The Access to College Education (ACE) program is designed as a partnership between Cortland, Onondaga and Tompkins County school districts and the participating institutions of Cornell University, SUNY Cortland, Ithaca College and Tompkins Cortland Community College. The mission of the program is to provide participating high school students in grades 9 through 12 with academic advisement, skills development, and motivational activities to help familiarize them with college life and prepare them for success. In addition, they may have attended summer programs on each of the our ACE campuses on Career Exploration, the Writing Process, and Study Skills. Regional Institutes are held four times a year at various high schools. These focus on skills such as note taking, reading for content, and career planning, as well as the transition from high school to college. Throughout the program, students have many occasions on which they meet and talk with college students about the college experience.