Freshman Academy

2021-05-17 22:25:33 You have long been waiting for this moment and here it is. Unveiling Our Phenomenal Freshman Courses in June!

You can use the file below to learn more about our upcoming courses (IELTS, SAT English and Math, Advanced English). You can also click on the relevant links to reserve a spot!

Between May 18 and June 5, we will be responding to your inquiries sent to @freshmansupport on a daily basis.

Let us know if you are excited about the program because we are! We will also appreciate if you share the file with students who may need our help. Open / Comment

2021-05-16 15:55:05 Freshman Alumni Networking Session

Since the launch of our very first program back in October 2019, Freshman Academy has witnessed tremendous transformation and growth: not only did we become more consistent in providing quality education, but we also had a chance to teach a diverse and exceptional group of students coming from Asia, Europe, and the Americas.

Today, we have a network of almost 100 active alumni, many of whom study at the world’s top universities, including Yale, Yale-NUS, NYU Abu-Dhabi, NYU Shanghai, Minerva, Duke Kunshan, etc. To this end, Freshman’s exclusive group of graduates has become a valuable resource in exchanging experiences, opportunities, and advice.

Today, we had a great pleasure to reconnect and reunite with our graduates, while engaging in valuable discussions about our future goals and potential challenges in achieving them. This networking session was proposed and organized by Vika, our current student and alumna from Irkutsk, Russia.

In the immediate future, Vika will be fulfilling the role of the Director of Alumni Relations. With our help, she will be organizing a number of exclusive events for our Alumni Network and the public.

Truly, there had never been a better time to join Freshman. Within the next few days, we will be announcing the launch of our brand-new IELTS and SAT (both Math and English) programs along with the most challenging English program available to local students, led by Valera.

Stay tuned!

Sincerely,
Umid

Co-President of Freshman Academy and SAT teacher Open / Comment

2021-05-09 15:06:20 Congratulations to Nuray who made it to Minerva
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Minerva Schools at KGI is a startup university based in San Francisco. Last year, Minerva received 25000 from 180 countries, admitting only 2% of them. This makes Minerva the most selective university in the developed world. (The Guardian, 2020)
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Nuray also received generous scholarships in Jacobs University, University of Georgia, and Stetson University.
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Update: Nuray also adds that Freshman’s teaching style helped her successfully pass Minerva’s challenges as the university does not accept traditional test scores.
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#GoFreshman Open / Comment

2021-04-30 09:32:11 Received Some Amazing News This Morning!

One of our students from Kazakhstan got admitted to THE MOST selective university in the developed world

Any thoughts on what this place may be?

(Asking guys from the Alumni Network NOT to chip in on this ) Open / Comment

2021-04-18 11:17:00 Yes! #GoFreshman Open / Comment

2021-04-16 17:33:27 Interview with Yale Freshman Umid Usmanov

Umid attended Freshman's very first course in October of 2019. Since then, he was a part of our classes both as a student and teaching assistant. Umid got 8.0 on IELTS and 1510 on SAT. He was admitted to Yale Young Global Scholars in 2020. This year, Umid got acceptance letters from Duke Kunshan, Northwestern Qatar, Williams College (Minor Ivy League), and Yale University.

1. How did you learn about the SAT and admissions process in general?
I think the idea to apply abroad came when I began attending Valera’s IELTS courses that he taught at home. There, I realized the two most important things: that there were so many opportunities for students like me to study abroad, and that taking IELTS was just not enough. Watching Valera go through the application process and ultimately get into Yale-NUS College pushed me to take up SAT and get started on the application process.

2. What skills and knowledge did you gain at Freshman?
It goes without saying that Freshman really teaches you how to become a better writer. Just like in Kristina’s case, I used to write very complex chunks of text, which sounded “smart” but carried little meaning. Over time, however, I learned how to both plan and write my essays, adding more depth and accuracy into each paragraph. I also believe that Freshman is one of those very few places where your academic experience extends beyond preparations for IELTS and SAT. Reading texts, analyzing them, and discussing questions with people from all parts of the world has been the most memorable experience of my time at Freshman.

3. How did you feel when you opened the acceptance letter from Yale?
I was very happy. It is an amazing feeling when you achieve something meaningful, something that for almost 4 years required all of your time and efforts. This euphoria, however, quickly fades away when you realize that there is now an even more important task you need to be ready for. The learning process never ceases, so do the challenges ahead of you.

4. What advice can you give to those students who are applying this year?
I just want to let you know that the application process can and will be very frustrating at times: you might not be satisfied with you IELTS scores, SATs, or college essays. It is all perfectly fine because the process is designed in a way to challenge you a lot. Try to stay focused on your plan (you definitely need one) and prioritize the tasks that are the most urgent and important right now. Also, do not try to pursue all the extracurricular activities in the world. It is better if you devote your time only to those that mean most to you. Open / Comment

2021-04-16 17:33:23 Open / Comment

2021-04-12 18:27:40 Finally, We Are All Set And Ready to Go! Let me make a formal announcement: Welcome (back) to Freshman! Our new program, Advanced English is fundamentally different from our previous courses in that we will completely move away from our focus on conventional… Open / Comment

2021-04-12 18:24:58 Finally, We Are All Set And Ready to Go!

Let me make a formal announcement: Welcome (back) to Freshman!

Our new program, Advanced English is fundamentally different from our previous courses in that we will completely move away from our focus on conventional test preparation: both from IELTS and SAT. It does not mean, however, that our classes will not be result-focused. What it means is that we will raise the bar higher than the standards of the mentioned tests, so you realize that they are much easier than you originally thought.

If for IELTS, for example, you are supposed to write 250-word essays, such length will be typical only for short comments as a part of this class. Nevertheless, you will not only see a quantitative improvement but also a qualitative one: by the end of the course, you would certainly be impressed with the level of writers, thinkers, philosophers that you would be exposed to. You will learn to both understand and analyze their works,effectively communicating your ideas in writing and speaking.

In other words, our goal is to provide you with a toolkit that will help you to successfully apply for prestigious international universities, while being fully prepared to withstand their level of academic pressure. Your educational process at Freshman will be hard - in fact, it might feel too challenging at times - but I guarantee you that if you do pull through, you will see unprecedented growth in your linguistic and critical thinking abilities.

Let me give you an additional incentive: I will choose a few best students from this class as Freshman's mentees, and we will help you apply for the world's top universities.

Important: I know that there are students from different countries and walks of life here, so please share in 1-2 paragraphs your name, where you are coming from, your interests, and academic plans.

Good luck to you all! I am sure we will all have a great time this month.

P.S. In my next post, I am sending you the link to our group on Google Classrooms where you will find your first assignment. You will need to read Gladwell's article, titled "The Art of Failure: Why Some People Choke and Others Panic". You will also need to provide a 250-word comment with your thoughts on the article's argument and 2-3 questions, pertaining to this article, that you would want to discuss in the class.

Best,
Valera Open / Comment

2021-04-11 07:45:17 IELTSman vs. Freshman We have this inside joke at Freshman about a prototype of a student, who we call an “IELTSman”. We will describe this prototype below, so you can tell us in the @freshmanchat if you know such people too. IELTSman is a student who is… Open / Comment