As a parent visiting, I found the food to be good, but I think it depends a bit on what you are accustomed to eating at home. Some of the kids love it. Others wish some of the food had more in the way of spices. My child, who has eaten a number of different schools now, feels that the PA food is better than most.
As for other food, you can also eat in Andover, have food delivered, and pick up food at the grocery store. I don’t think there’s much opportunity to “cook” your own food as a day-in-day-out matter–I’m sure someone will correct me if I’m wrong–but I know at least some house counselors have made their kitchens available for baking.
Do the essays matter a huge amount? My overall application, imo is very impressive (straight As, ultra-advanced everything, super high SSAT score, pretty good ECs) but I think my essays won’t come out very good. I am a super over dramatic writer, and I often come across as overconfident and pretentious. I have high hopes for my interview and for my rec letters, would those help counter my bad essays?
The essays are important. None of us can say exactly how important - we cannot give you a breakdown of grades 30%, essays 20%, etc. I will say that after having two kids in competitive BSs and reading lots and lots of posts on CC I believe that essays are important.
Has anyone other than you read your essays?
If you actually come across as pretentious in your writing I encourage you to have someone help you edit your essays as I agree with you, that is a problem!
I just listened to a podcast talking about writing, the advice was a simply and directly as possible. Not sounding like a thesaurus or trying to use every big word you know. Reading out loud to edit.
@one1ofeach oops I forgot that not everyone lives in FL lol
It’s our statewide standardized test, and there’s a specific style of writing they’re looking for, which I’ve been learning since like 3rd grade
I imagine boarding schools are used to it as all public systems have their writing curriculum, the ELA curriculum in NY is also somewhat peculiar though I have no idea how it compares to FL. However, I do think that for essays you should always have someone else read them and provide feedback, be it parent or teacher or anyone else willing and able. When we did college tours we repeatedly got the speech about how students should write their own essays as they want to get to know them as much as possible, but please do have another person read them before they get submitted. They claim to get way too many unhelpful essays because:
1/ there are way too many people editing the essays for the student, or even writing them and then they don’t get a sense of the student at all
2/ the essays are hastily written last minute and lack basic editing (some crazy examples like repurposing an essay written to another school and still leaving the name of the original school in there).
I imagine it is similar with boarding school applications, there may be even more adult involvement for some applicants, and none at all for others. You really want to find the middle ground if possible.
@iusedtobesmart Sorry I don’t feel comfortable saying the dorm names on this forum
But honestly, if you really wanted to know you could probably ask your revisit hosts. And if you’re an incoming freshman, there’s really no way to know because it changes drastically year by year. Hope this helps!
I am a parent --and I’d like to hear from both parents and students.
I just was told that one of kids was going to receive a “censure letter”. First, what exactly are the ramifications of a “censure letter” --who sees it and what is in it? For example, will colleges know about it? Can you give me an example of known offenses that warrant a “censure letter”?
Also, do you know if there is appeal process?
Yes, I looked at the bluebook, but it does not contain much info.
It’s more serious than a reprimand and less serious than a warning. As with most disciplinary actions short of suspension, it’s not reported to colleges. And yes, there is an appeal process.
Do you have examples of “censure worthy” misbehavior? For example, Would late sign-in count as “censure worthy”?
I saw students last year missing Friday night sign-in and they received a dorm “strike” --and students needed several strikes to move up to any sort of restriction…and it was never a reprimand, censure or warning.
What I am trying to understand are the standards of misbehavior across the board for censure. Do all Deans follow the same standards?
If there is an appeal, does the student appeal or the parents?
I’m a few years out of BS, so I don’t want to misquote an example. But an example would be whatever the student was censured for, which would IMO be more serious than failure to sign in or signing in late. There is, IME, no inconsistency amongst the Deans regarding discipline. The appeal is made by the student. But it is the rare disciplinary action that is unwarranted.
Congratulations to all newly accepted Andover students! I am a parent of a two year lower from the southeast. I am also hosting an international lower who could not travel home over spring break due to the Coronavirus. Both students are current tour guides. If anyone has questions about the school, particularly now that revisits have been cancelled, don’t hesitate to reach out.
Hey guys! I was wondering about Math 280 or Geometry and Precalculus. If anyone has experience with this course, does the prerequisite, intermediate algebra, translate to Algebra 1 or 2? How common is taking this course?
Also, Chem 300 seems like something I would like to take if I get into Math 280, but it also says that juniors whose first two tests average below 85% get switched to Bio 100. Does this happen frequently?
Oh, also, are there tryouts for JV XC? I’m debating wether I should do XC or instructional tennis (just as a note, I am the least athletic person you will EVER meet).
