@bc12345 no problem!
The Tang Institute offers a variety of LITW (Learning in the World) Programs. SYA (School Year Abroad) is probably one you’ll hear about a lot, and those go places like China, Spain, France for their respective language immersion. Students typically go during their upper year; however, a lot of us would like the travel experience but don’t want to commit to be away for a full year, in which case there are a lot of shorter trips (many of which are during spring or summer break). Destinations include Peru, Dominican Republic, London, and my prefect is currently in Morocco! Application priority for programs is given to those who haven’t done a LITW trip, as each student is technically permitted only one trip during their Andover career, but it’s possible to do more depending on interest level for that particular program. The variety of options makes it a lot easier for more people to take part in them and allows everyone to find a trip that interests them. Sports wise, I’m not sure how the spring break trips may affect preseason and such, but they definitely won’t affect the regular season as they take place when school isn’t in session. SYA of course, will prevent you from taking place in your varsity sport(s) because you’d be gone for the whole year.
@AppleNotFar @gossipgirlME Thank you so much for the information! It really helped me sort things out. So do you think there’s a lot of balance provided? I am a very well-rounded person and do not want to sacrifice anything over another.
Tang Institute also ran and funded the TedX at PA event we had this year! I’m wearing my shirt right now!
I definitely think there is a lot of balance at Andover, but there is also room to specialize if you want to!
Do you know if there are any rules about having plants in the dorms?
@Giraffeneck PA rules, policies and procedures are in the Blue Book, issued annually. Nothing specific that I could find about plants, but a fish in a small fishbowl is ok so I’d think plants within reason would be ok. This is a good question for revisits.
https://www.andover.edu/Admission/WelcomeAdmittedStudents/Documents/BlueBook2016-2017.pdf
Hi! Can anyone explain how funds provided by Tang Scholarships are distributed (weekly stipends, books, activities, etc.)?
@Giraffeneck I know that for plants (at least in my dorm), we have to throw them away when we go home for break if they can’t survive without consistent human care. There was one day where some club was giving out cacti (why? I have no idea) and I think those were allowed to stay in our rooms. The real concern is not only them dying, but also making sure they don’t attract any unwanted things into the rooms.
@monica20 In regards to funds related to FA scholarships and/or grants. Each student has a blue card. This is a multi purpose card that students use to get into their dorms or other campus buildings as well as it functioning like a debit card. Students/Parents can place money onto the card into three different areas (books, on campus, all-purpose) even though most place their funds into the one all-purpose account since it can be accessed for any reason. The Bluecard can be used like a debit card off campus at places like CVS and other stores (List provided). Those students on FA have a certain amount of funds automatically placed into these accounts to cover costs for books, equipment, Tang travel opportunities, etc. Weekly stipends are placed directly into an account that you will be required to set up over the summer. It has to be an account that cannot be overdrawn so we set up a simple savings account for DS that allows him to withdraw $$ via an ATM whenever needed. We used BoA as they have an ATM right on campus as well as a branch in downtown Andover as well as in our local town. The entire FA program at PA is very easy and very private. I hope this helped.
@BigBlueSwim thank you! That cleared up some confusion.
Congrats @monica20!!!
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There’s definitely a lot of time to do a lot of things! I was on a varsity sport in the fall term, so I definitely didn’t have as much time as my friends did, but in winter I did a life sport (chill things like yoga and instructional dance), which definitely opened up more time. Also, every Friday, the Weekender, a flyer listing all the activities going on on campus that weekend, is emailed to us, so there’s always something fun to do.
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I can’t really give a ballpark number as it depends on what’s right for you, but I can say that you should definitely sign up for a lot and see how you like them! We have a club rally in the beginning of the year where all the clubs have booths and you can sign up and see what they’re about. You are definitely not obligated to commit to what you sign up for; I recommend going to meetings of clubs you’re most interested in and seeing if it’s actually something you want to do.
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The 6-point scale is an interesting thing to get used to:
0-Low Fail, 1-Fail, 2-Minimum Pass, 3-Satisfactory, 4-Good, 5-Superior, 6-Outstanding
Percentages vary (not by much) per department, but I’ll update those with more or less fixed numbers once I find the official ones.
