As a new parent last year, I just want to say that @AppleNotFar is always super helpful!
And congrats to new admits!!!
@gobigblue21 Downtown Andover is considered part of campus, so as long as you donât have a commitment, you can go there without any sort of permission. There is a CVS, several restaurants, shops, etc. The train station is walkable (with a day or overnight excuse) and you can get a commuter train into Boston. Mine also went to NYC one weekend for an event with a few friends. They stayed with a relative overnight, and it was easy to take the train to Boston and get a bus to NYC. There are school sponsored trips to local malls, movie theaters, etc. some weekends as well as on campus shows/movies/dances.
Could tell me a bit about the ability to lock dorm rooms? In the Blue Book, it says that
âDorm rooms should not be locked when residents (or other students) are in the room.â
So are we not allowed to lock our room while weâre inside? Weâre only allowed to change in the bathrooms? Anybody in the dorm building can theoretically open my door while Iâm sleeping? Thanks. 
Iâve never known any house counselor to enforce the âno locksâ rule, as they do understand that students need their privacy. I donât think youâll have an issue with that
Anyone who knows me IRL or, indeed from this site, knows that I am all about semantics.
Should â Must. Iâve always had the door locked while sleeping (unless I forgot to lock it). The House Counselors are quite able to get into your room if needed without the door being unlocked. I would not worry about it.
Are students allowed to participate on sports teams and dance classes/groups simultaneously in a trimester? How about two different sports?
With regards to your first question, that depends on the class/group. The classes offered as part of the theatre and dance program are during the day, so you are absolutely able, and in fact required, to do a sport in addition to that. Other groups, such as Slam, count as a sport and so I donât believe you could do that and a second sport as practice times would conflict. Its really a case by case situation.
For similar reasons, I donât believe it is ever possible to do 2 sports (though if I am wrong on this please correct me). Most practice at the same and even when they donât, games or competitions are often concurrent so it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to fully participate in two sports.
^^^Thatâs my sense of things as well.
Iâll correct you (although for all intents and purposes you are correct). Yes, it is possible, but extremely unlikely due to logistics scheduling as mentioned above unless the kid is a pro-level or Olympic caliber athlete in both sports and at least one is more individual oriented than team oriented and one of the 2 coaches is OK with being considered the second fiddle. But in most cases, if an applicant was that good in 2 sports in the same season, these negotiations would have happened before admissions decisions.
I really want to join The Phillipian, but as a Prep will there be many opportunities for you to write if you join the club? And if so, how many articles per week? Also how much time commitment do you need for The Phillipian? Thank you!
In PA lingo, itâs âjunior,â as opposed to âprepâ :), though I understand the kids often just use âfreshman.â I did a quick count on a recent issue, and I found eight juniors listed as article authors or co-authors. It looks like the majority are written by juniors or lowers. And Iâve seen other kids from the freshman class listed as authors other weeks. Iâll let someone else with more experience speak to time commitment, but I have heard it can be a little or lot depending upon how much responsibility one wants to take.
You understand correctly; students generally say âfreshmenâ while the administration uses âjuniors.â âPrepâ is the term at PEA, among others.
That pretty well sums it up,
That really depends on what section you want to write for (news, sports, arts&leisure, commentary, etc). The Phillipian runs once a week so it wonât ever be more than 1/week. Depending on your interests you might end up writing every week or not at all for a few issues. It seems like youâre into writing/journalism so if thatâs what youâre interested in and one article a week isnât enough for you, thereâs also the Revere, which is biweekly and does world news/foreign policy rather than campus news. In addition to that, there are a number of other publications on campus in specific fields that publish less often (a few times a year), such as Blue Moon (Science) and The Courant (Literature) to name but two. Point is, there are a LOT of opportunities for students to publish articles during the year.
P.S. Just as a side note, Prep is an Exeter term, not an Andover one. Officially, 9th graders are Juniors, but because thatâs obviously confusing, most people just call them Freshmen still.
Thank you all so much for your replies! I will make sure to check out Revere and Blue Moon as wellâthey sound extremely interesting! I also have a question regarding community service: when does that usually happen in the school day? I heard somewhere that they can opt community service for sports. Is that true? And also is there a biology club for students to prepare for competitions like the Biology Olympiad? Thank you!
Looking for a list of âdorm essentialsâ from an experienced parent/student. Iâd like to know what you REALLY need and what you can live without or borrow from someone else (say a vacuum) should you need it.
@twinmama17 The list in the parent handbook is actually pretty good. That said, because weâve been able to drive our kid to school for move-in each time (weâve done it twice), weâve had the luxury of being able to take less and then assess what to add after the move-in. Weâve found that room layout has affected some of our choices. Another factor which may affect what to bring is whether your kid will be in a single or double, as some things can be shared. Hereâs a version of the list with some personal notes.
Appliances:
FanâKid has needed this each year; could possibly be shared with a roommate. The size you get, and whether its a floor or table type could depend on room layout.
Reading LampâAlso a necessity. Depending on the room layout this could also serve as the desk lamp (see Furniture and Decorations below).
**Bath Supplies: **Kid has needed everything on the list (phew) EXCEPT for the mirror as thereâs been one in the room each year.
**Bedding: **Bring everything on the list, PLUS AK couldnât live without a memory foam MATTRESS TOPPER. A Tempur-Pedic can set you back $300, but weâve bought them from Amazon for lots less. A thicker mattress pad could possibly do the trick of making the mattress feel less institutional.
Clothing: Less is more! We waited on the winter items until after Thanksgiving break.
Computer Supplies: Yes to everything on the list. As for a printer, both my kid and roomy each have a printer but thatâs something which could possibly be shared. Iâve also heard that kids who live closer to the library and/or spend a lot of time there just print there. There may also be other places where you can print on campus, but thatâs not something I know about. My kid also has/uses HEADPHONES for listening to music/watching videos etc.
Furniture and Decorations:
Desk LampâCould be the Reading Lamp from above if the bed is next to the desk. My kid and roomy have a floor lamp with 3 adjustable heads which lights both desks and saves room on their desktops.
Alarm ClockâMy kid uses the alarm on the iPhone.
Posters, PicturesâSo personal! I think less is more here too.
WastebasketâCould be shared with roommate, but my kid and roomy each have their own.
Plastic Storage Bins/CratesâI think itâs hard to get these before seeing the room. Underbed storage is great, BUT last year my kidâs bed had built-in drawers so no room for bins.
Collapsible BookcaseâThis is a necessity, but also hard to predict what size/type to get before seeing the room. Some kids go with a desktop unit.
Study Supplies: AppleKid only brought the calculator and backpack, and we hit Staples for everything else once there. Items NOT NEEDED by my kid are the Dictionary/Thesaurus and stamps & envelopes (thank youâs are done via email, sigh).
Laundry Supplies: My kid has a laundry plan so the only thing here needed are hangers. BUT with the plan a lot of things come back on wire hangers which has meant a growing pile of unused hangers each year.
Odds and Ends:
Bowl, plate, travel mugâMy kid didnât use these, BUT does bring/use REUSABLE WATER BOTTLES.
UtensilsâUsed on occasion.
Paper TowelsâMy kid uses CLOROX WIPES instead. I think there are paper towels in the bathroom.
Tissues: Yes
Flashlight: See Alarm Clock.
Cell Phone Charger: Yes; not sure why they list car charger though.
Optional Items: Not sure why they list a bookcase a second time here. As or the other items, my kid has a rug this year, BUT last year had wall-to-wall carpet. This is another one Iâd wait on if possible. Kiddo and roomy also use ROOM DEODORIZERS. As for a VACUUM, thereâs been a vacuum in AppleKidâs dorm each year, but AK likes having a stick vacuum in the room. I suspect each dorm has a vacuum for the kids to use.
@twinmama17 AppleNotFarâs list is almost the same as DS. We also were driving distance. Makes a big difference as he flies to college now.
He has been fine with a cheap mattress topper. Also he did bring a bookcase every year (got a folding one for easy transport). First year he was in a oddly shaped attic room. He needed a lamp in that room, but other years was just a desk lamp. He brought a printer first 3 years but not senior year. He spent a lot of time in the library and helping with the maker space. Sent him with a few laundry supplies. He had laundry service but occasionally needed to wash something.
He had a small vacuum for his room but the dorms had one to borrow.
One year we brought a big bean bag chair (it took up the entire back of my car).
Reusable water bottles are great.
It helps to see the room then decide on some of the necessary items. He always had a few underbed units for storage.
My children are still struggling with the decision between going to their LPS and Andover. Advice?
@twinmama17 What are the reservations they are having about Andover?
AppleKid didnât have any reservations, but that said, when it came time to commit to Andover we told our kid that we can reevaluate every year.