<p>Hey, Invent! Great questions, and I think I can help you. In terms of applications, there’s no formula for judging how well one applicant stands next to the next. No one part of the application is given any specific weighting, and everyone who is admitted is admitted for different reasons. There are, of course, TONS of kids who are exceptionally gifted in one or many academic subjects, but there are also plenty of kids who are exceptionally gifted at something else like music, sports, community service, or art, as well. My PERSONAL suspicion, however, is that interviews and essays are very, very important in the admissions process because they are the two things that show the admissions officers your level of articulation and why (or, indeed, IF) you really, really want to go to Andover. The SSAT is, for the most part, just a number, and grades are sometimes hard to judge next to one another because there are often such vast disparities in the difficulties of schools (though you do definitely need very high grades to get in). In terms of describing the average Andover student, well, I’m sure you predicted I’d say this, but there really is no average student here. EVERYONE has their strong points (and SOME even have their weak points!!!) but in terms of interests, it’s impossible to sandbox Andover students as being more interested in one area over another. Yes, many kids here have their preferences, but the campus is pretty solidly well-rounded - there are plenty of the math olympiad kids here who win national and international competitions, we have two members of the US Physics team, and we have one of the largest and best-equipped science buildings in the country - but we also consistently send kids to world debate championships, we have the oldest (and, in my opinion, by far the best - seriously) high school newspaper in the country. Access it online at phillipian.net.</p>
<p>In terms of the training involved in sending these kids to olympiads, many of the kids come to Andover ready to compete, and, if not ready to compete, often already in extremely high math classes (such as one particular US Physics Team member I know being in math 650 in 9th grade). However, this is not always the case. I know some of the math olympiad-goers train under a Mr. Feng who happens to teach at Exeter. Obviously, however, this cannot be a frequent thing given the logistics involved. I really don’t know much at all about the training system, but I’m certain most of it is self-motivated. Teachers here only have so much time to give to individual students, and individual students already can’t find the time in the day to topple their mountains of homework.</p>
<p>In terms of size, I’ve always found Andover perfect. I left a high school of 300 feeling rather claustrophobic, so it was very refreshing for me to enter an environment where each grade was this size. In spring term I was still seeing the odd kid I thought I’d never seen before. To be honest, this is kinda nice - there’s a little bit of everything. I pretty much instantly merged with a bunch of returning students that I took I liking to. It’s great to have that variety of personalities here. Teachers, despite the size of the school, though, are really acceptable. Something like 95% of our faculty live on campus and, of course, can be found either in their classrooms or offices between classes. They care about kids and give everyone their fair share of attention (an easy thing to do as classes are usually between 12 and 16 kids). A lot of classes are also taught around a round table, at least in the humanities.</p>
<p>In terms of the kids here, like I said, there’s a real variety. Kids here are a lot more down-to-earth than I was used to at my old private school, though, like anywhere else, there are a few snobs. Most learn quickly, however, that snobby behavior doesn’t go down too well with most of the kids here, so they often keep that quiet. It’s always interesting to see how the quantity of designer/popular brands of clothes (like Abercrombie, Hollister, and the like) goes down in a grade as time goes on. There are always a few freshmen wearing Abercrombie or something common like that, but then among the lowers it’s a lot more uncommon, and then among uppers it’s virtually nonexistent. I think the way of life here often encourages kids to try appreciating the simpler side of life, either because they miss their easier lives at home or because they’re taking a philosophy elective, and cutting down on hassles often conveniently involves cutting down on costs. Fewer and fewer kids order out on weeknights, fewer and fewer kids flock in massive groups of 20+ to treat insecurities… and more and more guys grow beards. If I were to be Head of School for a day, I’d probably overhaul the school’s formula disciplinary system - I had mono during winter term last year, chose to stay in school through it, missed 1-2 first-period classes every week, and was therefore given two weeks of restriction and a month of bounding to campus, all because that was the same punishment they give everyone who accumulates as many cuts as I did. It just didn’t matter that I had a debilitating illness - I got the same treatment I would have had I been someone who just arbitrarily skipped class. The week my punishment began, I got an email from one of the school psychiatrists telling me that my cluster dean, who is no longer here by the way, had referred me to Graham House, the counseling unit, to “help me make sure I didn’t miss class anymore.” I had spoken maybe two words to this cluster dean in all my time at Andover, so I really wondered what it was that made him think he knew me well enough to refer me to psychiatric help before he’d refer me to Isham, the school health center, for additional treatment of my mono. It’s just a very bureaucratic system that just creates a lot of bitterness between students and the administration. I believe that all of the administration are very caring and truly have the students’ best interests in mind, but the system is just so obsolete that none of that matters - it’s the numbers. /end rant</p>
<p>Hey, Youngstoke! Well, the average accepted SSAT score this past year at Andover was 94th percentile. So, to be honest, there really is no “very high” SSAT percentile for students applying to any grades here. If by junior you mean the traditional 11th grade sense, 11th grade is the most selective grade to be admitted here. The admit rate was 7% this past year for 11th grade. I scored 99th percentile on the SSAT and, in fact, most of the other New Uppers I know also scored in the 99th percentile.</p>
<p>Hey, Ruby! Thank you, I’m flattered 
I actually really have noticed changes since I got here. Most of them are in the way I think - I tend to be a lot more philosophical, yet deeply analytical. Most of that, I think, came from my New Upper English class, the BEST English class I’ve ever encountered. Other than that, I find I’m a lot more social with more people than I used to be. I’ve always been social, but at my old school I stuck to a solid group of around ten people because I was just not compatible with the rest of the grade. That is NOT the case here. I’m friends with a TON of other varsity athletes, fellow French-speakers, hardcore dubstep fans, To Kill a Mockingbird lovers, and fluid mechanics students. I interact differently with each, but that’s the versatility that I’ve gained as a result of living in a big dorm of 40 guys. I also really reached out a lot when I got here - I joined five clubs, made the board of three of them and the president of one, and won a $10,000 grant to bring a Burundian genocide-surviving surgeon from Columbia University Medical School to speak this year. That’s more than I’d have been able to do at my old school, not only because the resources here are better, but because the ethos is to make these resources so readily available to deserving propositions.</p>
<p>Extracurriculars are definitely another way that kids here give back to the school. EVERYONE here has some passion. They might arrive with it, or they might discover it here while sampling clubs. There are well over 100 student-run clubs and organizations on campus, and over 30 of them are under the CAMD (Community and Multicultural Development Office) umbrella, meaning they are committed to social justice, diversity, multiculturalism, and dialogue. These clubs include Af-Lat-Am (African Latino American society), GSA (Gay Straight Alliance), Alianza Latina, MSU (Muslim Students’ Union), JSU (Jewish Students Union), iClub (International Club) and a ton more. In terms of building character, all of these things contribute to mutual understanding - which is SO, SO important today! I’ve never been to a more tolerant, friendlier, progressive, forward-thinking place than the Andover campus.</p>