Ask About Andover

Prep School Admissions
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@andover21girl Hi! I’m so excited for you! Freshman year is tough anywhere, but it’s a great sign that you are keeping in mind both what you want to do/love to do and what you can handle. This is so important, especially at a school like Andover. Some of my answers got really detailed, so I’m splitting up my post for easy reading. And feel free to DM me if you need anything.

Re: Storage space in rooms

You’ll have a closet (these vary in size - you might get lucky, but it’s not something to count on), a dresser with 5 drawers, and a desk. Aside from clothes, you may need space to store pads/tampons, laundry detergent, makeup, creams/soaps/products/whatever, medications, contacts, etc. These add up!

Assuming you’re going home over Thanksgiving and/or winter break, you’ll be able to take summer clothes home and bring winter clothes back. I always wanted to hang on to my shorts and skirts, but honestly, you really won’t be able to wear them after Thanksgiving. Likewise, you should definitely bring warmer clothes for chilly days before Thanksgiving/winter break, but you can hold off on those really heavy, space-consuming coats/jackets/sweaters until after, when you have a better idea of how to budget your space.

I would highly, highly recommend bringing ~2 hanging shelf organizers (something like this - http://■■■■■■/2sn4HKO). The more you can fold rather than hang, the less space it will all take up. If you have bulkier items that you won’t wear often, you may want to keep them in the suitcase or in a storage unit under your bed.

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Re: Classes

According to the Course of Study (this is last year’s, but not much changes - [link not allowed - se], freshmen enrolled in math 280, which is an accelerated geometry class with some precalculus, are permitted to take chem 300. That said, I have heard that math 280 is quite a demanding course, and it doesn’t make sense to take just because you don’t want to take bio again. You should want to be in math 280 for math 280 itself. Like skieurope said, you won’t be made to sit through material you’ve already learned for the whole year.

Re: Clubs

Plenty of juniors join a cappella groups! There’s a girls’ group (Azure), a guys’ group (Yorkies), a mixed gender group (Keynotes), and maybe another one I’m missing (?). The single gender groups are by audition, but I think Keynotes is open to all. There will be a club rally at the beginning of the school year, so definitely look out for the Azure and Keynotes booths. If that doesn’t work out for you (the club rally can be pretty hectic), just ask an upperclassman (maybe your Blue Key or prefect) and they’ll help you out. That applies to everything actually.

Phillipian, Model UN, choir, and a cappella is a lot, but your freshman year is a good time to explore your options. Plenty of people drop and pick up different clubs all through freshman and lower year. The Phillipian is really cool but it’s also pretty demanding and has its own specific writing and management style that might not be your thing. There are plenty of student publications that are less demanding for underclassmen and may be more in line with your interests, so I would definitely recommend being open to those. Model UN is however much of a commitment you want it to be, especially for freshmen, and I don’t know much about choir, but I’ve heard it’s similar.

And higher level dance and competitive sports have a similar time commitment, but beginning dance is the same time commitment as any LIFE sport. So not nothing, but just about the least you can reasonably do. It’s also fun and can be quite a workout! So good choice. :slight_smile:

So, yeah, you are a kid in a candy shop! But these are the free samples! Try everything, but absolutely DO NOT think you have to commit to anything or, god forbid, everything. Stay if you like it, leave if you don’t, and don’t do too much. That’s for classes and clubs alike.

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this was really helpful, thanks! i’ll definitely look into the closet suggestions, and i guess taking bio again won’t be completely terrible if i already know the content, lol. thanks again for the advice! @natakwali

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Here is the current Course of Study. FYI, url shorteners are not allowed here, so I edited out the reference above.
http://www.andover.edu/Academics/ProgramInfo/Documents/COS2017-2018.pdf

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@Andover21girl You’re welcome haha @skieurope I’m sorry! And thanks :slight_smile:

286

Has anyone received a tuition invoice for 2017-18? I understand from the checklist that we were going to receive them mid-June but haven’t seen anything yet, and I want to make sure it’s not just me missing something.

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@CaliPops Just called the school this morning and they have not sent out any invoices due to a new system. Should be getting one soon.

288

Thanks!

289

The move-in day for new students is Tuesday September 5th. Could anyone share their experiences of move-in day? How much time for parents to help their students settling down? Do parents leave on the same day or they usually stay one more night in town? Thanks.

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@NYTXCA Welcome to Andover :-h

The school will publish a very detailed “opening of school” schedule with information about registration and orientation. My guess is that it will likely look like last year’s schedule. Last year the schedule included a specific time for parents to DEPART CAMPUS; it was on Tuesday evening, the day of New Student Registration.

The Tuesday events were essentially variations on “Welcome to Andover”: group meetings with the advisor/house counselor and the cluster dean, CAMD open houses, a PSPA info session, etc. For parents with a tight schedule, don’t worry if you have to miss the stuff on Tuesday! The kids can participate without their parents, and as questions come up for you as a parent, you can reach out to the house counselor/advisor.

For parents that can stay on Tuesday, the amount of time you can spend helping your student unpack depends on how early your student gets through registration. Last year there was a 3.5 hour window for registration, lunch and open houses before the meetings with the house counselors which was followed by a welcome meeting for everyone and then the meetings with the cluster deans. (FWIW, I found that the meeting with the cluster dean was the most informative one that we attended in terms of community policies. But the meeting with the house counselor was nice because we had a chance to meet the parents of the other students in DC’s dorm.)

DH and I participated in all of the Tuesday events and spent Tuesday night in the area. But when we left on Wednesday morning, we didn’t get a chance to see our kiddo again. I think the school intends for goodbyes to take place on Tuesday afternoon.

ETA: New international students had a different schedule beginning on Monday, but also participated in the Tuesday events and had the same DEPART CAMPUS time that day.

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@AppleNotFar thank you very much for this detailed information. Do you have any experience about the airport transportation? When can students leave on the last day before thanksgiving and Christmas breaks? After last period or around noon time? I am just wondering if my kid can catch the 6:30pm flight in time. I plan to book the tickets way in advance

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The last day is not a half day. Students can leave after their last class meeting which will vary by student.

My personal experience was with taxi/Uber/T.

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Thanks @skieurope

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@NYTXCA There is a draft vacation schedule posted with the draft academic calendar on the school website. The vacation calendar indicates a “special schedule TBD” on the last day of classes before spring break and the end of the school year. It’s likely that classes will be done early on those days, but still after noon.



We used one of the car services listed by the school for airport transportation prior to spring break, and then our kiddo shared uber rides with a friend.

295

ICYMI, dates/times for fall interscholastic athletic contests have been posted.

296

Does anybody know when coaches normally choose who’s going to the varsity tryouts before the start of school?

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@maribrazil i know that there are no freshman allowed for xc ever, but i think for other sports pretty early in the summer because they give you training info and details abt the time

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@NYTXCA As for airport transportation, a lot of people use Flight Line. It’s a shared van service and at the beginnings and ends of breaks, there is a bus or two every hour exclusively to take Andover kids to Boston Logan airport or back to school. It’s very safe, and there is a discount code you can get through the Dean of Students’ Office.

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What are your relationships with your teachers like? Are there any that have really stood out to you/changed your life in some way?

300

Does anyone know when we will get our summer homework?