Both.
Spring term of US history involves writing a substantial research paper. Most students would prefer to have that behind them before senior year.
Bump.
Thank you for this thread! Our daughter was accepted at Andover and we have many questions. We understand there are math and language placement tests to get students in the appropriate level. Can anyone describe how Andover approaches writing? We have seen some schools state that they start at sentence structure and basically reteach writing. We are curious if Andover has anything in this regard? Do faculty workshop papers? Do they teach students how to write better through examples? Or perhaps just submitting assignments and getting feedback? Any details would be appreciated!
Overall, PA is sink or swim with writing. DC says for English, they usually do not give much direction and each teacher varies in their expectations. The students can go to the writing center. The peer tutors and occasional faculty at the writing center cannot edit papers, but will point out things like sentence flow and overall construction of the writing piece. There is no sentence structure curriculum. There is no faculty workshop. Some teachers will read your paper ahead of the due date and do light suggestions and others wonât even look at your paper until it is turned in.
History writing is different than English. History teachers guide the student more through the research process (how to research, how to write citations) and the library also provides assistance with that. History teachers tend to help out with overall paper structure but not specific writing details or editing sentences. DC has never taken a history test through her years at PA, but has had occasional pop quizzes. The vast majority of grading and assessments are from papers.
1 Like
do andover students usually work on the weekend???
Yes.
I donât think thereâs a BS in existence where they donât, assuming you mean work for courses.
8 Likes
Whatâs the sports requirement?
Required every term. Multiple levels of team sports are available (novice to varsity), alternatives include everything from yoga to spin to 30 min of running with a faculty member each morning. Nontraditional offerings include robotics.
1 Like
if you run with a faculty member in the morning, does that free up your afternoons to do homework, practice music, etc?
Yes.
1 Like
when do we sign up for sports??
1 Like
At the same time as your classes. Caveat is for varsity sports. A student has to try out and make the team, and canât just put in a request to be on varsity.
Do many kids play multiple varsity sports or usually one during the year?
There are some students who do multiple varsity sports, some who focus on one, and others who never participate in a varsity level sport. DC tried out for three different sports junior year (9th grade) - one during each term. She made varsity for one sport and the other two were JV. After that year, she decided to focus on her single varsity (team) sport and took part in alternative sports offerings (the morning running program and spin mentioned above) during the fall and spring terms.
Did she find it difficult to balance during the first year, balancing sports commitments and classes? Andover is one of my kids top choices and he is into playing many sports and I want to encourage trying but not sure if that would be stressful.
The team sports commitment can differ between levels and among the particular sports. Varsity is more time consuming with Saturday games, travel and overnight trips. JV tends to have more Wednesday games and less intensity. DC tried a new sport during the fall of her junior year and was not stressed over the juggle.
Whether sports or another extra curricular, all students are very involved. If your child becomes stressed over his responsibilities, the academic skills center can sit down with him and review his schedule of classes and activities and make suggestions on how to improve his time management.
2 Likes
Can anyone speak to the Squash program at Andover? Do they do try outs first to determine JV 1 or JV or Varsity? Do we connect with the coaches now that we are admitted to determine that prior to saying Yes? It isnât an important factor but definitely would love to know before hand if possible.
I think the rec to read a schoolâs strategic plan is a fantastic one; almost all schools do have one, but they may not be on the webpage. What you see on the website is usually a summary of the longer, more formal document that schools all revise every few years. If you canât find a copy of the full document on a schoolâs website Iâd ask the admissionâs department for one.
I also always recommend people read the student handbooks and course catalogs for any school theyâre deliberating about. Almost all schools have these available somewhere online, but you may have to do some googling.
Here are a few links to different schoolâs summaries of their strategic plans. They get named different things and each school website differs in how much detail they include.
Strategic Framework 2030 | Groton School.
https://www.mercersburg.edu/about/meaning-mercersburg
1 Like
Yes. There are tryouts for JVs and Varsity. I would reach out to the head coach. Link to find the appropriate person: