My kids loved him. and they loved Mr. Donald Barry, coach of Math team, another excellent teacher at Phillips. Though school was and is filled with great teachers and very good human beings.
Does anyone know which sports most juniors go for during T1? Iām not partial to any sport, but I feel like sports are a great way to make friends.
Can anyone tell me what a reasonable amount of spending money is per week at Andover? My son has been asking some current students and they estimate 150 a week. Seems like a lot to me. Anyone know? Thanks in advance.
Ummmm, no. Although one can certainly find ways to spend this.
Assuming books, cell phone, clothes, room furnishings, etc. are not part of this, I managed quite well on $20/week, thank you very much. 
And no, this was not a century ago.
@bc12345 thatās more than AppleKid had per week. The greatest āexpenseā was food from the Den and town. We loaded a certain amount on the blue card and atm card to start with and figured out what to reload as we went through the school year. When AppleKid wanted to make an apparel purchase at school the reloading of the blue card was super simple.
Spending money depends on your comfort level and ability to pay. My child doesnāt need much at Andover and could be fine with almost nothing. However, it is fun to go out to dinner at times or order in or buy a snack on campus and I am happy to cover those expenses. For basic comfort, I think $20 per week would be fine. I make my kid do laundry, so laundry money comes out of that. This year, I supplied what was requested on a budget he created that probably worked out to a bit more than $20 per week. Whenever I visit (at least once a term), I tend to heavily supplement the budget to make sure heās not really worrying about spending money.
DS started the year with $300 on his blue card and the same in his ATM account. Still hasnāt depleted his ATM, but we did need to add more to blue card this spring after previous school apparel orders, numerous trips to the den and buying cycling uniform this spring. I agree with @AppleNotFar that it is very easy to add funds to blue card if needed and also with @skieurope that as long as books, room furnishings, etc are not coming out of the money that $20-30 a week is more than fine.
anyone know if the 3-term AP music theory sequence is available for juniors?
@livesk8dream I believe so if a student places in according to the test thatās given. One of AppleKidās friends who is now a senior did that in junior year.
Yes ā AP music theory entrance just depends on the qualifying test. FYI ā if your child is into composing, the film scoring class is awesome!
If, and this is a very big if, space is available in the Fall for MUS400 and anticipated being available for 540/550 (assuming of course that MUS400 is the appropriate starting point for the student), then yes. But priority will go to upperclassmen. Back in the day, the advisor would generally discourage a junior taking it, suggesting that they knock out the art and PE requirement first. Now that PE for juniors is not an option, there may be more flexibility. Ask and see.
Agree wholeheartedly.
How do we choose electives
@Personof2017 Your advisor will help you choose classes each term and s/he will submit to the scheduling office. Youāll have access to the course of study on the school website.
hey! iām going to be attending andover in the fall as a boarding junior, and iāve been looking around for some information since i missed the revisit day. i read the whole thread and i didnāt see these questions, so iām going to ask them.
ā¢ i specifically requested a single in isham on my housing info sheet. how much do the housing people look into special dorm requests?
ā¢ what exactly is in the rooms storage-wise? one of my main (albeit superficial) concerns is having enough space for clothes. are the closets big enough for a slightly larger than average wardrobe, and if not, will i be able to store everything else in what is provided?
ā¢ i took algebra and biology as an eighth grader, and the course of study says that i canāt take regular chem as a junior, but i wasnāt sure if algebra would be enough to place me in a prerequisite math class for chem 300. i only skipped one question on the math placement test (which iām mad at myself for because we learned what was on that question a week later in class), and i think i did well on the other questions, but iām afraid iāll have to take biology again. is that a possibility?
ā¢ i want to participate in an a cappella group. is that something a lot of juniors do, and if so, whatās the process for joining one?
ā¢ i also want to join the phillipian, model un, and choir. is that too much for a junior?
ā¢ this isnāt necessarily related to andover specifically, but i was nominated to audition for a five day honors choir event at carnegie hall. would the school let me leave campus to travel to new york?
sorry, thatās kind of a lot. i wouldāve asked these questions at revisit day, and i want to be as in the know as possible before i start school. thanks for your help!
Do they look at them? Yes. Do they always accommodate? No.
No
No. You have too many clothes. You can look to buy underbed storage, but you still have too many clothes.
Itās not. Any juniors in Chem 300 will also be in pre-calc or above.
Yes, itās possible. Your advisor will review options with you. If the bio class was taken at a HS, and the curriculum comes close to what Andover teaches, and your math score places you into MTH280 then they might suggest Physics 270, which is not normally open to juniors. Otherwise, it will probably be Bio 100. If bio is the ānormalā 8th grade science at your old school, itās highly unlikely they will allow you to skip it at Andover.
Itās too much for any year with sports; they all are very time consuming. Youād probably want to limit it to a sport, a major EC, and maybe an EC that is not a major time suck.
Yes. Thereās a procedure your parents must follow.
I was wondering if anybody received their Health and Medical Information form already? The checklist says it was supposed to be sent in early May, but I havenāt received anything yet and itās due July 1st. Thank you!
We did not receive any medical forms directly, but we noticed that the checklist refers to a patient portal, and we did a Google search for that patient portal and Phillips Academy. The search yielded a link to the Sykes Wellness Center from which we were able to register for an account. After registration, we were able to download forms and upload completed materials. @maribrazil
The link to āFormsā under āQuicklinksā on the Sykes Wellness Center webpage will take you the same place that we found less directly.
my biology class actually wasnāt a ānormalā eighth grade class- it was taught at a higher level than the high school bio class. i was allowed to take it as a corequisite to algebra, which was also a high school class, and we used the high school textbook. i also got the second-highest score in my grade on the biology end-of-course assessment, which is included in my transcript. will my advisor take note of this? also, concerning my schedule, i requested to take beginning dance instead of play a sport. if i was to receive this class, would this free up time? @skieurope
As I said before, your advisor will review your options. No use stressing about it until the time comes. In general, Andover will not require students to retake classes that they have already completed, if, and this is a big if, the class covers the same material and is at the same level as at Andover. Theyāve been doing this for years - they rarely get the placement incorrect. I will also say that in my experience, incoming students always have a overinflated view their prior coursework.
The time commitment for dance is similar to that for athletics. You just need to accept that you are a like kid in a candy store. You will be unable to do it all. One of the best things about Andover is the number of options; one of the worst things about Andover is the number of options.