Ask an Andover Freshman! (or, as we say, "Junior")

<p>*Instructional crew in the fall</p>

<p>It isn’t necissary but will help. I know plenty of people who did xc and then crew and are on boat 3 when it was their first time. Fall crew lets you get to know the basics in a recreational environment so you can focus on technique. Spring crew os more conditioning, but the still teach basics esp on novice boats.</p>

<p>I was thinking about doing recreational crew in the fall, but I don’t think I will because the girl I shadowed on revisit day had done it and said the practices were really long and it was really hard to mange during her first term there. Btw, I’ve been a coxswain for 2 seasons now, so I don’t think I’d have a lot of difficulty just doing spring. I’m still not sure because I think I’m going to miss it :(</p>

<p>Also, swimdude, what math class are most freshmen in? I don’t think I did that well on the math placement test but hope I’ll still get into Geometry. Is Geometry the advanced track or the regular track and is there Honors Geometry or just one Geometry class? sorry for all the questions :P</p>

<p>I think what I’m going to do is do instructional in the fall and row on the team in the spring and then do X-C next year in the fall because I won’t have to take instructional anymore. Is it possible to do 2 sports in one season though?</p>

<p>I know that it isn’t possible to do two sports in one season. And once again, I would be careful about instructional crew, because it really interferes with your adjustment phase. I think I’m going to take instructional crew in the fall of my lower year, so in the fall of my junior year I’m taking instructional squash.
As for math you can be placed in a full year of algebra, 2 terms of algebra, one term of algebra, or go right to geometry. They said that many people who’ve had a full year of algebra still take one or two more terms of it before going into geometry. If you couldn’t answer all the questions on the placement tests you’ll probably still be in algebra.</p>

<p>Cross country is a wonderful team sport at Andover, and will contribute to the conditioning needed for crew in the spring. I think plenty of kids do crew in the spring for the first time, as there are plenty of boats. I’d just hate to see a runner miss out on being part of a really supportive team in the fall I’d that’s what he/she really wants. But if you really want to try crew, do it! (My kid prefers competing on a team against other schools, so didn’t do any instructional crew, went straight for the spring team).</p>

<p>lemonade1, how demanding would you say the practices are for crew?</p>

<p>They go HAM :). But seriously, it gets you in shape in around a week. The coaches know what they’re doing so they can really give you a workout</p>

<p>I had to look up the meaning of HAM on urban dictionary, and I was like “Oh. I see.” A friend of mine said her brother had to run from PA to the boathouse, please tell me that she was stretching the truth. I’ve already been a coxswain for two seasons, but I’m guessing I would do all they same workouts? Truth be told I don’t really like being a coxswain anyways. One last question, was it enjoyable?</p>

<p>lol he missed the bus to the boathouse and I’m not actually on the team! The head coach of the crew team was my swim coach and he tried to persuade me to join. I also have lots of friends who do crew, and did crew pre-season to get in shape.</p>

<p>I see. Thanks anyways. I’m just really undecided.</p>

<p>Okay, lemonade1, you changed my mind! XC in the fall it is. And I figured the practices would be hard, I have a coxswain for a mom and a rower for a dad so I’ve heard some stories :)</p>

<p>Jeweledhorses, I hope you enjoy X country! The coaches are super nice, lots of support for beginners and slower runners as well as for the fast ones (some of whom get recruited to run in college). And Andover has a beautiful place to run, the Sanctuary. And, you get to visit other beautiful campuses. Good luck!</p>

<p>How is GPA measured at Andover?</p>

<p>Hi tinkrgirl I’m applying for tenth grade Andover from a boarding school in England and I was wondering about the essays because the only essay I know about is the one from Saat but the ones you guys are talking about dont seem like the Saat ones thnx xx</p>

<p>So because grades are measured on a 0-6 scale, GPA is as well. So let’s say I took 6 classes and got four 5s, a 4, and a 6, my GPA would be a 5.0. A 5.0 and up is Honor roll I believe. Hope this helps!</p>

<p>carrow2 I think when I applied there were three essays – two short and long. They give you the prompts and then on one I think you choose the prompt. It’s all explained in the official application process though, and the essays are pretty straightforward</p>

<p>And note that there are no weighted grades. And trust me, getting a 5.0 is VERY hard</p>

<p>Jeweledhorses thank you so much, just to clarify, these essays are different from the Saat ones right?</p>