<p>That’s a significant difference between Exeter and Andover. Exeter’s dorms (houses are different) are a mix of ninth grade to post grads. Each hall has a proctor (usually seniors) and–usually–a faculty member’s apartment. So between sports and the dorms, there’s lots of opportunity to meet and hang out with a mix of guys younger and older, which my kid has always liked. I know other kids, though, who would definitely feel more comfortable their first year being in the kind of dorm situation blueisbest describes.</p>
<p>WorriedOne1000,</p>
<p>Classicalmama raises a good point. I would add, however, that you will have two bonding experiences if you decide to attend PA as a ninth grader. The first will be with the ninth graders in your dorm. The second will be with 200+ students in your cluster who will range from ninth graders to PGs. Beginning in tenth grade, you can also have the experience of living in a multi-grade dorm at PA and participating in the weekly activities of your multi-grade cluster. Of course, you will make friends outside your residential living arrangement at both PA and PEA.</p>
<p>Blueisbest: I’m curious about the cluster. Is that just a grouping of dorms, or are there shared activities? At Exeter, the dorms are grouped geographically in what might be similar sized “clusters”, but I think you must mean something more than just geographical proximity?</p>
<p>classicalmama, </p>
<p>PA groups geographically proximate dorms into five “clusters” that each serves “as a small neighborhood within the academy.” Here’s how the PA website describes the clusters:</p>
<p>“Each cluster has its own student officers, informal social activities, unique cluster apparel and/or paraphernalia and traditions. Each cluster has a weekly cluster munch (social time where food is provided), sponsors a school-wide charity event, hosts a school-wide dinner, and each cluster gathers together for a formal meeting each term.” </p>
<p>For more information regarding the cluster system, click on <a href=“http://www.andover.edu/StudentLife/ResidentialDayStudentLife/Pages/Clusters.aspx[/url]”>http://www.andover.edu/StudentLife/ResidentialDayStudentLife/Pages/Clusters.aspx</a></p>
<p>I guess I’m asking how that shakes out in real life. Do kids tend to move from one dorm to the next from one grade to the next (beyond the 9th grade move), or stick to one dorm from 10 to 12? Do there tend to be more friendships within the cluster than without? Are you in and out of each other’s dorms a lot in the afternoons/early evenings? Or is it more or less just a friendly neighborhood with the dorm a closer unit?</p>
<p>Which cluster do Juniors live in?</p>
<p>WorriedOne1000,</p>
<p>Andover assigns Juniors to live in one of its five clusters, namely Abbott, Flagstaff, Pine Knoll, West Quad North, and West Quad South. Check out the map in your Andover View Book for the location of these clusters.</p>
<p>classicalmama,</p>
<p>Clusters are a distinctive part of social life at Andover. Students don’t just have fun in their dorm. They also enjoy cluster life. Weekly cluster munches give kids the opportunity to eat good food, take a needed break from studying, and socialize with the members of their cluster. Special cluster trips allow students to do enjoyable things off campus. And special cluster events such as the Harry Potter dinner last term are often memorable. </p>
<p>Clusters also offer kids the chance to assume leadership positions. Each cluster has a President, a Senior Representative to the Student Council, two Disciplinary Committee Representatives, a Day Student Representative, Social Heads, Proctors, and Prefects. </p>
<p>Kids at PA have the freedom to become a member of another cluster, just as the kids at PEA can change dorms. In my experience, however, many kids at PA prefer to stay put because they develop deep attachments to their cluster that arise from the lasting relationships they create with their friends, dorm counselors, and cluster dean. If they use the housing lottery to find a better room in another cluster, they will have the opportunity to develop new bonds in their adopted cluster.</p>
<p>It is impossible to generalize about the ratio of dorm friends to cluster friends or cluster friends to non-cluster friends because it varies from student to student. In my experience, new students initially tend to have more friends within their dorm and their cluster than outside their dorm and their cluster. That core base of friends then, expands as new students make new friends by attending class, playing sports, participating in extracurricular activities, etc. Socializing is not limited to one dorm in a cluster for the reasons I previously explained. </p>
<p>The long and the short of it is that the cluster system generally plays out well in the lives of students at Andover.</p>
<p>Thanks Blue–that’s informative. I suspect that day to day, the Exeter student’s experience of dorm life isn’t greatly different, though the weekly cluster munches sound fun. The interaction between dorms at Exeter is more informa but happens as well. Individual dorms sponsor dances and other activities for the entire school, as well as gym nights, grill outs, teas, etc. for the dorm and/or invited guests. Different set-up, but I suspect it all provides a similar social atmosphere, though the cluster sounds like it’s another fun level of identity.</p>
<p>Do students need special permission to leave campus? Can they go to the towns of Andover or Exeter whenever they want?</p>
<p>Thanks,
WorriedOne1000</p>
<p>At Exeter, boarding students can bike or walk in the Exeter area (which is a surprisingly large area–extends all the way to the beach) without special permission. However, for trips outside the area or to drive somewhere, they need to get written permission from the Dean’s office and from parents–though parents can grant certain blanket permissions ahead of time (like to take the commuter rail to Boston or to drive with certain adults). </p>
<p>The town of Exeter and the school are really mixed up in each other–the school bookstore is on the main shopping street–so students are in town all the time–even on breaks between classes.</p>
<p>It’s similar with Andover; boarding students are allowed anywhere within the limits, which extend down to Whole Foods on one side; there isn’t exactly a defined circle. If you want to go out of the boundaries, you need a day excuse, which can usually be obtained by talking to your house counselor right before you leave. If you drive in a car that does not belong to your parents, you need car permission, which involves written permission from the people driving and your parents as well as permission from the house counselor, I think. Overnight permissions (going elsewhere overnight) need to be cleared by the cluster dean. Sleeping over in a different dorm only requires permission from house counselors of both dorms.</p>
<p>As an Andover parent, I can vouch for the written request to leave the campus officially for the weekend or the night. I need to supply written permission (in the form of an email) to the “on-duty” house counselor- as does the hosting adult. Even for my daughter to attend Nationals with her team, I needed to write permission for her to travel with her team and stay in the hotel the coach booked. Each time I am required to supply the location’s address (even a hotel), phone numbers and time frame. I also need to explain transportation, and approve who is driving the vehicle.
