<p>Dude, really -- ask for an exemption. That's what I did to take AP Euro. I took the HQT and got in, so my Lower Year was (a) completely ridiculous and looked nothing like a Lower Year should look like and (b) completely up to me.</p>
<p>SsPixie17x, who do I need to talk to to have an exemption granted? I'll try taking art and gym as 6th courses this year and music next year as a 6th course.</p>
<p>Well, do you know who your advisor is? Have you gotten your PAnet account set up? I'm pretty sure that under the Academics tab, there's a file called "Petition for an Exemption to the Lower Program." If you know who your advisor is, email him/her to talk about the issue. If you know your dorm -- you probably won't until about August, I think -- you might want to email your house counselor. There were plenty of new lowers in my AP Euro class this year, and I think they got things sorted out pretty well even though they were new to the school. However, I'm not really sure of anyone who's gotten an exemption to the Lower Program without taking History 340. I'm sure math geniuses etc. have gotten them, though. Plus, Lower Year is probably the easiest time to take 6 courses, because you do not want to be taking them Upper Year.</p>
<p>Okay, I'll set up the PAnet account as I don't think I currently have one and then I'll petition for exemption to do AP Euro which sounds awesome...</p>
<p>Thanks and now for the record, I don't really care about APs as I realize that colleges know the rigor of Andover and that Andover offers some amazing courses which don't have APs.</p>
<p>Shore: we received the login for the PAnet account in the mail recently. My niece will be a junior (9th grader) at Andover in the fall. Contact the school if you haven't yet gotten it.</p>
<p>Brooklyn Guy, I think that if you just got it, we'll get it a week later. Its not the school's fault but Papua New Guinea mail is horrendous. We got the placement tests etc way after everyone else. </p>
<p>btw, good luck to your niece Brooklyn and thanks everyone for the replies. I think this academic worrying of mine won't subside until well after I get there but its hopefully just cold feet.</p>
<p>shore,shore,shore u fail to amaze me.....lol
DONT WORRY
:)</p>
<p>I know this thread has been dead for a few days, and a lot of what I'm going to say has been said some way or other, but I think I'll put my two cents in anyway:</p>
<p>I just graduated from Andover, and I came as a new Lower, too. </p>
<p>About APs: Andover helped pioneer the AP system, but the school is growing out of APs. Most upper-level science courses, for instance, are dropping the AP label because instructors are finding the AP syllabi too confining. They will all teach you what they really feel is valuable, and I don't think there will be many times, if any, when you feel that a class is moving too slowly. After attending a really sub-par Mississippi public school, this fast pace was one of the best things about Andover, and you will find it in every class you take, AP or not. Colleges all know that Andover is rigorous, and they seem to know how difficult each class is. Before I applied to college, I had actually only been in a few official "AP" courses -- a term of art history Upper Spring, and BC Calc and Vergil Senior year -- and I still got into my top-choice school. Just work hard, and once you get that down, work harder. It will pay off.</p>
<p>About your cold feet, don't worry. As I said above, my old school was awful. I feared that I would fall victim to a huge preparation gap, and I was right in a way. I was in Chemistry 300, and for the first two weeks or so, I was absolutely terrified. I had no clue what was going on. If that happens, you really just have to sit down and work. Completely focus on what you're doing, especially at first, then things will get A LOT easier. Trust me. The work will get harder, yes, especially if you take six classes and load up on extracurriculars, but you'll learn to handle it. After a point, it won't be the subject matter that's challenging; it will time management. </p>
<p>Looking at your prospective course load, you're clearly intelligent. Things will be fine. And if you have trouble, there are always people around to help you, and it's easy to change classes at the beginning of a term/drop courses if you feel like they are too much to handle.</p>
<p>Good luck, and have fun! This will be a great three years.</p>
<p>Thanks heaps guys but if someone can give me some advice on this following issue it'd be great:</p>
<p>When I get a petition for exemption as a lower I'm allowed to give up one of the following things:</p>
<p>Philosophy and Religious Studies only</p>
<p>OR</p>
<p>Philosophy and Religious Studies AND History and Social Science</p>
<p>For those of you who aren't acquainted with this thread, I want to give up Music/Art/Gym (and take them as 6th courses in the 2nd and 3rd trimester and take the remaining one as a 6th course in Grade 11) and in return do History 340. </p>
<p>Is this possible? And if so what should I write? </p>
<p>Thanks guys</p>
<p>Okay, if you take History 340, you don't have to do History 200 or a Relphil during your Lower Year. You have to do Gym, but other than that, you can push everything back.</p>
<p>Okay, thanks SsPixie17x!</p>
<p>I can take Gym as a 6th course in 2nd trimester though right SsPixie?</p>
<p>As long as you get an honors grade the first trimester or get permission, gym is really easy to add as a sixth course.</p>
<p>Will Andover's people give me the benefit of the doubt that I'll get honors first trimester? </p>
<p>Because if I go and ask for a first trimester doing all year long subjects then it means I won't do Gym unless I get honors in first term and I'm not sure if they trust me enough to do that. </p>
<p>But maybe Accelerated First Year German is 2 trimesters thus is a insurance policy?</p>
<p>They probably won't give you the benefit of the doubt, but it is possible to add a 6th course without getting an honors average. You just have to ask for permission. This is a lot easier for gym because it's not an academic class. Don't worry about it - if you don't get it second trimester, you can always try for spring.</p>
<p>Yeah I think my Accelerated First Year German is only two trimesters which would allow me to then go on to Gym in spring if I don't get permission to do 6th course in 2nd trimester. </p>
<p>Thanks all you guys. </p>
<p>But I do need to do 3 APs before I leave Andover because I'll be applying to Cambridge where its purely academical. Do you know sugerkim if Cambridge recognizes Andover as my GPA will be a huge factor over there and I'm guessing it'll be wayy lower at Andover then at another school?</p>
<p>The 3 APs will be no problem. You'll probably be able to have those by the end of upper year. The process for Cambridge is different from US schools, so I don't know much about it. The college counseling office does send each school you apply information about Andover which includes the courses considered advanced and a bar graph of grades to show where you fall. This is a question you should ask the college counseling office. They will have a lot more information and statistics for you.</p>
<p>Thanks sugerkim, Cambridge is just one option, not quite the 'dream' school like HYPSM.</p>
<p>Good luck in Math 600. I took it sophomore year, too. Pray you don't get Barry, unless you like sleepless nights.</p>
<p>I LOVE Mr. Barry. If I don't get him for the rest of Calculus, I'll probably request him. I mean, the constant threat of failure isn't so fun, but it's the first time I've really, truly understood math, and -- dare I say -- liked it?</p>
<p>I don't know Mr. Barry, but I sure as hell have heard about him from the geometry kids this year. They kid of hate him, but that's because he's really tough and most of them don't like math. I'm really sad that Mr. Odden is taking the year off. I'm taking 350 this term, and he would have taught it and 360, finishing my precalc sequence. :( I loved him, he was a fantastic teacher.
Shore--I want to go to Cambridge as well, but I thought we needed 9-12 AP exams. Or did you mean 3 this year?
But three should be no problem whatsoever--if you take the AP physics, you can take 3 tests just this year. You can probably take at least 4, probably 5 next year, and senior year, if you wish.
I agree, I really wish they would offer advanced English. It doesn't seem fair to me that it's the only subject you can't advance in.</p>