<p>So you aren't applying to Andover... Why?</p>
<p>If you are talking to me, no reason. I want more a traditional prep school. I like the sit down meals,etc. Andover to me seems like college. Plus, the process wears you out and you have to stop somewhere.</p>
<p>Hello everyboy,</p>
<p>I wanted to say a few words about all this after reading the whole string of posts. I am a senior at Andover, Phillips Academy, PA, whatever you want to call it, and I would recommend applying to it. I have been here since my lower (sophomore) year and it has been a tremendously good experience. The school has taught me more than a traditional education; it has taught me how to live confidently and independently. I know that many people who visit andover get turned off by its size, but I know, at least in my case, by the end of the first week the campus seemed like my backyard. Andover has one of the most relaxed prep school environments with no dress code etc... Furthermore, it has the best location out of any of the prep schools, boston is a mere 35 min train ride away. If you like tradition, Andover also embraces its foundations as the oldest boarding school (GDA is older, but wasnt started as a boarding school) in the US. I can speak more about the good points if you ask me.</p>
<p>To correct something said earlier in this forum: Andover will not gaurantee you admission at Princeton or Harvard. Some say that it is even harder to get into these top Universities from prep schools like Andover.</p>
<p>There are drugs and alcohol at andover; I am not going to deny it. However, to all the parents reading this, there are drugs and alcohol at literally every high school, public or private. Each of the top boarding schools seems to specialize in a drug of preference though, it goes with the character of the school. I obviously am not condoning this, but its the truth. However, kids are not more likely to become one of the "bad" set at andover more than at the local school or another prep school.</p>
<p>About the high turnover rate. More kids leave andover than other prep schools. However, andover is also bigger than other prep schools, so percentage wise, it is about the same. A stable kid, no matter how smart, will have no problem getting through the school. If a kid has issues to begin with, and expects to be number 1 in everything, then he/she should not come to andover or any of prep school. there are going to be people better than you at these schools.</p>
<p>About the other schools. SPS is the most traditional and WASPy, Milton follows a more artsy trend, Choate, Hotchkiss, Loomis are, im sorry, but there is a lot of truth to this, second rate, Deerfield has crazy school pride, Groton is, in a word, intense, and I cant say anything about Exeter since they are our rival, but please, if you visit exeter, visit andover, you will immediately see the difference.</p>
<p>The bad things about andover. The andover administration can be quite unforgiving. I say this with a certain amount of bitterniss, having had quite a few bad situations with the system. However, a student at andover is perfectly capable with dealing with the administration and frequently learns a good lesson from it, or at least how to avoid a similar situation next time.</p>
<p>Finally, I got 99% SSATs and did not get into andover the first year. they dont care about SSATs. they dont care about much except grades. They pretend to, but unless you are truly amazing at some extracurricular activity, you better have the grades. Of course, beyond grades you have to do a lot also. but good luck.</p>
<p>well that was a very long post, if you have any more questions, dont hesitate to ask.</p>
<p>zafira- a friend of mine had to make the same exact decision. in the end, he chose milton over exeter just because it "felt" right to him. what an interesting kid he was- severely ADHD, over-the-top hyperactive but he was an AMAZING piano player and a child prodigy. he was actually suicidal too and slept-walked at night (he was officially diagnosed for it), which was frightening at times since i lived right across the hall from him. when he was depressed, he would blast his CD player really loud and run all over campus. anyway, what i wanted to say was that every person i met had something special about them. for him, it was piano.... he played piano at a jaw-dropping level. in a sense, each prep school truly is a scientifically engineered community with kids of many races, beliefs, geographic backgrounds, talents and so forth.</p>
<p>i'm just curious...what do you find particularly appealing about milton? can you see yourself choosing it over exeter? as for me, i went there as a sophomore but dropped out before junior year for personal reasons (which went the beyond the fact that i had an unusually tough time adjusting to boarding school). i expected culture shock for sure, and i thought it would go away eventually, but it didn't. i knew something wasn't right and the psychologist sensed it too. i guess you could say i'm a failure for dropping out, but i'm happy with my choice even now. i'm currently thriving at the school i am now, and i have more time to pursue activities that are more fun to do given unstructured time.</p>
<p>my favorite part about milton were the teachers. my teachers were amazingly brilliant and had incredible personalities. my english teacher (from brown) said he was a product of a dysfunctional family. as a child, he lived in the poorest of the poorest neighborhoods then got a scholarship to brown. his daughter was in my history class, which made for an interesting experience. </p>
