Alpha Academy

I went to Alpha thinking that I was just going to receive help on my SAT’s and I really left becoming a better, more well-​rounded person. I had attended different academies with friends but really felt disconnected to the teaching and teachers. I really felt cared for and challenged at Alpha in becoming a more prepared individualized collegiate student. I have no regrets about going to Alpha and thank Alpha for helping me achieve not just my academic goals but, more importantly, also my future life goals. The discussions that we had were intense, meaningful, and engaging to why we had to work hard, study, and become the best person that we can possibly be. I still remember to relate to all circumstances of life by being responsible, committed, and willing to persevere and still use to this day. Thank you, Alpha, for shaping my life in the most positive way!

Alpha has really helped me overall in my SAT prep. Its a fun place to learn unlike other academies where it is very strict. Alpha makes SAT prep fun[:

If Alpha Academy has one difference in its SAT tutoring is that Mr. Kim truly cares about teaching beyond reading passages and answering questions or vocabulary. He allows us to connect the reading passages to our own experiences. I had gone to Alpha Academy with the recommendation of a friend during my junior year, skeptical of tutoring institutions that my parents had sent me to many times before. As challenging as it was, this class was different. Mr. Kim was not only a teacher, but a mentor who helped me to change my study skills and think of how I’m going to attain my goals and work towards my future.

Attending Alpha Leadership Academy, I have learned about my weaknesses and strengths. The academy has taught me to progress by being able to accept my weaknesses and flaws. In order to become a better leader and to work better with others, I have discovered my qualities and strengths. I have also come to see how our society should always be able to perform best by discovering the talent of each individual and implementing each talent in the right field. By finding out my individual talents as well as others’ talents, I have come to accept that people are different, and by utilizing these talents in the right areas create a more efficient and beneficial atmosphere.

In attending Alpha Academy for about a year, I saw improvements in both my academic and, quite surprisingly, my personal life. Mr. Kim’s passion for teaching is truly evident in each and every class session. Alpha usually goes about three days a week for two hours each. Each session focuses on a different subject of the SAT (writing, reading, and math). In each session, he drills test-​taking patterns in essay writing, grammar, and critical reading. These patterns break down the entire test, allowing students to be fully aware of what to expect. The test then is no longer intimidating while both speed and accuracy in test-​taking improves. Not only does Mr. Kim teach valuable test-​taking skills, but he also offers his students nuggets of life-​lessons. In my experience, these life-​lessons have made a great impact by inspiring me to make my role as a student priority. With this new focus, I saw my SAT scores improve as well as my GPA.
In addition to the SAT classes, I highly recommend taking the college personal statement writing courses. Because Mr. Kim teaches SATs on a very personal level, he knows each one of his students on deep level. Therefore, he becomes a great help in helping students channel their life experiences into moving and touching essays for college admissions to read. He is willing to go through many drafts of the essay with each student and even goes out of his way to call and give suggestions for improvement over the phone.
All in all, Alpha Academy is an unforgettable experience. Even after graduating high school, I am able to apply Mr. Kim’s lessons and thoughts on life. He continues to challenge me to look further.

Mr. Kim’s unorthodox approaches to the SAT may come as a surprise to many students but I know his methods have flipped my perspective on life. You cannot expect any SAT academy to guarantee a 2400; that’s just unrealistic. What Mr. Kim differs, as opposed to other SAT academies, is that he instills the patterns shown on the tests. He doesn’t expect us to memorize all the vocabulary words or be a math genius to pass; all he asks for is a bit of effort from all of his students. Sure he assigned mountains of homework, but finishing his homework made homework in high school seem like a piece of cake. On top of SAT methods, Mr. Kim subtly correlates life’s most important philosophies. He offers his insight, sometimes purposely angering his students so that they can think and realize the other side of the argument. Although the time spent in Alpha ruined parts of my summer, the memories and the lessons learned from this small institute made that summer seem like a precious jewel embedded in my life. A small caution is to be made, however: Mr. Kim’s unconventional ways may alter your life for the better. It’s up to the student to accept such monumental change.