<p>I was attempting to compare with other top BSes, as well as with Andover’s other departments without offending any of the very strong public schools, as there are a few to which Andover cannot compare in mathematics, rather than trying to imply that many public schools are better than Andover. People who go to Andover for math often end up disappointed by the teachers and lack of depth. While there are many courses in humanities for advanced students to take, this is not the case for math and science, where there are only a limited number of courses, most of which are available only for seniors (whether explicitly or implicitly). What’s worth noting is that most of the people who score at or near the top of these competitions placed so high within the math department that they have received very little of their mathematical education at Andover. Much of it was done on their own and through programs such as Mathcounts. Certainly, Andover is good at math. However, the top students in mathematics often wish they had applied to/chosen/been accepted to Exeter. I ran out of math courses after my upper year, while several more terms of courses exist at Exeter. In addition, other areas like physics, music, and economics are stronger than mathematics at Andover, simply because these programs are outstanding.</p>
<p>With the strengths of the mathematics program you’ve listed, if it is one of the weakest programs, that says more about the strengths of the other programs than any weaknesses of the math and modern language programs at Andover.</p>
<p>Your points are certainly valid (particularly the extent to which the truly national/international math whizzes enter with exhaustive training already under their belts), but it should be recognized that Exeter and literally a handful of other math/science magnet schools are truly outliers. Even among other top boarding schools I don’t think their offerings are substantively more extensive than Andover’s and many offer less. For those fortunate souls that carry the nines in their math/science achievement percentile rankings to the right of the decimal point - and it sounds like Uroogla may be one - they will probably hit the limits of the Andover program, but for most math/science oriented kids that will still go on to top science and engineering programs the offerings at PA are quite extensive. Certainly they are far beyond the overwhelming majority of secondary schools in this country.</p>
<p>I feel like we’re debating needlessly over semantics. Andover is one of the better math schools in the country, public or private. That stands for pretty much any subject it offers, too. If one goes to Andover for math, one can find things to do - in fact, if one is truly interested in math, one would do so. Andover has recently been attempting to add more math courses, but it has gone a different route than Exeter. Andover now offers a yearlong linear algebra course and a 2 trimester multivariable calculus course, which should be more comparable to a college course (I’ve recently spoken to the professor at Brown in charge of freshmen placement in math, and he said that even Exeter’s programs were not comparable to the more intense versions of those courses at Brown). For the top math students, Andover may not provide enough (although the math club can combat that to an extent). That’s true of almost every high school in the country, too, but if Exeter is an option, it’s worth considering for these students.</p>
<p>I’m looking over the “What to Bring to Campus” page from the PA Parent Handbook and have a couple of questions. Is the “Essential Study Skills” booklet something that is sold at the Andover Bookstore or is that something I should look for online? How much of a discount does the Math Dept. give if you buy the TI-84 calculator through them? They are on sale at our Target right now and I’m trying to figure out which would have the better price. Also, is the TI-84 sufficient or would it be better to go ahead and get theTI-84+? Thanks!</p>
<p>The “Essential Study Skills” booklet is given to the student at registration/orientation. (I called the Andover Bookstore and that’s what the person told me).</p>
<p>The technology department is handling a few projects right now, so any updates they’d do will likely not happen for a bit. I don’t think it’s fully reconstructed, though they’d change some information, probably at the end of the summer.</p>
<p>Could you tell me which Clusters are the best or their personalities??? Also, what dormitories are the freshman girl dorms and what are their “personalities”??? </p>
<p>And how does the Isham Dorm work? Is it any good?</p>
<p>Current students or recent graduates: what are some of the big trends as far as clothing, backpacks, etc.? Are there any really popular brands? What sorts of bags to people use for books (ie. totes vs. backpacks, designer vs. standard). Not that I want to be a superficial “follower” or anything, but just to help me feel more prepared.</p>
<p>Clusters have limited personality. They are defined more by dorms than anything else. The biggest freshman girls dorm is Nathan Hale. There are several smaller ones in Abbott and other clusters. Personalities for freshman dorms change every year because it’s a whole new bunch of people. Andover does a very good job of pairing roommates and dorms together. The Isham dorm is connected to the health center, but has a separate entrance. It was renovated a couple years ago. My friend said it was nice, but I’ve never been inside. </p>
<p>There was a lot of variety as far as clothing went. Polo, J. Crew, Lacoste, etc. were all prevalent, but weren’t an overwhelming majority. I would say that totes and backpacks were half and half. It also depends how far away your dorm is. My dorm was very close to my classes so I could switch my books out every couple classes, while others did not have that opportunity. </p>
<p>You should look at the rules about frogs. I think you are only allowed to bring fish, but I’m not positive. I know that the tank size is limited which might be more difficult for frogs. I don’t know if you live close or not, but if you don’t you’ll have to find someone to take care of them during breaks.</p>
<p>I am not sure what you can say about the junior dorm, but anyone had experience living in the dorm? How was it like? What’s special about this one compared with other dorms?</p>
<p>The frog tank I have is less than a foot long all ways, probably more like 6 inches long, 4 wide, 6 tall. They’re frogs that are small and can be in tanks with fish.</p>
<p>I realized that I had made a rookie mistake by confusing a cluster name with a dorm name. Yes, Rockwell is the dorm I want to know about. And I’m also interested in hearing anything you know about the WQS cluster.</p>
<p>Andover in a month. Very excited, but I still haven’t read that book that you are supposed to read. It seemed really boring, so I’ve been prcrastinating. By the way, who else requested a single. Apparently I’m the only one…</p>
<p>I know nothing about Rockwell other than two oddities: it has 40 rooms, all singles, and it is split between WQS and WQN. I’m sure the students will be able to provide more useful responses to you inquiry.</p>