Queens High School for the Sciences (Class of 2018)
Northwestern University (Class of 2022)
My story with Accelerate Academy is one that spans a period of 7 summers, 5 of which were spent under the terrifying gaze of Andrew Liu.
I was 11 the first time I met Nina and Andrew. My mother had enrolled me at Accelerate in the hopes that the school would help improve my mathematical abilities. I struggled to keep up with my classmates at first, but my skills had improved drastically by the end of that summer.
As for the two summers I had spent away from Accelerate, my mother had suggested that I try attending two other prep schools. Ineffective in their methods, the schools had filled their classrooms with unqualified teachers, bombarded me with meaningless busy work, and improved neither my test scores nor my understanding of math and grammar—these schools simply wasted both my time and attention. Frustrated, I went crawling back to Accelerate and enrolled in their SHSAT program.
One of the proudest moments of my life was standing by my guidance counselor’s office as she informed me of my acceptance into Queens High School for the Sciences—it was only through two summers of Accelerate’s SHSAT program that I was able to attend my high school.
I spent the summers of both my sophomore and junior years attending Accelerate’s SAT course. Although nervous at first, I was confident that Andrew’s unique approach to SAT preparation would catapult my score. His is not a process of simply memorizing formulas and learning how to hack a test; it is one of learning, understanding, and growing. I especially appreciate how closely Nina and Andrew work with their students to ensure that they are working at the best of their ability and getting the individualized help that they need.
I’m not going to lie and claim that you are guaranteed a perfect 1600 on your SAT the second you enroll at Accelerate. You have to be willing to dedicate the time, effort, and attention to use the tools that Andrew equips you with to go the extra mile yourself. Nevertheless, as intimidating as it is when Andrew breathes down your neck as you try to decipher a math problem, I know that I would not be where I am today without my experiences at Accelerate.