Dubai (ASD)
- St. Christophers
& many more
That was the start of JL Academics.
Universities Attended by JL Academics Scholars
and many more…
10 Actual Students
Classes of 2025 and 2026
- Horace MannNew York, NYACT3030 → 3636Harvard
- Harrow SchoolLondon, UKSAT12701270 → 15501550UChicago
- Ransom EvergladesMiami, FLSAT12701270 → 15401540Vanderbilt
- Mount GreylockWilliamstown, MASAT13101310 → 15301530Princeton
- Columbia PrepNew York, NYACT2929 → 3535UPenn Wharton
- Wycombe AbbeyLondon, UKSAT14401440 → 15601560UChicago
- Institut Le RoseyRolle, SwitzerlandACT2828 → 3535Michigan
- American SchoolDubai, UAESAT13001300 → 15201520Stanford
- Branson SchoolSan Francisco, CASAT12601260 → 15101510Wake Forest
- Cold Spring HarborLong Island, NYSAT12301230 → 15201520Williams
- 99th %
- Median SAT/ACT performance of scholars
- 67%
- of scholars score 1500+ on the SAT
- 64%
- of scholars score 34+ on the ACT
Today