I also signed a form forbidding my daughter to drive with student drivers. One can choose to give blanket permission or not.
My daughter does have permission to go into town whenever she wants. I can’t remember if I granted permission for this or whether it’s automatic…but seeing as the bookstore is actually located “in town” and the CVS pharmacy is there, it seems necessary. Whole Foods is generally too far (and cold) for my daughter to walk. She has gone twice this year, so usually I stock her up when I visit. (once in the fall on parents’ weekend and once in the winter)</p>
<p>What are the rules about cars? Can boarding students ride in day students’ cars?</p>
<p>At Andover, a parent signs off on this decision. A permission form arrives by mail. It is a blanket decision one makes each year. I told my daughter and the school that she was not allowed to drive in student driven cars. I will continue to do so. Others choose to allow their kids to drive in a student’s car immediately, or after a couple of years. It’s a personal choice made every year.</p>
<p>Just about exactly the same permission situation at Exeter. Like bsalum for Andover, we’ve told Exeter that our son is not allowed to ride in a car driven by a student.</p>
<p>
Not quite true. There is a bookstore on the main shopping street (Main/Water Streets), but it’s not the PEA bookstore. PEA’s bookstore is on Spring Street, across from Hoyt Hall and also close to Wetherell Dining Hall. And, yes, students enjoy walking into town all the time for many things.</p>
<p>I stand corrected. But Spring Street is also a shopping street, though not the main street–or am I completely misremembering things from my last visit? And Mainer, I’m too lazy to go back and verify this, but I thought boarding student were never allowed to drive with anyone under 18, though they can be granted parental permission to drive with specific people 18 and over. (For example, we had to grant permission for Grandma to drive our kid to WalMart, even though he could take a school shuttle there without any permission.)</p>
<p>If I recall correctly, the PEA Bookstore is the only store on Spring Street.</p>
<p>You piqued my curiosity about the permission thing and I don’t trust my own memory on this score, so here’s something from the Parents’ Handbook - “day students may not drive boarders unless the boarder is an overnight visitor in your home and proper written permission has been obtained from the Dean of Students Office” - and maybe the Dean also needs parental permission first. (Now… where is our copy of that form hiding?)</p>
<p>MODERATOR NOTE: This is a recurring problem with this ■■■■■. It would help the moderating team enormously if rather than discussing the ■■■■■ post, use the Report Problem Post button so that we can delete it ASAP. When you discuss, we have to spend extra time deleting posts discussing the deleted post.</p>
<p>Thanks for your help, EM</p>
<p>My D and her friend (both preps) decided to go jogging within the allowable vicinity around Exeter (which is a large area). Well, they jogged pretty far, and took too many turns and ended up getting lost. They called a friend back at campus; and, in no time, Exeter security rescued them. Although they are given certain freedoms, it’s nice to know that people are always looking out for them.</p>
<p>I was also faced with the decision of Andover or Exeter, as they gave me the best financial aid out of the schools that accepted me. Initially I was upset about this, because I’d had my heart set on Choate. However when I went for revisit day at Andover, that all changed. I was able to sleep over in a dorm, which was extremely fun 
Then I went through an entire day of classes as a Phillipian. I was so comfortable in the environment, and people really were extremely NICE. I loved it so much there really was no reason to visit Exeter. I can’t wait to go there in the fall.
I gave that little anecdote just to say that revisits really are key. Had it not been for my revisit at Andover I would have continued to be upset that I couldn’t attend my (once) beloved Choate. Lol. So, like blueisbest said, take all the statistics and hearsay with a grain of salt, because what really matters is how you feel about the school.
(Although I won’t lie, I do hope you choose PA so we can be classmates in the upcoming year :D)</p>