<p>my history teacher for the first semester went to NYU and she was a tough tough grader and one my personal favorites (along with my english teacher) because she tied in philosophy with history. she made class so interesting, my heart rate actually went up in that class. i also knew her family well since they lived in the dorm. </p>
<p>my history teacher for the second semester (brown, harvard Phd) was obsessed with sailing and birds. if the opportunity arises, he would simply talk and waste the entire class period just talking about sailing at brown and his parrots, each worth $20,000 . he got married over the summer to his male partner, and they both hosted a celebration party at the school after the massachusetts court ruled in favor of same sex marriage. this was a huge controversial issue, since some of the teachers (a tiny percentage of them) were opposed to having the party held in the faculty lounge. </p>
<p>my physics teacher (from brown), who retired just last year to live in vermont, was an astrophysicist. he decided to teach at milton after years of working at a prominent research institution, at which he could have been earning more money. he was always busy with some project and liked showing us the fruits of his labor...scientific gadgets and whatnot. he was truly curious about the world. i've never met a more intellectually curious person (except maybe my ap euro teacher this year who btw, fought his way into yale from new trier hs with a B+ average). it was a hobby of his to study craters. </p>
<p>my math teacher from australia, still with the heavy accent, earned a PhD from princeton and published a book. he transferred out of milton last year, for some unknown reason. his dogs were well-known throughout campus and could often be seen playing frisbee toss on the quads after school.</p>
<p>my spanish teacher (also my advisor) grew up in the projects in new york and wanted to become a dentist at first but a professor later in college changed his whole perspective. he graduated valedictorian at suny college (albany, i think). he and his wife spoiled my advising group, taking us to the malls, restaurants (especially the well-known burger place in cambridge), movies, wherever. </p>
<p>last but not least, even my PE teacher was brilliant, earning a PhD in math at harvard. so you see, boarding school affords you the opportunity to get to know your teachers and their spouses and their children and their pets on a personal level. classes were much less intimidating because of that. </p>
<p>you also wouldn't believe what goes on in boarding school unless you know someone who goes there and can tell you. there are HUGE HUGE controversies going on every year and many of them go unpublished. a famous one occurred at st. paul's earlier this year (i'm sure you've heard of it). i found that surprising about st. paul's since it tends to portray one of the more loving-caring atmospheres among the boarding schools.</p>
<p>just in case you were wondering, i applied with a 97th percentile on my ISEEs (they accepted it in lieu of the SSAT since the testing center for ISEE was a lot closer to my house) and was ranked 1/316 as a freshman with a 4.0 UW gpa taking the most rigorous classes offered to me. i was accomplished in spelling bee...second alternate to represent chicago at the national spelling bee (which was surprising since i had been living in the US for only 3 years at that time), a state finalist for a history competition and had been to nationals twice, president of asian society (yes they elected a freshman), several first place winnings in latin meets, 4 years of student gov in elementary/middle school. i was denied admission at andover, waitlisted at exeter, and got into milton on a full scholarship+books+music lessons+study abroad+travel expenses+study abroad+ EVERYthing!! such an offer made my decision to leave that much more difficult. the person who interviewed me for exeter (an admissions officer) said she would fight for my admission but in the end i learned that the waitlist was to soften the blow. i guess i needed something much more extraordinary to get a full scholarship, since exeter said it wasn't need-blind. i never even thought of applying to prep schools before freshman year so the record i built over the years could have been better had i known from the very beginning. as for andover, maybe they were smart in sensing that i wouldn't be able to handle boarding school, after all. not that i failed or anything...i got a B+ average at milton which according to the registrar was really good for an incoming student having to deal with homesickness and everything. but in the end, i decided to go. i don't regret my decision, to tell you the truth. right now, i'm making moslty As except for chemistry (an 89). i'm not really aiming for a top undergraduate college at this point, since my choice has already been predetermined. i get free tuition where my mom works, assuming i get in of course. however, my aspirations for grad school are higher. i'm aiming for columbia law which accepts about 600 out of 8,000 applicants. </p>
<p>i can very well tell you that a year of boarding school changed me. now, i'm obsessed with current events. i founded a club at my school, joined the local ACLU, and became much more involved in the community. after getting a string of Bs at milton, getting As doesn't really matter to me anymore, just as long as I learn the material. ranking is not as important either. now, i also try to experience more culture by going to plays, symphony concerts, lectures, art exhibits every week and i never miss. also, i still have two amazing teachers (my ap euro teacher, a yale and chicago grad, who has been to every country in europe and my apush teacher who's a simultaneous college professor). i have several interesting teachers...the english teacher i have now, for example, is an anarchist. it's funny how she's so cynical about the world.</p>
