Early Registration Deadline – April 1

Due to high demand, Lee Academics is offering an AP Exam Club. Students self-study released AP exams at Lee Academics. Please schedule a time so that an exam and room can be reserved for you. Some exams come with explanations or solutions.

Below is Lee Academics’ College Board released AP exams inventory list. Our inventory contains over 300 released AP exams covering every AP subject. These exams are a stupendous prep tool for your AP exams in May. Many teachers use released AP exams for tests and/or finals. Some teachers bump grades up for passing the AP exam.

Passing the AP exams can save thousands of dollars in college. Passing an AP exam can save students $4000-$10,000 in college, depending on the cost of the university. Passing some AP exams save $8,000- $20,000; some AP scores of 5 give 8 college credit hours. Prepare well to pass your AP test!

Lee Academics AP Exam Master Inventory List

English

English Language – 16
English Literature – 16

History and Social Science

Comparative Government and Politics – 5
European History – 16
Human Geography – 6
Macroeconomics – 14
Microeconomics – 11
Psychology – 13
US Government and Politics – 12
US History – 16 (some with explanations)
World History – 9 (some with explanations)

Math and Computer Science – All calculus AP exams include detailed solutions

Calculus AB – 25+ (only available for AP calculus prep students)
Calculus BC – 25+ (only available for AP calculus prep students)
Computer Science – 11
Computer Science Principles – 4
Statistics – 14 (some with solutions)

Sciences

Biology – 21 (some with explanations)
Chemistry – 16 (with solutions)
Environmental Science – 7
Physics 1 – 5
Physics 2 – 5
Physics B – 10 (some with solutions)
Physics C E/M – 19 (some with solutions)
Physics C mechanics – 15 (some with solutions)

Arts

Art History – 7
Studio Art – 1
Music Theory – 10 (some with audio)

World Languages and Cultures

Chinese – 5
French – 3
German – 5
Italian – 1
Japanese – 4
Latin – 5
Spanish language – 4
Spanish Literature – 6

AP Exam Club pricing:

$70 per subject to take all the released exams per subject. This fee is waived for enrolled SAT and ACT Critical Thinking Course. The fee is also waived for students enrolling a friend into the SAT and ACT Critical Thinking Course.
$50 for each essay/DBQ submission to Scott – Scott will write a very detailed critique of your essay. The DBQ fee is $30 per submission for enrolled SAT students.

Example of World History DBQ essay from a student and Scott’s response below.

Essay 1
Societies today have granted women equality to men, however there are countries in the modern times that still have not given women that same right. Women living under the rule of Castro have not been bequeathed that what some consider a right. However many conservatives and men agree that women do not deserve or need equality or freedom. The Cuban Revolution of 1959-1990 gave women the freedom they wanted to free themselves from the patriarchy ties that bonded them to the husbands and the households despite their father’s and husband’s disapproval.

Women’s role in Cuban society has always been taking care of the household and the people living in it, to radically change it would be an abomination and an insult to tradition. Women take care of the house and men make the money, as shown in document 3. The traditionalists and men will fight to make sure that these roles are never changed; Castro himself pointed that out in document 5. Even as women obtain careers, men will cling to the notion that women are nothing more than housekeepers, as shown in document 10. It was a part of the law that women must live under the husband or father according to document 1; women were merely an object. As women gained the education and careers they deserved and wanted, there was always a hardship blocking their path to success, even Castro’s daughter faced it as depicted in document 6. Document 3 is not a reliable source however because it is told in the point of view of a sympathizer of the revolution, making him against women’s increasing status in Cuba’s society.

Despite the protests from the men and conservatives, women had a more equal responsibility and could make something out of themselves. Women could now get an education, a career, a life away from the household as shown in documents 2 and 4. The Cuban revolution gave women a new sense of freedom and confidence they did not have because of their role as a shadow behind the male. Not only were women allowed to work outside the household but they also did not have to worry about the kids because of the public schools and day care centers portrayed in document 7. Women did not need to tend to the kids every need or watch over them because these kids now had a school to go to. After these revolutions, women’s literacy rates shot up and were either equal or better than men shown in document 8. Women also had a voice in government represented in document 9, it was a brand new concept and after the revolution, Latin America was only second to the US in the percentage of women in politics. The most reliable documents are 8 and 9 because they are facts and numbers and compare dates; there aren’t any people’s opinions to mar it.

