For current students and parents: Do you know (or have heard of) students using private tutors to help with classes? Please exclude SAT tutors from your answer.
Current students/parents - a couple of people mentioned a few dorms are known for alcohol and/or drugs. Is this true? How is that possible since the student population turns over every 4 years? Do juniors live in those dorms?
Feel free to PM me if you prefer to keep the info private.
@TheSwami
My DC does not and has not heard of any students using a tutor outside of the writing center, teacher office hours, and school-provided assistance
My son is a lower and having a hard time getting the classes he wants. He was turned away from 4 full classes. Wouldnāt they open more given the high tuition and donations they expect?
Ultimately the issue comes down to having staff to teach more classes and rooms to put them in. Thereās very little space to add more classes without removing others. Especially for popular courses and electives, seniority plays a significant role, so it is not uncommon for freshmen and lowers to get turned away from certain electives and then get into them as uppers or seniors.
We are disappointed with them not offering more classes at different times. How do they expect people to contribute more money during āGiving Dayā if they donāt even give you the classes you want.
Without knowing the specifics, I will also add to what @Aetrus correctly states. In addition to 9th and 10th graders trying to take electives that are listed as giving preference (or limited) to uppers and seniors (and seniority rules, all other things being equal), there is sometimes a disconnect between what a student wants to take and what the faculty/adviser deems s/he is ready to take. So a student may want to take Physics 400, but is better suited for Physics 300.
They were all 300 level Art classes. Architecture, Photography, Public Speaking and Drawing. I guess he can try his Senior year.
There are SAT subject tests offered on the last day of school. Does anyone know if they have classes that day or do they give them the morning to take the test?
SAT Subject Tests are on a Saturday; Andover has no Saturday classes. The last day of school is traditionally a Thursday with students needing to vacate dorms by Friday.
Oh, I see. So I would sign him up for the test at home instead of at Andover. That would be a bummer to have a test that day! Seems like they would be burnt out by then. Thanks so much for the help! Iāll see what he wants to do.
Thatās one option. Alternatively, if he makes friends with a day student, the family could offer to put him up for a couple of nights.
What kind of students, (ie in terms of of personalities, characters, mindsets) do you think would excel and have a positive experience at Andover?
Are there many well rounded people at Andover or do most people only focus on one activity/subject?
Iād say that most students at Andover are very well rounded. That doesnāt mean that some are not huge into one aspect (acting, music, sports, academics, etc.) it just means those who are tend to also be involved in the many other activities on campus too. In regards to the kind of students who excel and have a positive experiences at Andover there are too many to list. PA has such a diverse student body and IMO most do excel have a positive experience. If I had to pick one thing that a student should have to flourish at Andover it would be a growth mindset and the grit to persevere.
@denvermanning I would agree with @BigBlueSwim in that a growth mindset and determination will serve you very well here. A big thing on campus is being an āI get toā person. You donāt have to go to practice or attend a lecture, you get to. seeing these things not as obligations but as opportunities is very central to the message of Andover
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I know this has been brought up briefly but I was wondering how prevalent the hookup culture is, as Iāve heard that itās pretty bad at Andover.
It depends upon your definition of āhooking up.ā And yes, it has been asked and answered before - many times - including on this thread about 7 pages back
So weāve visited many schools and I have heard so much from the smaller schools about their sense of community. My child seems persuaded by what the smaller schools are saying about students being better know and supported in a school of 380-410 students. To me, it see seems that 1150 students is still a small school (certainly compared to my public high school) - especially if itās a residential school. How hard is to find/create a sense of community and belonging at Andover? Andover seems to use the concept of āhomeā rather than community when they are selling this concept to families and students. Iād love to hear from some Andover students as we decide between Andover and a few smaller schools. Thanks
To me, itās to-may-to vs to-mah-to; itās just semantics. Kids find their own community. And their is more than enough diversity for anyone to find his/her peeps.
Although everyone is different, I was also in the camp that though 1100 students is not large and I would not have been happy in a small 400-600 person school - too fishbowl-y for me. But that is a personal choice.
I agree itās very much a personal choice. DC went to a middle school with just over 60 kids per class and would not entertain the idea of applying to any school with fewer than 100 per class, with a preference for 150+. DC said during freshman year that even Andover felt too small.
Having come from a small school environment, which very much felt like a community, DC was more concerned about finding a critical mass of people with whom DC would mesh well and being exposed to a diversity of students from different backgrounds, with different perspectives and interests. I would say DC is fiercely independent, and wired differently enough from most of DCās middle school peers, that DC wanted to be able to define DCās own community, if that makes sense. DC states that what DC appreciates most about PA is its ability to build a class full of great students. DC doesnāt uniformly love everyoneāI donāt know that occurs at any high schoolābut DC has been pretty pleased with the schoolās ability to pick students whose company DC enjoys.