Admissions Statistics - 2009

Prep School Admissions
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<p>From the Andover newspaper - Andover always seems to get their data out first and are definitely the masters at marketing!</p>

<p>Welcome, 2013.</p>

<p>The Admissions Office received 351 deposit checks from admitted Andover students committing to attend PA in the 2009-2010 school year.</p>

<p>This year’s 78 percent yield of admitted students marked the highest yield on record. The yield is four percent higher than last year.</p>

<p>“Considering the economic situation, a yield this high is practically unheard of anywhere,” said Jane Fried, Dean of Admissions.</p>

<p>More scholarships were offered compared to last year. 42 percent of students are currently on financial aid in the school. Next year, 44 percent of the student body will be on financial aid.</p>

<p>“This is a big jump, but it is part of need-blind admission,” said Fried.</p>

<p>Andover students hosted 350 prospective students during the four spring visit days, 83 percent, or 290, of them chose to attend Andover.</p>

<p>“Some people ask ‘Is [a Spring Visit] worth it ?’and I wholeheartedly say yes. Spring visit students talk about how welcoming everyone and the school is. They say everyone, students and faculty, is very genuine, friendly and kind,” said Fried.</p>

<p>The Admissions Office also created “simualcasts” this year in an effort to reach more students.</p>

<p>The simualcasts were live question-and-answer sessions and gave admitted students and their parents the opportunity to submit questions from home. PA hosted two simualcasts on March 18 and April 7.</p>

<p>The first simualcast consisted of a panel of current Andover students, with Fried serving as the moderator. The panel received the questions in Kemper Auditorium, where the questions were projected onto a screen.</p>

<p>Sixty-four percent of all admitted students participated in the first simualcast.</p>

<p>The second simualcast had a different format. For 20-minute intervals, questions from parents were directed towards current students as well as Rebecca Sykes, Associate Head of School, and Jim Ventre, Director of Financial Aid and House Counselor in Fuess.</p>

<p>Admissions also had two Day Student Nights on March 30 and April 1.</p>

<p>PA also hosted ice cream socials for spring visit students on each night before a Spring Visit. Andi Zhou ’09, Azure and the Yorkies performed at the socials.</p>

<p>A reception was also held for athletes. Bill Belichick ’71, Head Coach of the New England Patriots, and Becky Adams ’94, first female top gun instructor pilot, discussed what they had learned from Andover at the reception.</p>

<p>For the last 25 years, the Admissions Office has also maintained the Fly Back Program. The program gives underrepresented students of color the financial means to visit Andover’s campus with one parent.</p>

<p>“The Fly Back Program enables students to have dinner at Andover and on the next day they take part in the Spring Visit Program,” said Fried.</p>

<p>In order to qualify for The Fly Back Program, the applicant must be of color, receive either a full or heavy scholarship and have never seen the campus before.</p>

<p>Andover has a similar First Visit program where students racial identification plays no role in whether or not they will come to visit. Both of these programs take place on each of the four spring visit days.</p>

<p>Fried added that spring visit would not be possible without the help of the students.</p>

<p>The applicants this year were highly competitive, particularly for ninth graders, according to Fried.</p>

<p>“The estimated class rank for ’13 [in their previous schools] is in [the] 99th percentile. And the median SSAT score was 94. These were just very strong kids,” said Fried.</p>

<p>The Admissions Office only admitted 17 percent of applicants, a two percent decrease from last year.</p>

<p>While the acceptance rate decreased in comparison to last year, the applicant pool increased.</p>

<p>According to Fried, 3,139 preliminary applications and 2,711 applications were completed.</p>

<p>The 2,711 completed applications is an 18 percent increase from last year. There were 3153 applications for boarding students, a 19 percent increase, and 358 day students applied, an 8 percent increase.</p>

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<p>They did botch the end of the article, though. Look at the numbers. They don’t add up.</p>

<p>In any case, a 78% yield is excellent.</p>

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<p>The philosophies appear to be so different between exeter and andover about revisit days- Exeter was so low key and not into the whole “dog and pony show” per the admissions director where Andover had Bill Bellicheck entertaining athletes. Did anyone go to both revisits and note that big friendliness difference. Exeter was almost cold in it’s desire not to pressure people to attend their school.</p>

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<p>My personal opinion? Exeter is cold.</p>

<p>Before people absolutely flame me to death, just remember that I will be attending Andover next year, so I naturally have a bias here.</p>

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<p>Son will be attending E and I am banking on the fact that his peers will NOT be cold at least and hopefully it’s just a misguided attempt at not pressuring applicants- if I were in charge I would warm it up a bit, but that’s just me…</p>

