<p>I found that once I started my essay, it was fun. I was smart and chose to write about something I felt passionate about - something I knew I’d have difficulty not overshooting the word count - and I found that once I started I really enjoyed putting my thoughts on paper. Andover’s prompts are really open-ended, and I think that that’s the reason I felt so comfortable with them.</p>
<p>But please, for the love of God, start early. You’ll be glad you did.</p>
<p>Oh man, Andover is getting really appealing. I need a school where we have that sort of freedom. Thanks again!</p>
<p>Asdjkl; good luck on your exams, Blue! Ours start on the 25th and I am soo looking forward to that week, oh yeah.</p>
<p>I’m looking foward to Andovers prompt but because it’s due last I’m leaving it. Deerfields is horrible; I’m no fan of endlesly talking about myself. I know thats the point of the process but DAs just seems more ackward than the other prompts at least to me. I really am trying to start early; I know what your saying is true.</p>
<p>Thanks Tuesdays but 8th grade exams are really easy, the only exam I couldn’t have passed before I started the grade would be US History. Ironically, thats my best subject right now because we discuss stuff. Anyway, sorry Tom I’m starting to hijack your thread so I’ll shut up now.</p>
<p>SEMICOLONS! I love you, Blue. To be honest, Andover’s prompts DO look fun, especially since they aren’t straight ‘why us’ sort of questions. </p>
<p>How much sleep do Andover students get on average? And time to pursue their own non-academic, non-clubby, non-rehearsal, non- okay you get my drift projects? Like making a dorm video or learning how to cook or personal but time-consuming goals like that.</p>
<p>Love you too tuesday 
and semicolons are my best friend after I overused the comma and he got mad.</p>
<p>Ah! Tuesdays, I forgot to answer ANOTHER of your questions. Silly me.</p>
<p>Sleep. Ahhh, sleep. Well, it depends on your work ethic, grade, and class schedule. Freshmen can generally expect three or four hours of homework per night, but they, uniquely, have enforced 11 o’clock lights out. Workload and sleep increase and decrease, respectively, as kids rise through the grades. As an Upper, I’m very, very lucky to get seven hours of sleep per night. I usually get closer to six, and I don’t have too awful a work ethic, either.</p>
<p>Time to pursue exterior interests - well, it’s all up to you. There are no set study hours before everyone needs to be in their dorms for the night - so you can really structure your time however you want to as long as it doesn’t interfere with your after school athletic/extracurricular commitments.</p>
<p>Haha, no worries. So, even if many students are sleep-deprived, you’re still mostly happy? That’s admirable :'D And thanks again! Can you also explain the Tang Scholarship and what it entitles? Dangit, I have so many questions. Thanks AGAIN!</p>
<p>You got it right, Blue. Haha.</p>
<p>Ah! Yeah, sure, I can explain the Tang scholarship. It’s convenient you ask as I happen to be a Tang Scholar.</p>
<p>Basically, the Tang Scholarship is a scholarship for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, established by Oscar L. Tang, '56, the Academy’s largest individual donor, having donated over $60m to PA in his lifetime. The description of the scholarship that I received really only stated that it is intended for financially disadvantaged students who display a love of learning. Pretty elastic, if you ask me. There are ten Tang Scholars chosen per year, and one need not apply for the scholarship as all applicants are automatically considered for it.</p>
<p>I saw on the Exeter thread that they have a HP group does Andover have one?
6 hours sleep! Admitedly I get around that now because I spend more time reading daily than I do in school but I always have the opportunity to make it up on weekends. Do you have that opportunity? Also, how often does Andover have Saturday classes?</p>
<p>Ahhhh, mkay. That’s pretty awesome, congrats!!</p>
<p>So I’m going to turn in now and actually start an essay or something, haha. Thanks again!</p>
<p>An HP group? If you read it on an Exeter thread I’m guessing that HP stands for Harry Potter… And I’m really not sure. There are tons of student-led groups here. It’s definitely not inconceivable that there’d be on dedicated to Harry Potter.</p>
<p>Andover has Saturday classes about three times per term. They’re pretty rare. It’s nice to be able to sleep in on Saturday mornings. There is time to make up for sleep deficit on the weekend, though it’s 100% necessary to do at least some homework on Saturday. It’s a TERRIBLE idea to try to fit all your work into Sunday night…</p>
<p>Thank you and yes I did mean Harry Potter. I should have been clearer. Sorry for the endless run of questions but do you have any idea how much homework a 9th grader gets? You probably don’t but I thought I’d ask. Should I get in, it’s going to be a huge adjustment for me no longer being able to leave everything to the last minute and doing well just because I’m smart but I think it’s a good change. Thanks for using your time to answer questions, it’s nice to get answers from someone who’s actually been to Andover rather than hearsay.</p>
<p>It’s no problem! I’m always happy to answer questions about Andover.</p>
<p>Hmm, ninth grade workload. Well, I know I keep saying this, but it depends on the classes the kid takes. Most freshmen take mostly 100-level (1st year courses), but there are plenty of kids who take higher language and math classes, so depending on this balance, freshmen can have anywhere from two to four hours of homework per night, depending on their work ethic. However, they also have an enforced 11pm lights out policy, so they’re basically required to sleep eight hours per night… Lucky schmucks.</p>
<p>Okay actually ONE MORE question, luls. How much contact do you have with your middle school/day school friends?</p>
<p>Well, I’m an international student from the UK, so I have less contact than most, I suppose. This really depends on how good you are with keeping up with people, but I’m super-conscious of the fact that I want to remain tight with all the people I used to spend time with at home. I now live 4,000 miles away from my old friends, which sucks, but I get to see them when I come back home for breaks (like now)! We’ve been partying it up. It really makes me realize how much I’ve missed them…</p>
<p>Ahh right, breaks! So glad for them.</p>
<p>I obviously don’t go to BS but speaking as someone who has great experience in the leaving schools and moving far away department I can truthfully say it all depends on how much effort both parties make. You learn a lot about your friends on how well you keep in contact. It is my experience that after 2 years the only people you still corespond with regularly are your true friends and even then your contact is often sporadic.</p>
<p>BlueRaven1, very well said. I couldn’t agree more or have put it better myself.</p>
<p>I have another question:
Did you consider applying as a repeat sophmore? And if so what made you decide not to?</p>
<p>I did consider and I kind of wish I had. I didn’t, though, because I had no idea if I’d receive enough financial aid to finance two years, let alone three. So really, the only thing that held me back on that was money. If I had known had generous financial aid at Andover is, though, I definitely would have applied to repeat - not necessarily because I didn’t feel prepared for Upper-level classes but because I’m sure it would be nice to have more time to take more electives and longer to enjoy high school sports.</p>