An additional document I would like to see is one written from a radical man’s point of view. There are documents from radical women, conservative men and even Fidel Castro himself, but none from a man who wanted women to have an equal status. Also it would have been nice to a poster or some propaganda either defending or refuting the issue of women’s role in society. It helps solidify what the common person thinks of the growing revolution.

Women wanted freedom and a life away from the household; however the men and conventional people of Cuba were recalcitrant in their ways to keep the status quo the same. Even as women were getting an education and jobs besides that of a servant, many wanted them to stay where they belong: in the house. Eventually women got what they wanted: lives away from the husband and household. They traded in their apron for a lab coat and their surrounding from the kitchen to the office. Women became independent and stepped out of the shadows of the men.

Scott’s response

Response 1

Your first sentence isn’t exactly terrible, but it isn’t good. I tell this to every one of my students, and I can include you now, too. Say exactly what you mean. Be precise in your wording. The entire point of an essay is to get your point across, and the best way to do that is to be as clear as possible. Your first sentence doesn’t really have anything to do with this, but if you’re trying to be as clear as possible you need to change the wording from “societies today” to “Most modern civilizations/societies.” It’s just awkward wording – you say societies today have done x, which could imply that either all or only some societies did x. You need to make it clear that only some societies did x. Again, this isn’t the biggest deal, but it’s indicative of something you probably need to work on. Most people aren’t very good about this.

“Women living under the rule of Castro have not been bequeathed that what some consider a right.” So you’re telling me that women living under the role of Fidel Castro haven’t been given a single right (an alternative interpretation is that Fidel Castro hasn’t given them a specific right, but still – this is a huge problem)? Do they not have the right to life? Be clear – it’s not that they haven’t been given a right, but that they aren’t equal. This is also incorrect – I don’t know if you had the documents, but the documents very clearly indicate that women under the Communist regime received substantially more rights. Your thesis is that Castro didn’t give them rights AND THAT’S ENTIRELY FALSE. He did the opposite. The next sentence needs to be changed to correspond to a new thesis. It fits better with one with the correct interpretation anyways.

Edit: Ok, I see that you have the right idea for the thesis. You have the wrong ruler for this sentence – it wasn’t under Castro that women didn’t have many rights, but under the previous dictator. See how unclear that is? I thought your thesis was something entirely different from what it actually is. The next sentence is out of place – it needs to be the second part of your thesis.

“The Cuban Revolution of 1959-1990” – the revolution didn’t last long. Castro came into power far before 1990 (sometime in the very early 1960’s – I’m positive). You can’t just call it that – you might as well say the American Revolutionary War lasted from 1776 to 2012.

“gave women the freedom they wanted to free themselves” – repetitive. Never repeat yourself if you can help it, or unless that’s your intention. It also didn’t necessarily give them the tools to free themselves – a lot of freedom is being able to have opportunities, which are the tools you use to climb the social ladder. These women were given opportunities, which already means that they were freeish. Not that they had to be given hammers to break their chains. Your thesis is poorly worded but essentially correct.

Your formatting is bad. Cite your documents like this “Person X said Y in 1965 (Document Z).” Don’t say “as shown” or whatever. This is supposed to be like a research paper, and even though some papers reference other authors, they only do it when that’s a calling card of the person their citing. You won’t ever get a document like that on this test. Stay away from doing that. Also, your essay just feels like a cop out – hey, reader, go reference the documents so you can see what I’m arguing because I’m too lazy to do it myself. See what I mean?

The point is fair… but you don’t get to the meat of the matter and really address the prompt. Honestly, I could tell you weren’t going to before reading this prompt (I’m typing this before I’ve actually read it, if I’m wrong I’ll change this and you won’t see it) because almost nobody does in high school. I want you to do what I call “impacting.” Impacting is like telling a story – you tell me your point, you prove it, and then you tell me why your point is important. This is one of the essential skills in writing an essay. You sort of impact your points but not as well as you should or could.

You don’t tell me why it’s important that the women are relegated to the household. Well, to be fair, you sort of do, but you don’t directly relate it to the prompt. You don’t really hit the concept of redefining gender relations very well. You tell me what the gender relation is like before the revolution, but not after, and that’s a crucial point. You just sort of say that the men don’t like how free the women are becoming.