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<p>I have mixed opinions on Andover’s marketing. </p>

<p>On the one hand I admire their marketing machine and the business like approach, and obviously it is successful because their yield rate is impressive! The simualcast is a new twist as well, and I think it is an efficient, smart use of technology to get their message out there and address the questions and concerns of their accepted candidate. I could see how it would be especially beneficial to international acceptees and others at a geographical distance. </p>

<p>On the other hand, when we are talking about finding a good fit for 14 and 15 year olds, it seems a bit too “glossy” and too much of a hard sell to me. Trotting out Belichek every year comes to mind.</p>

<p>As an aside, I know other schools - SPS for example - also have a “Fly Back” type program.</p>

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<p>If Exeter cared enough, they could always fly in the founder of facebook. Or Dan Brown.</p>

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<p>I’d rather a school that offered admission to be welcoming and accomodating than being cold and condescending. Would that decide what school to choose if you have multiple offers? Maybe not. There’s much more to consider than just the post acceptance attitude. Ultimately it’s the school itself as a whole that sells not just how well the revisit day is organized, but it can make your to reach your final decision easier and faster!</p>

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<p>@hola3: Well i Know for sure Deerfield didn’t admit 333 students this year ( I’m pretty sure it was somewhere around 250 or so), and I was told they had yield they’d never seen before, so their acceptance should definitely below 14%. When I said their expected acceptance rate was 12%, It was from wikipedia.</p>

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<p>No, Deerfield needed to have admitted more than 250 students, hyeonhoy. 200 would fill the 9th grade, but they wouldn’t assume a 100% yield. 25-30 would fill in the sophomore class, but they wouldn’t assume a 100% yield. 15-20 would fill in the junior class, but they wouldn’t assume a 100% yield. And I could go on.</p>

<p>While it may well be true that Deerfield this year attained a yield it had never before seen, you have to keep in mind that last year Deerfield accepted 333 students. No school in their right mind would admit fewer this year than they did last year thanks to the global economic crisis.</p>

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<p>If you look at their viewbook, they only accept 100 freshmans(they did last year at least), and have around 150 students for others. So if you assume they have spots for 100 freshmans and 100 for sophmore, juniors, seniors and PGs, it wouldn’t be so unreasonable.</p>

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<p>It is, though, because with those numbers, again, you are assuming a 100% yield. Just because Deerfield has a freshman class of 100, that doesn’t mean they accept 100. If they did, they’d end up with a freshman class of 67. Of course, the same goes for the other classes. The Deerfield website itself states that last year the academy admitted 333 students total. As I said, no schools this year, what with the financial strains they are all feeling, would admit any fewer students than they did last year.</p>

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<p>They did admit fewer students than they did last year, as I’ve said, if they have 200 spots total, and admitted 250, How does it not make sense?</p>

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<p>I think it’s fantastic that Bill Belichek cares enough to take the time to come help his alma mater. I’m sorry that we didn’t get to hear him last year. I don’t consider Andover’s overall nice treatment of families hard-sell marketing, but just good hospitality! And it’s consistent with what my daughter has experienced there since.</p>

<p>As for Exeter, the former classmate of my daughter’s who is finishing 9th grade there loves loves loves it. I’m sorry if their low key revisits turned anyone off, because it’s obviously a great school for anyone who gets the opportunity to go there.</p>

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<p>[YouTube</a> - Bill Belichek snub](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7O8blx9dcQ]YouTube”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7O8blx9dcQ)</p>

<p>Belichek is asset?</p>

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<p>Notwithstanding your 15 year old video clip, yes he’s an asset. He has participated in a number of events to help his alma mater.</p>

<p>As for the revisit days as marketing, there has been a lot of discussion regarding crossing the fine line between rolling out the red carpet of hospitality and over-selling (see archives of last year’s Phillipian). My daughter was a late admit so I’ve never been to a revisit day and can’t comment. However, I can tell you she has generally found Andover to be a very open, hospitable place. If students discovered a dramatically different atmosphere upon arrival I don’t think they’d have the high rate of satisfaction that I’ve noted when talking to students (admittedly a small, non-scientific sampling).</p>

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<p>It’s all I could find:)</p>

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<p>Revisits are a propaganda, it is what they are meant to be.</p>

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<p>Agreed watertester, but actually, I do think that Exeter wasn’t exactly friendly during the admission process and post March 10th. Not as friendly as Andover… Before people flame ME, I AM attending Exeter next year…</p>

<p>The decision really shouldn’t have anything to do with how well you’re bribed to go to a school, but whether you think the school would be a good match.</p>

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<p>Revisits are a catalyst for the brain to comprehend whether a school is a good fit or not.</p>