<p>wow gianscalore, i haven't seen u post in CC for a LONG time. welcome back!</p>
<p>hey thanks wrath</p>
<p>A question for Andover 2005 - I'm a parent with a d. currently in 8th grade. How did you feel about going to Andover after finishing the 9th grade? Did you feel like you had a lot of catching up to do relative to the students who started Andover as 9th graders? Did your original school prepare you for Andover? Was Andover the only school you applied to (you mention not getting in the first year you applied)? Why do you think they changed their minds about you the second time you applied? Do you feel like you have time to participate in sports and extracurriculars, or is the work load such that you have to cut back on those? </p>
<p>Lots of questions, but I found your post to be very balanced so I'd be interested in your response. My own d. took SSAT but did not apply this year; I'm wondering if there are difficulties in adjusting if a student makes the change as a 10th grader.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>lefthandofdog- I don't have Andover experience, but I have two kids who both entered boarding schools after 9th grade. There are enough kids moving in and out at all grade levels that the adjustment is not a problem. Obviously, 9th has the largest influx, but 10th won't be a problem at all. My son started a new boarding school this year as a junior, and was at home within days.</p>
<p>How can you find out the acceptance rate for certain schools are for each grade level? They just give you the acceptance rate for all of the applicants?</p>
<p>MomofWildChild - one of my concerns is that someone entering in the 10th grade might be too far behind academically. Adding that to the usual adjustment problems might be too much. Our local school does not emphasize writing, for example, and I know many boarding schools are writing-intensive.</p>
<p>Gian, welcome back! You should aspire to be the new xiggi!! You have a lot to offer us prep wannabes. What do you know about Middlesex and how is it different from Milton? Does school now seem too easy?</p>
<p>Lefthand- I see what you are saying. My kids came from strong schools, so it wasn't a problem. Foreign language can be a problem- schools seem to have a lot of different teaching methods. If your child is admitted to the school, they will probably be fine academically. There is also a lot of outside help (from the teachers) available at the boarding schools.</p>
<p>cubfan! HI
i don't know much about middlesex except my history teacher (the one who went to brown then harvard) went there, sorry. yea, school is a lot easier for me after the transition, and it made me realize how stupid HS really is. apush here is about memorizing facts...not nearly as intense as at milton.</p>
<p>Welcome back John the scholar (Gianscolere)! I was hoping you had seen the light and were aiming for the University of Chicago Don't sell yourself short. The way you describe your teachers at Milton, you would love Chicago.</p>
<p>thanks, do/did you go to prep school, paleozoic? how are you familiar with uchicago? </p>
<p>john is yet another variation of my name. others pronounce gian as jee-yahn with emphasis on the yahn, others say jee'yin with emphasis on jee. i've also heard jahyin as in giant and guy-yahn (in 6th grade)...the hard g sound is just plain awkward. johnny (which is like john jr.) is what i get called in my eurohist class, jee'yin in english (which i prefer), jee-yahn in ushist. many also say john with a slight pronunciation of the i as in jiohn, which i believe is the original pronunciation in italian. i like jee'yin and jiohn but i don't bother to correct other variations. they're all fine except for guy-yahn or any others with the hard g sound like gee-yun or gee-yawn. i like my name because its pronunciation is open-ended.</p>
<p>Gian, what type of kids do you think do well at boarding schools? Were most of your classmates happy? What are the key reasons it was not for you?</p>
<p>Gian. No, I did not go to prep school but two of my children went to St. Paul's. Sometime before the beginning of time, during the Paleozoic if you will, I did history at Chicago. For all sorts of reasons, the integrated humanities program at St. Paul's reminds me of the Western Civilisation sequence at Chicago which was the most formative intellectual experience of my life. If you have not done so already, read Denby, Great Books which will give you some idea what the experience was like at a time when freshmen arrived at Chicago and Columbia with at least some semblance of a shared culture.</p>
<p>Alas, cubfan- the people of these schools are sadists who love to see us writhe in pain as we slowly right our essays out by hand, and I bet they laugh at us... 8-). Tell your mom I love it when people stereotype Californians into always surfing if you go to school there. It always makes me laugh. Let me clear up stuff:</p>
<p>1) Most people in California do not know how to surf. Yes, weird but true. Remember, only a small percentage live near the coast and have enough money to regularly go surfing. Personally, I've gone twice. I know how to, but I truly suck. Besides, most of the people who even live near the coast are in Northern California where it's freezing because of the wonderful California cold current. You have to wear wetsuits and it's not so much fun. So we stick to pools mostly in the summer and lakes. Only people in Southern California can bear the warmer waters. Well, actually I can bear somewhat the freezing waters, but once I made the mistake of swimming without a wetsuit for about two hours when I visited, and my skin was slightly blue-tinged afterward and I got a horrible cold.</p>