Third paragraph
More meat. Tell me what changes were made that gave women opportunities. They got education, jobs etc. Tell me HOW those things were changed. If education was changed, were women given the same exact opportunities that men were? This may not be in the documents, but if it is that’s pretty relevant. Just saying that education was equalized doesn’t really show me the scope of the change. Change how you cite the documents. Remember, the reader won’t be looking at the documents. It’s your job to pull out all the relevant information and serve it to me on a silver platter.

Fourth Paragraph
You don’t need an entire paragraph for this point. I used to put it at the very end of my conclusion – “X document would help us do Y.” Choose one document and stick with it. Decent ideas though.

Conclusion
I haven’t really nitpicked at your grammar during this critique (except during the beginning). I’ll do a little more right now. “Women wanted freedom and a life away from the household; however the men and conventional people of Cuba were recalcitrant in their ways to keep the status quo the same.” Trim the fat. Get rid of any extraneous words – the point is to be as clear as possible, and to get your message across, in the least amount of words necessary. This doesn’t mean you have to type in short sentences, but that each sentence shouldn’t have any extraneous ideas. Try rewording this sentence to “The revolution led to increasing economic and educational freedom for Cuban women. Traditionalists opposed this and…” You use colons too often. Colons are used for lists; semicolons are used for separate ideas. You need to learn when to use a semicolon. A lot of these colons could actually be changed to commas as well.

“lives away from the husband and household.” sounds better if you say “lives outside of their husbands and households.” You need to pluralize husbands and households because you’re referencing Cuban women, NOT “the Cuban woman” (which is when you’d use your original wording.”

My conclusions always take this form.

Restate the hypothesis.
Restate your points and summarize your conclusions
Close out with whatever you want. I prefer to make it interesting – the graders are reading hundreds of these essays. Make yours stand out (in a good way). You can also close out with that argument for which additional document would be good.

Overall this essay is too short. It doesn’t have enough meat. You essentially have two arguments, and they do the bare minimum necessary to answer the prompt. Change your points to the most important rights that women obtained, compare them to pre-revolution Cuba, tell how they changed gender roles, then move on to the next point. I’d give this a 4 or 5/9. It wasn’t terrible, especially since you’re only a sophomore. Email me with another DBQ or FRQ if you’d like me to read it.

Our SAT and ACT Critical Thinking course description: (SAT and ACT Boot Camp or SAT/ACT Monster Course)

In this course, we will sharpen the essential reasoning skills that students need to succeed in high school and beyond. We will develop their abilities to read passages quickly and efficiently, identifying which parts are most important. We will also teach students to approach texts as critics, and not simply passive observers, showing them that understanding what an author is trying to do is only a starting point, and that true comprehension involves being able to identify the author’s successes and failures. We will place a heavy emphasis on logic and mathematical reasoning.
This description can be used for college applications and college summer programs. I routinely write letters of recommendation for students stating that they participated in a critical thinking course with Lee Academics. Our Critical Thinking Course will teach students to think with the medium of SAT and some ACT questions.

Lee Academics SAT and ACT Critical Thinking Courses includes:

SAT/ACT/PSAT prep – We will teach concepts that applies to all exams first. Most of our students will take the SAT and ACT exams. This doubles students’ chances of achieving good scores. Scoring well on the SAT and ACT showcases a student’s academic mastery. This may be especially important when applying to top universities.
Online and face to face one on one essay critiques
Some lessons taught by Chris – a Yale Law School Graduate and a former instructor at the University of Alabama
Enrolled students have access to these many practice exams – It is highly advantages to study many exams.
Recommendation letters for our SAT/ACT Critical Thinking Course – upon request
Possible internships for current enrolled boot camp students with SAT or ACT scores in the 99%
AP Exam Club – Students have access to 200+ practice AP College Board exams. Studying with AP exams is desirable.

Reading, English, Science, Essay

English, reading and science will be taught by Scott, Chris and Jessie. Scott scored 2340-SAT, 35-ACT, scores of 4/5 on 12 AP exams and is a National Merit Finalist. Scott received many full scholarships. He attended Rice University on a half tuition scholarship. Chris scored in the 99.7% (177/180) on the LSAT, 2340-SAT, 235 PSAT, 35-ACT. Chris is a Yale Law School graduate and an instructor at the University of Alabama in 2017 and 2018. Jessica scored 99% on the ACT and missed only one question on the SAT/ACT English. She is biology major at UCLA and received many scholarship offers to top universities. She was also admitted into UC Berkeley.