Fives and sixes are the goal, but it’s not a big deal at all if that’s not happening. -
I can’t speak on that well since I haven’t tried, but what I can say is that it’s hard for a boarder to do a lot of things off campus, but it does not hurt to ask and see if it’s possible!
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You’ll get a housing card in the summer asking you whether you want a big dorm or a small dorm, what you would like in a roommate if you want one (keep in mind that there are limited singles, especially for juniors), what your interests are etc. to find someone that you might be compatible with. We have five clusters: Abbot (ABB), Flagstaff (FLG), Pine Knoll (PKN), West Quad North (WQN), and West Quad South (WQS). There are a lot of different options; Abbot has about 14 dorms, but they’re all pretty small-medium sized (<20), while Pine Knoll only has 5 dorms, but they all have >35 people. You can totally request a dorm! Are you coming for a revisit? Some boarding revisits will sleep in the dorm with their host and you can see if you like that dorm environment, or your host would gladly probably take you to see another dorm to see that vibe as well.
Has anyone had experience starting a new sports team? I’m a figure skater that actually skates at the Phillips Academy rink (I live in the area), and I’d like to start a competitive figure skating team (since I know that there’s already an Instructional Skating class). Can anyone point me to who I should contact (athletics director, Head of School, etc.)?
Hi again,
Thanks for the replies! It really helped me gain some insight about Andover.
I have another question about the social transition as a new Lower middle student. I know that juniors at Andover live together and inevitably have more time to constantly socialize with one another. As a new lower middle student, I am worried that there would already be social groups, hence making it harder for me to make friends. On a scale of 1 to 10 in terms of my sociality, I’m a 5, where I’m comfortable speaking in front of adults, friends, and those with similar interest and personality but not in front of strangers.
Thanks!
How about the laundry service? Do most students use it? How much does it cost?
If you are a fall sport athlete do you typically room with a teammate?
Most of the kids in my child’s dorm have the laundry service including mine. But I can’t recall the cost. Here’s the website: https://www.eandrcleaners.com/campuslaundry/plans.asp
For new students I think the school tries to pair kids with different primary interests/activities. After the first year kids can choose their roommates.
@fayexeter Something I’ve noticed is that new lowers do tend to stick with each other for a while, in part because of the very reasons you mentioned. While it’s true that a lot of friendships are made junior year with dorm mates (I happen to live with all of my closest friends), we end up getting split up across campus and get mixed with other grades in upperclassmen dorms, so you’re bound to meet fellow lowers in your dorm. As a new lower, you’ll also probably have a roommate–another new lower. One thing I really do suggest, is to join clubs! It’s a great way to meet kids with similar interests to yours. Joining a sports team also helps a ton, especially if it’s in the fall.
Plus, you can also reconnect with old classmates (I’m assuming you went to Fay because of your username?); there are plenty of kids who went to Fay who are at Andover now. I’m guessing you know a couple of my friends (won’t put their names here, of course).
Most “social groups” you might see are actually pretty fluid, especially as all the returning 10th graders adjust to not living with the same people. I consider myself a really friendly/outgoing person (at least I hope I come off that way) and other rising lowers like myself are really excited to meet/welcome new lowers at revisits and hopefully at the beginning of the year if they say yes. Hopefully our outgoing dispositions can take some of the burden off of the anxiety surrounding making new friends 
Can you provide any insight into the student host portion of the Spring Visit? For example, it is one-to-one? Will the visitor participate in the classes, or is more observational? Any good stories to tell about them?
^ second. Also, what kinds of clubs (if any) can incoming students see at revisits?
@calipops AppleKid had one host for revisit day last year and fully participated in classes (spoke up in several of them) which was a highlight and a huge factor in choosing Andover–not the getting to speak per se, but the experience of the classes. This aspect was at the heart of AppleKid’s revisits. Two trimesters into being at Andover and the kid only raves more about the classes there.
Does anyone know if the boys varsity lacrosse coach is leaving? There’s a job posting for varsity lax coach but it was unclear if it was for an assistant coach.
Thanks @AppleNotFar!