<p>2) I do not have a tan. I know everyone, a shocker... Many people don't- like I said, go to Southern California.</p>
<p>3) Not everyone drinks and has sex like they do on the OC. Actually, parts of that show are filmed in Florida. But I'm sure Floridans don't either.</p>
<p>4) Not everyone is liberal. While I am, only 54% of people voted for Kerry, and Ahnuld is a Republican.</p>
<p>5) Most of us find Ahnuld uber funny. Besides the people who voted for him, everyone laughs about him, though he hasn't really done anything. That's good and bad. Random fact: He promised all Californians Jamba Juices (a chain smoothie shop for people who don't have them) if he won. So far, I have not gotten my free Strawberry Nirvana!!!!!</p>
<p>Anyways...now that that's out of my system...</p>
<p>Thacher from what I've seen is alot like the Eastern schools, but waay laid back- come on, it's Ojai... it's warm and happy and you would love it and be happy-go-lucky if you were there. However, it's really hard to get into, for example, some of my friends applied to Thacher and the other schools, and got into Andover and Choate, but rejected from Thacher.</p>
<p>Yes, I did look at Cate, but it didn't interest me that much. Oh well... Besides, it's another application... speaking of so...</p>
<p>I'M DONE!!!!! FINISHED!!!! FINITO!!!! CAPUT!!!! FREE AT LAST!!! EMANCIPATED FROM MY BONDAGE OF ESSAYS AND SHORT ANSWERS!!!!!!!!!</p>
<p>Gian- I found Milton appealing because I visited it over the summer, and it was gorgeous. Also, it's close to a major city, Boston, is close to family of friends so I would have support, great academics, sports, speech and debate (uber important), and the faculty seemed really caring. I don't know though. What did you think? Also, I need a school with a challenge. The school I go to now is a great private school, but I'm not challenged. I barely try and I get practically straight A's. Milton would offer me something to work at. I mean, it's great to be a big fish in a small pond, especially for colleges, but I care more about having to work to get it. Also, Milton has a year abroad program as does Exeter and all of my schools, because I want to do that. Actually, that's why I ruled out Groton in my application process.</p>
<p>Wow, I am popular!!! I probably took up a whole page just getting my rants out and responding. BUT I'M DONE!!!!! Good luck to everyone else still working- I feel your pain to the maximus power...</p>
<p>PLEASE READ THIS...</p>
<p>Hi Y'all. Well, I'm applying for some really good prep schools and I'm currently studying in Vietnam in and International School. I started looking into prep schools during the Summer and I've visited Taft and Hotchkiss. I'm also applying for some others and my list is:</p>
<p>Exeter
Andover
Hotchkiss
Deerfield
St. Paul's
Taft</p>
<p>So, all these schools are evidently strong and tough to get in. I've sent off everything except for Andover's application, which I'm working on right now! My SSAT score was the 85th percentile and I didnt have a 2nd chance to take it...so i guess that I cant do nothin' but leave it!
My reports are fairly good, and A average for this 1st semester of Grade 8. A+ for last year.
My recommendations are pretty good too. I also got my Model UN advisor to write some stuff on me.
As for my activities, I'm a 1st violin of the String Ensemble, I've been playing the vio for 7 years. I've also been to an International Model UN conference in SEOUL, and I'm going to another one in Beijin in March! I've also been in the debate team. As for Drama, I've been in some drama clubs and I've acted in Hamlet before. For sports, I've previously been in the Basketball, Swimming, Volleyball, Soccer, Badminton, and Table tennis clubs. (I use to be in the swim team). I also play quite a lot of golf, since they're tons of them in rural and primitive Vietnam! As for some other things, I've been devoted to Charity work and I'm currently working on how to help the Tsunami victims. I've also been the class captain before...</p>
<p>As for the schools, I've made my own classification of them...Taft would be like my backup...Deerfield, St. Paul's and Hotchkiss would be like me normal aims...and Andover and Exeter would be more of a jump! I've done this just for my own interest...so if you have any comments, just post it.
Anyways, I would like to learn about y''all and just post anything u like...thanks! Plus, if you have any comments or recommendations...feel free to tell me!</p>
<p>Zafira15... I feel exactly like you...for some reason, I can't understand why my whole application process took so long! I got Andover's on Christmas day and I did all of it in 3 hours!!! I don't get it...how come all the others took so long... Anyways....
I'M FINSHED!!! J'AI FINI!!! BRAVO!!! I'M FINALLY EXTRICATED FROM THIS APPLICATION THING!!!
um...wait....I still have Exeter's interview...and I need to do Andovers with my principal. Argh crap, so I still have some stuff to do...MAN!
Well, you ought to think that I'm finally realxed and relieved....NO!!! For some reason, I'm still feeling tight and anxious...as anxious as ever! Anyways, hope ur not feeling the same!
So, good luck to y'all who are still fillin in applications...and keep in touch to see who gets into which school!!!</p>