Critical reading section – introduction to and procedure for each of the segments
Critical reading (more in depth) – analyzing and deconstructing difficult passages with the intent of improving general critical reading skills as well as attempting to define words by context alone.
English section – Grammar, rules and tips. Jessie will also work with individual students with English writing.
Essay – Our teachers will individually go over essays with students. This verbal feedback will allow a student to ask questions. On some essays, a teacher will email critiques for students to refer to as they write future essays.
The test – how to read the test makers – Lee Academics teachers can answer questions on the SAT/ACT critical reading sections with more than 50% accuracy without reading the relevant passages. Our teachers can also get close to 50% correct without even reading the question based on certain “tells”.
Essential guessing and test taking strategies (no scoring penalty for the SAT/ACT).
Basic Introduction to the SAT and ACT – what it is, time periods, how it’s graded
SAT and ACT Science – How to analyze and interpret scientific passages, charts and graphs.

Lee Academics Critical Thinking Course will prepare students for the following exams:

SAT – August, October, November
ACT – September, October
PSAT – October

Lee Academics Critical Thinking teachers:

Mamie Lee Nicholson: My math students will have the extreme advantage of working with me on the SAT and ACT math. I already know your math skill level. I know your school math books and teachers. I will know how to teach you the SAT and ACT math based on our math experience together and my vast experience with the local school districts books and teachers. Many of you are already familiar with my style of teaching. Some of the other prep companies have multiple math instructors teaching different topics in math. Learning various teaching styles can be confusing. As in my math tutoring prep courses, I
have a plethora of material to draw from to teach students concepts for the SAT and ACT math. Additionally, based on a student’s school, teacher and percent earned in the math class, I will know that student’s ability level. For 3 decades, I have taught students from many of the bay area tri-city schools and private schools. Additionally, Lee Academics has also taught SAT, ACT, math, philosophy courses and Pathways to College for the James Logan High School forensics team with Dr. Tommie Lindsey (MacArthur Fellow).

I am so fortunate to do what I love every day. I love teaching math and talking about education. It is amazing to wake up each day and shine light to those in “math darkness,” to be able to build students minds, to promote education. I am so privileged to work with so many great students, parents and educators. Many of my students become my friends. Thanks for the great adventure.

Scott Nicholson: Scott started teaching SAT for Lee Academics as a sophomore in high school. Many of his SAT and ACT students attribute their success on the English, reading, writing and science to Scott’s teaching. Over his years of teaching, Scott has developed methods of teaching to make reading comprehension easier for students. Some students report being able to hear Scott as they take the SAT or ACT exams. Scott had a 4.6 GPA at James Logan High School. In Scott’s high school junior and senior years and as a Lee Academics instructor, Scott taught SAT/ACT at James Logan High School for Dr. Tommie Lindsey’s speech and debate team. Scott attended Rice University with a 4-year half tuition scholarship and a 2-year research fellowship before returning to California for medical reasons, finishing his degree at UC Davis. Scott is a National Merit Finalist and received many full-ride scholarship offers.

Chris Nicholson: Chris graduated from Yale Law School in 2013. He is currently a PhD candidate in philosophy at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor, where he has taught several classes. In the 2017-2018 school year he took a break from his studies to serve as an instructor teaching philosophy and law at his undergraduate alma mater, the University of Alabama; one of his students was recently accepted to Harvard Law School. Lee Academics is proud and fortunate to employ a highly skilled, trained and educated instructor. Our students will benefit from being taught by a graduate of top universities. Yale Law School enrolls 200 students annually and has been ranked number one every year by the US News and World Report. The University of Michigan’s philosophy graduate program is ranked fifth in the world by the Philosophical Gourmet Report and enrolls about five students each year.

In Chris’ junior and senior years at James Logan High School, Dr. Tommie Lindsey invited Chris to coach the JV Parliamentary Debate team. Because he was a high school student then, Chris could not be hired professionally; instead, Dr. Lindsey awarded Chris 200 service credit hours and a fantastic recommendation letter for his exemplary work. As a high school speech and debate competitor Chris won and placed highly at numerous tournaments, competing in parliamentary debate, public forum debate, extemporaneous speaking, and impromptu speaking. Chris coached for the James Logan Forensics Team for five years after high school. His students have won the California state championship and reached the final round of the national championship. As a Lee Academics instructor, Chris taught SAT/ACT and philosophy at James Logan. He has coached the Pioneer High School ethics bowl team in Ann Arbor for three years. His A team reached the quarterfinals of the Michigan state championship in February 2019. His B team defied expectations and went 7-0 to win the state championship and he is preparing to travel with them to North Carolina in April to coach at the national championship.

