<p>Hey! Winter break just began, so I finally have time to waste. :) I know CC was a really useful resource for when I applied to three prep schools last year (two boarding and one day), so I feel like it is my turn to return the favor. If you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer as best as I can!</p>
<p>Oh my goodness. Where do I start?! Well first of all, I have to say that Andover is not for everyone. I definitely don’t think many kids are prepared for boarding school. Even though it has only been a term, I have had quite an eye-opening experience. At first, I was insanely homesick. My whole hall was. We cried all the time, but it was a bonding experience. Most people won’t admit that they were homesick at one point, but if they say they weren’t, they are almost definitely lying. I think the hardest thing about being away is being responsible for yourself. This is what I think many people aren’t ready for. Also, I was intimidated by my teachers and classes in general. The first month was difficult. A lot of people said the first weekend was a blast because it was before we started getting work, and everyone made friends. Well I didn’t. I hated it. I felt alone the whole first week, but let me tell you, even though you feel this way, you are never alone at Andover. There is so much support! I have used every resource available. I’m making it sound really bad, but the people were actually so nice (from the first day)! I was even surprised how friendly everyone was! It just felt like everyone found friends to click to immediately, and I didn’t. Everyone seemed so outgoing, and I did not feel like I fit in. It took a good week before I started to open up and act like myself. Like I said before, admitting our homesickness to each other was a bonding experience among many of us. Now, I can honestly say I love it here. I am still definitely not anywhere near the most outgoing, but I have made so many incredible friends. My classes are really challenging. I’m still struggling, but my time management skills are slowly improving. Living in a big dorm with so many girls creates many distractions. Our grades are coming out soon, and I’m not looking forward to them, but I know where and what I need to do to improve. In general, a lot of freshman really slacked freshman fall for a multitude of reasons. Next term, I am determined to improve.</p>
<p>best: so many things! the people, so many supportive adults, the independence, the food 
worst: -the adjustment period -not every single teacher is great (it really varies, but most are awesome!)
I made it seem hard to make friends, but it really isn’t! It just takes a while for me to open up.
It is pretty hard to make most varsity sports teams, but I believe all sports have jv teams (which can be difficult to make as well, depending on the sport). Some sports have JV2 (or even multiple JV2) teams, which are the least amount of pressure and tend to be the most fun. There are many options for most sports. You can almost always find a way to participate in a sport you want to.</p>
<p>My previous school was actually pretty good. It was a private K-12 day school. If I stayed, I would probably go to a great college. My chances of getting into a top college may have actually been better there, but I could not imagine myself anywhere else other than Andover right now. The thing was I got straight As fairly easily. It was more of that I got a lot of tedious work, rather than challenging work, which is what I get at Andover. Math was one of my best subjects at my old school, and now, it is my worst, but it is still my favorite! Even though it is more difficult, I enjoy it. Also, I never really had to study much at my old school, so my study habits are REALLY lacking (a ton of Andover freshman are in my same situation), and you have to study at Andover.
There are ten minutes in between each class period, so there is very little rush. Only, if you have a class in Graves (our music building), and then, you have to be in bullfinch, you might have to rush a bit, but you typically have plenty of time. I normally finish lunch and head to the library to start a little bit of homework. You will rarely spend the entire lunch period in Commons.</p>
<p>The campus really isn’t that spread out. Well, I guess it is, but once you get used to it, it feels much smaller. My grade at my old school was less than half of the number of people in my grade now. I see new faces almost every day, yet it still feels like a small community! I don’t know why.</p>
<p>What were your stats like since you got in? And how’s the school spirit? Thanks!:)</p>
<p>I don’t really know what people think of our new headmaster. I mean I guess we don’t really know too much about him yet, but he seems well spoken and definitely qualified. All I know is that it will be hard to say goodbye to Mrs. Chase.
hmmm… well I would say it is generally a preppy school, but I wouldn’t say there is one “type” here.
Yes, I went home for our week-long thanksgiving break, and now, I’m home for our three-week long winter break. Most kids go home during breaks, but some international students stay with local host families for shorter breaks, such as thanksgiving break.
