@ffsophiar I know there’s something called “music basics” which is effectively what you’re looking for, it clears you from your sports requirement, but as far as I know you need permission from the music department chair and they don’t give it out easily
Sorry for asking…
- What/when are music basics?
- If I wanted to dance 1st semester (ballet) when is that?
- What are some good activities to meet people during Freshman year? ( is it better to do sports, music, clubs, dance)
- When do you have opportunities to do community service?
But i dont want my practice sessions to be curtailed! Oh dear well ive reconciled myself to having no social life
@alyang if you dont mind me asking, what grade are you in?
@ffsophiar I’m a 10th grader and my friend that I mentioned above who plays three hours a day is also a 10th grader.
- There’s surprisingly little published about it online, but from what I understand it’s during the athletics block so ~3-4:30 or so (though it varies) and I’m pretty sure its essentially practice time.
- There are ballet options both as a class in the Theatre and Dance department, which would be sometime during the school day, and during the athletics block
- Honestly, anywhere you think you might meet people with similar interests to yours. Sports and clubs are great ways to do that, but it really varies person to person. You seem very into music and dance, so that might be your place. My advice would be to throw yourself into everything and just see what works best. Sign up for as many clubs as possible at Club Rally and just try them out, you never know what you'll end up really liking and its a great way to meet your classmates.
- There are a number of different community engagement options and all have different schedules, meeting on different days at different times, so there will certainly be something that corresponds with your schedule
I’m a 3-year senior so I know my way around pretty well, if you (or anyone else) have other questions feel free to PM me!
Lots of schools let you do music instead of sports, so there may not be a need to curtail the 3 hour daily practice sessions.
As a 9th grader there is 5-7 hours of homework each night. In addition, you’ll need to participate in a sport. The “low commitment sport” options are the “life sports” and music basics. I’ve heard that “walking” is the lowest of the low commitment life sports mostly because some students sign in, walk for a few minutes, and leave. You can take a “life sport” in Freshman fall then take music basics after the first term. Music basics is explained in another previous post but it meets from 3:00-3:45 on most days for yoga/meditations. The rest of the sport block is then available for practice. You do require permission to be in music basics and even if you get permission, if there are too many kids signed up for it, you may not get in.
About community service. I know there is a option to teach piano or violin lessons on Wednesdays to kids that come in from the local town. But if you do a higher commitment sport then it may not be possible to do this service. There are other options as well. There is an option to teach singing lessons too. I’m not sure what else exists, but service is an “extra” thing at Andover (at OTHER schools service can be done as a “sport” or during the sport time). So if service is super important to you, know that you will be need to do service as an extra curricular activity in addition to sport. And it is an extra curricular that you won’t be able to “blow off” if your schedule gets busy (like some of the other activities).
In terms of meeting people. You will make friends the first week because there are many planned activities within the dorm and within your quad. In addition, you will make friends in your classes, in sports and also in the activities you choose to do. I know that some kids went to the summer program at Andover and made friends during the summer which carried over into the school year.
@twinmama17 i thought freshman year had the least work! Does that mean you get even more hours in later years? Any more than 7 hours and there literally won’t be enough time in the day! Seriously, you start at 3 and it takes you until ten. Then you go to bed at eleven. When are you supposed to do all your clubs and sports? When do you eat?
I’m going to disagree based on experience. 9th graders, depending on the classes, can expect (on average) 3-4 hours/night. Some schedules with less demanding classes might even be closer to 2 hours. Now, if one does not manage time well, it can certainly stretch to 5-7. But I had a pretty advanced courseload as a freshman and never had anywhere near 7 hours/night. Combined with my high-commitment sport and a fairly high-commitment club, I was still able to fit in sleep and food. 
But be forewarned, there is more homework in later years and/or with more advanced classes.
@skieurope still, 4 hours is a lot. How can anyone encourage me to pursue a lot of clubs and sports if im not going to have time for them (including practice).
Are kids at Andover lonely? What with all the homework and EC’s, it doesnt sound as if they have any time to make friends
I don’t think it’s a lot. And I did say earlier that I thought that 3 hours of piano practice a day was going to be unrealistic. Some might be able to make it work by taking less demanding classes, or not doing time consuming clubs/sports, but there is no way anyone can have it all.
In college we have a saying: Academics, social life, sleep - pick 2.
I got into Andover for freshman year, and I’m wondering if i’m going to have to come home a few months into the first term after having a nervous breakdown. I hear all these horror stories about three hours of sleep and eight hours of homework and I want to hear from a few Andover kids if it’s possible. Is there time to practice piano? Is there time for sleep? Is there time for making friends? Also, I’m not a competitive person, and i am not likely to put a lot of pressure on myself. Will this mean i’ll be less stressed?
In general, no.
Anyone who is claiming 8 hours of HW has ineffective time management skills. Period. This will be a big adjustment, but if these kids want to play 4 hours of video games a day, then Andover (or any other BS) is probably not the right place for them.
As I stated before, you will not be able to do it all. You cannot take all 600 level courses with perfect grades, be a varsity athlete, have the lead in the musical, practice piano for 3 hours a day, and sleep 8-9 hours a day. Not gonna happen. You can have a well-balanced and happy life by managing expectations. At the end of the day, people are coming to Andover for the academic rigor, so there should be no expectation that the coursework will be easy.
I’ll go further and say that this will be the case for all top boarding schools; the grass is not greener at Exeter or Deerfield.
Any stress that occurs is not from the school, IMO. It is mainly from the students themselves, and in some cases, from the parents.
@skieurope ok youve reassured me
In Andover’s State of the Academy survey–you’ll find it online with a Google search–you’ll see that seven hours is the most commonly reported number of hours of sleep. For freshman, the next highest reported number is eight hours; for all other years, the next highest reported number is six. Seems fair to assume that most freshman get between seven and eight hours of sleep a night, on average. My own kiddo shot for 8 hours of sleep a night as a freshman, most nights.
could i take a few advanced classes with good grades, be in a low-committment sport, practice for 2 hours, and sleep six or seven hours?
As a 9th grader, your options for classes are limited
Yes. You will even have time to go out for pizza and a movie if you desire.
^^ Agreed. While my kiddo is not a musician, the scenario you describe does not sound at all uncommon.