<p>Assign: You’ll have absolutely no trouble integrating here. I’m always shocked at how low the international statistic is because it always seems that there are so many more international students here than that. In fact, I’d say almost 20% of the student body speaks English as a second or third language. You would be in very, very good company here, and teachers are always understanding of language barriers - which, by the way, never last long here.</p>
<p>istoleyournose: Yes, it’s terrible. Andover only offers 300 courses, from introductory algebra through to Expansion and Indian Policy in the 19th Century: kill the Indian, Save The Man. Facilities are awful - we only have one swimming pool, two ice rinks, and a $40 million science center. Andover also consistently ranks terribly in comparison to other schools, as demonstrated by Wall Street Journal’s choice in 2004 to rank it the #1 boarding school in the United States. Also, in everyday life here, there’s this peevish sense of happiness that seems to pervade every corner of life here and which is so infectious that most are happy all the time, despite workload and sleep deprivation. So yes, there’s plenty to hate here.</p>
<p>Tuesdays: Yes, everyone here is stellar at something. However, that thing is not always academics. One of my best friends here, who was just accepted ED into Columbia, is an incredible poet. A PG who lives next door to me in my dorm has committed to Harvard for baseball - but he also happens to be in Math 661, Andover’s top math course. There are also plenty of people here who are good at everything, exceptionally well-rounded. One thing that’s harder to find here, however, is the sense of competitiveness that one might expect to infiltrate an environment such as that of Andover, one of an incredible amount of talent so densely packed. Kids are nice to each other and tend to be able to separate school from the rest of their life. They remember that school is school - we may live here, but it’s still just school. JUST school. The environment is almost consistently laid-back, thank God. It’s nice to not go to school in a pressure cooker. Kids here are generally happy. You forget you go to one of the most academically rigorous schools in the world. In terms of adjusting, it’s been a real challenge. Upper year is just tough no matter how you look at it - but especially coming in as a new student. You are expected to hit the ground running. I would say I hit the ground at a light jog… Socially though, it’s been great. I hang out with a few other new Uppers, but I’ve integrated well - just like the rest of the new Uppers. In terms of being a new Lower, it should be easier academically since Lower year is a little more built around the possibility of new students than Upper year is. There are only 22 new Uppers compared to the 70 new Lowers. Also, the Lower workload is generally considerably lighter anyway. Socially, you’d do fine too.</p>
<p>DiveAlive: I answered part of your question above, but about the other part - Andover grading is BRUTAL. It’s possible to succeed, yes, but for some people, achieving a 4 on a paper or test is a real triumph. I’ve written what I considered to be beautiful, outstanding essays for history 300, the standard Upper US history class - and the best I’ve gotten is a 5. So far, I’ve gotten three 6s here. 6s are a real rarity for most people. But I have definitely found that increased standards have really benefited me. The grading here forces you to up your game. It really does. As for the diving team, I really can’t say I do… Although I believe the girls won the New Englands last year.</p>
<p>BlueRaven1: On the weekends there are always shuttles into town where there’s a massive outdoor mall and movie theaters, etc. On top of that, the train station, within easy walking distance of school, provides easy access to Boston, so my friends and I occasionally get day passes and go into the city for the day. However, if you feel like staying on campus, there are always MYRIAD activities at school. Every week, an email newsletter called The Weekender is sent to every student which outlines weekend events and their times and locations. There’s a dance virtually every weekend as well as more interesting events such as Guinness World Record attempts. We had a hypnotist nearer the beginning of the year - 800 people tried to attend and there was only seating space for 450 in the venue. That’s definitely not uncommon - kids here love to be part of the life of the school. As well as that, there are weekly drama productions, also extremely heavily-attended. Weekend games are also wickedly popular. All in all, there is an incredible number of things to keep kids occupied, no matter what you’re into, and the nice thing is that if you do stay on campus, you’re definitely not alone. Our Student Activities Board works so hard and as a result the activities offered are just completely unparalleled. As for writing in English English as opposed to American English, I do it all the time being a Brit myself. I find it helps preserve my cultural identity - especially since I have no British accent. The teachers certainly have no problem with it. You’ll find that with assignments here, the teachers aren’t looking as much for grammatical “issues” (since most people here write incredibly well anyway) as they are for deeper meaning.</p>
How much sleep on average do you guys get?</p>