(I’m from the east coast, but not from New England.)</p>
<p>straight As in middle school, 96th %ile SSAT, involved in clubs, and I play tennis
School spirit is AWESOME. We have these people called blue key heads (a small group of seniors who had to try out for the positions). They are kind of like our cheerleaders. They wear skirts every Friday (no matter what the weather conditions are). I remember on my revisit day I saw a senior guy in a navy blue skirt when there was snow out! It was crazy, but so great! Everyone goes pretty all out for Exeter geek day. Andover/Exeter weekend was pretty exciting, but the best part was definitely the pep rally. It was hilarious and so much fun! The blue key heads lead it, and all the varsity sports teams did funny skits or dances.</p>
<p>I definitely made the right decision to go to Andover. I honestly could not imagine myself anywhere else. I looked at Lawrenceville and a private day school in my area. I got into both of them as well. I was at my old school for so long. I needed a change, and I wanted to have more of a challenge. When I really looked deeply into Lawrenceville, it seemed similar to my old school, except for the fact that it was boarding. In the end, we were deciding between Andover and this rigorous day school. My mother wanted me to go to the day school, but I knew in my gut that Andover was an opportunity I could not turn down. Andover is very difficult academic-wise, but if you get in, you can do it. My study habits have already gotten a bit better, but there is still a lot of room for improvement. Freshman Fall was my term for making mistakes. I have learned so much already, especially about time management (the most important skill you can have here in my opinion).</p>
<p>@823491: You amusing, amusing ■■■■■. Going to Andover doesn’t make enough of a difference in terms of stress in my opinion, as been argued many times before. You’ve got skill as a ■■■■■, but try being a little less obvious. And more amusing.</p>
<p>I don’t understand why people can’t seem to absorb the fact that no school is perfect! I swear that I am being honest when I say that I love Andover, and I would not rather be ANYWHERE else. Even though it is stressful at times, I live for the challenge, and I know it will help me develop new skills in the long run.</p>
<p>Hi!! I’m applying to Andover as my TOP TOP TOP choice; I love that school! I’m probably not going to be able to go to the campus for a visit because I having an off-campus interview. I visited one supposedly amazing school (I’m not going to name…>_<) and I was HORRIFIED by the dorms. They were old and cramped, the couch in the tiny common room was torn and dirty and the tv got 3 channels. Worst of all, the bathrooms were disgusting, only 2/3 showers and 5/6 sinks worked. AND THERE WERE BUGS EVERYWHERE!!! The thought of living there for 4 years nearly made me cry. So, I have a few questions about ANDOVER dorms.</p>
<p>What’s your dorm room look like and is it big? All freshmen girls are put into which dorm? Is dorming how you expected it to be? What’s the common room look like and is there a t.v.? Is there a common room for every floor, or one for the whole dorm building? Are there two “bedrooms” and one “living space” room to a dorm or is there one room with two beds in it? Can you have furniture (bean bags, sofa’s etc?) Fnially… what’s the bathroom/shower situation like? THNX</p>
<p>So there’s no cheer team? (Sorry, I’m in cheer and I just needed to know haha:) ) And what should I do in my application so that it sets me apart from others?</p>
<p>On you essay, if you remember it, how did you answer the ussual “Why Andover” question? Also, can you tell us more about the weekends? On the Andover application, unlike those for any other prep school, they seem particularly concerned about the student’s ability to manage their lives on the weekends. What’s with the weekend question? Does everyone leave or something?</p>
<p>The Andover dorms really vary. Some are huge, clean, and beautiful, while others are not. Wherever you end up is really luck, but even the “worse” dorms have positive attributes. For example, great house counselors or good location could make a “bad” dorm desirable. The freshman girls are split between 4 dorms, the smallest having 5 and the the largest having 40 something girls. The majority of people feel as if they were placed in the right dorm. It really depends on your personality. My dorm consists of halls. My hall has 8 girls (4 singles and two doubles). There is one shower, and we have been able to manage very well. We almost never argue over who gets to shower first. I have a single, and I love it. It is small, but cozy. I have a bed, desk, drawer, a comfy chair, and a beautiful view outside my window. It’s all I really need (and I practically live in my friends’ double. haha). There are no bugs. We have a big common room with a tv, but it only plays movies (there is a HUGE selection in the library). Most people don’t really watch tv here except for some that make time for hulu. You are so busy that when you have free time, you would rather spend it hanging out with your friends than watching tv. The number of common rooms varies depending on your dorm. It is a dorm, not a hotel, so you have to be realistic. It is up to the students to keep the dorm clean, so the cleanliness depends on the people (or the strictness of the house counselors). We also have fire inspections, so a relative amount of order must be maintained (your floor should be mostly cleared). Oh and I love my house counselors! They are awesome and so sweet. Whether or not there are three room doubles depends on the dorm. If you have space, you can have furniture. I know a lot of people with bean bags or some sort of comfy chairs. Dorm life is really easy to adjust to. My single at Andover is just as much my room as my room at home!</p>
<p>Sorry, but no cheer team.
That is a great question. I don’t really know what is going through the admissions officer’s heads, but I know what my strategy was while putting my application together. It was to be myself. I know this sounds clich</p>
<p>placido240, I’ll leave that first question for you to answer. It can only come from yourself. Basically, I rarely do work on Fridays (unless I manage to get enough self discipline, which is rare). Saturday, I sleep, eat, hang out with friends, try to get two subjects of homework done… Also, there is this thing called the weekender that is e-mailed out every thursday. It lists all weekend’s activities and events. There are constantly performances, sports games, dances, and random things in the Den. The weekend is a nice break from the hectic weeks, and honestly, I am rarely bored. There are always people to walk into town with (it’s about 10-15 min walk). There is a CVS, Whole Foods (a little further down), a couple of restaurants, the Andover Bookstore, a few shops, and some other random things. I haven’t gotten the chance to explore them all. Most people stay on campus, but some can get a day excuse to go into Boston, and there are occasionally trips to Boston or various malls on the weekend. Oh and I have no idea what is up with the weekend question. I don’t remember whether or not I even had one?</p>
<p>Thanks!! :)</p>
<p>bumppppp :)</p>
<p>Is it better to apply online or with the printable forms?</p>