Jessica Nicholson: Jessica is a senior majoring in biology at UCLA. She was accepted into UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, UC Davis and many top universities. Jessica received full ride offers and many great merit packages. Jessica taught math from age 13 and came up with “The Jessie trick” for graphing. She noticed a pattern while graphing and taught it to me. Jessica was using “a, h, k” transformations long before common core made is a part of many chapters. She did not graph with routine “T charting” until precalculus when her teacher required it. Jessica taught 2 groups of 6 physics and honors physics students while she was a junior in high school. Most of her students received A grades. As a Lee Academics instructor, Jessica taught at James Logan.

Advantages of taking an SAT and ACT prep class with Lee Academics:

Scott will email essay critiques. Scott and Chris will give face to face one on one reviews.
Our instructors will teach students to understand words. We teach students to break up words into components. Students will learn how to analyze the meaning of these vocabulary words.
Most classes are 10 -15 students
During some lessons, multiple teachers will with various individual students and/or small groups of students. A teacher will work one on one with a student, while second teacher works with the main group. A third teacher may work one on one with another student or with a small group, specially going over the students’ questions.
Some classes will be taught by Chris – a Yale Law graduate and former instructor at the University of Alabama.
Our teachers will go over student’s mistakes so that they can learn the concepts missed. This will be done individually, small groups or with the main class.
We will use many practice SAT and ACT questions in our Critical Thinking Course. We will go over your questions. For the math, Mamie will teach you the background math of each problem. This will help students to do problems of similar topics.
Mamie has extremely detailed knowledge of the SAT and ACT math. Mamie teaches all math/SAT/SAT subject math/PSAT/ACT/AP calculus. Mamie is familiar with the teaching styles of many local math teachers. Based on who a student’s math teachers have been, Mamie will usually know about a student’s math knowledge level.
Mamie has compiled a 180-page book of ACT math exam questions and Mamie’s solutions by topic. It is advantageous to practice math ACT problems by topic. This will facilitate mastery of each type of ACT math problem, helping students to learn math rather than just getting through a problem.
Mamie will teach tricks and shortcuts to make math problems easier.
Geometry is a foreign language to some students. Mamie will teach the geometry necessary for the SAT and ACT test.
Mamie will teach a math logic in class. Some SAT and ACT problems can be logic based.
Mamie will teach strategies for the SAT and ACT math sections. These strategies will help students on the SAT subject math test as well.

SAT and ACT Boot Camp and SAT and ACT Monster Course classes will usually be 3 or 4 days a week with a testing and/or makeup day most weeks. There will be 20 lesson days in the summer calendar from June to late July/early August for the SAT and ACT Boot Camp and 30 lessons from June to September for the SAT and ACT Monster Course. There will be weekly refresher lessons in the fall until the first Friday in November for all SAT and ACT students.

The ACT is usually easier for many students, with possibly the exception of the science section. The ACT has more problems but tend to be easier. The SAT is more logic based and has trickier problems. We will teach the material that applies to both exams first. We will then do many practice SAT and ACT exams. For the math, Mamie will teach students the math background of each question, teaching math instead of teaching just problems on the test.

Many of Lee Academics SAT and ACT students do very well on their first try at the SAT and ACT in August and September each fall. Work hard in the summers. We will help you to get the score of your dreams.

SAT and ACT Critical Thinking Course offered and discounts:

Classes will run from June to the Friday before the September ACT. This course is recommended for rising juniors and seniors. It is best to spend the summer learning to think critically. This will give students the best chance to do well in the fall and not have worry about taking exams later in the school year. This course is also proportionally less expensive as well.
- 30 two-hour lessons, 8 proctored exams, up to 6 make up lessons
- Weekly fall refresher lessons from September to the Friday before the November SAT exam.
Group rates are offered for students registering for a SAT and ACT Critical Thinking Course with students new to Lee Academics. Group rates apply with concurrent enrollment of students new to Lee Academics.
- 2 students – $40 discount per student.
- 3 students – up to $90 discount per student.
Discount of $50 per referral for registering friends into SAT and ACT Critical Thinking Course. Referrals must be students new to Lee Academics.

Group rates when enrolling with students new to Lee Academics.