Few more questions-
- Can Freshmen leave campus to Andover town anytime or do they need permission?
- What do boarding school students usually do on weekends?
- Depends on the time. If it is during the “day”, between 6 AM and the beginning of final sign in(9PM? I don’t remember) you can go into town without permission. Essentially, if you don’t have a commitment to be at, you can go into town. On Saturdays sign in is a bit later, so you can stay in town longer. Also on Saturdays/Sundays, you can get a day excuse from you house counselor to go to the movies or go into Boston.
- Weekend activities vary week to week. We get this thing called the "weekender" every thursday afternoo which basically highlights specific things that will be going on, but I can give you a general sense of some weekend activites that are always consistent.
-Sleep in until brunch, which starts at 11:00 -Sports Games on Saturday Evenings(Football, Hockey, Girls Soccer, LAX, and Basketball are popular)
-Some sort of dance occurs nearly every other weekend, and we have a couple of "big" dances each term.
-Go into town to get food -Hang out at the dorm - Most fun weekend activities occur back to back on Saturday nights, and usually end at 11:00 PM.
Sundays are basically used for sleep in and homework.
@bluehamilton
-In terms of telling the general public, I don’t think there would be any specific advice. I guess you could just say you are going to a boarding school near Boston.
-Maintaining contact depends on your group of friends. Some people maintain contact, but some like to “get away” from Andover. I usually maintain pretty good contact, and for the last three summers, my group of 5 or 6 close friends has gathered at one of our friends’ house on Martha’s Vineyard for a week or two right after school ends. A lot of contact would just be maintained online, since some of your friends may be living in opposite sides of the country, or other countries. I wouldn’t worry about it too much. You will quickly figure out if you want to give your Andover friends a break over the summer!
I’m a incoming 10th grader and I was wondering do you know or have any friends who came in their 10th grade year and how the did transitioning?
@PABlue01 Caught one! Ahem.
I am currently a 10th grader, and I was new this year. We are called “new lowers”. There is a significant group each year, about 70 kids. We’re pretty great. 
Academically, it can be a tough transition. I did a lot better my second term than I did my first term. However, I know some of my friends had more success the first term. Socially, it was pretty smooth. Your roommate, if you have one, will probably (definitely?) be a new lower. You will also meet the other new lowers at Orientation. Returners are friendly as well. They are interested in getting to know new lowers, but they won’t know where to find you, so you will have to be a little outgoing.
Personally, I am so glad to be a new lower. I had a tough, embarrassing freshman year, and it was a relief to start over and to be a lot more mature the second time around. Being from a different high school will give you perspective. I think I appreciate PA a lot more than the returners for that reason. There are downsides, too. You will have less time to finish your requirements, which could mean fewer electives.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask, whether here or by PMing me directly. I can’t wait to meet you next year!
@natakwali Thanks, this was really helpful, hope to see you next year too. Also do you feel you had to spend more time studying to catch up? Since you came in late, do you think you were at a disadvantage and had to spend most of your first semester trying to keep up with the academic curriculum and juggle other activities as well?
@PABlue01 The academics were undeniably harder than ever before; however, I felt equipped to deal with each class on the academic level. I struggled to balance schoolwork, socializing, and extracurriculars. That’s what got me - not the rigor of the classes. Returners may have figured out how to strike that balance better, but I saw plenty of them struggling as well for what it’s worth. I’ve definitely improved, both in balancing and in each subject, since I first got here. Andover is a massive learning curve. Don’t expect to hack it the moment you get there, but if you were not capable of doing well, you wouldn’t have been accepted.
I think the most valuable piece of advice I received before coming to Andover(as a 9th grader) was to understand that it is not a bad thing to struggle a little bit. In fact, I think struggling is what has made me a better student and person, because struggling helped me learn that education is about more than getting great grades. Even though that in general, Andover students are very grade focused, I have learned countless lesson in the value of developing proper strategies to learn, not just pass a test. If admissions thinks you are capable, then you are capable. There will be tough days, a few bad tests, and maybe even a horrendous term or two, however in the end you will learn an incredible amount, and will be glad that you chose Andover.
@natakwali I just wanted to ask you one last question. Since you were an new incoming 10th grader, on your revisit day were you paired with a 9th grader or a 10th grader?
You will be paired with a 10th grader if you are an incoming 10th grader, while the incoming 9th graders will be paired with 9th graders, and so on.
@MABlue Thank you!
I have two questions about the daily class schedule. Looking at the schedule below, it looks like Thursday morning classes begin no earlier than 8:50am. Is this correct? Also, what sorts of classes/activities meet in the 9th period (4:50pm to either 5:35pm or 6:05pm)? Thanks!
https://www.andover.edu/Academics/ProgramInfo/Pages/DailyClassSchedule.aspx
Yeah, Thursday mornings are a godsend! Teachers have department meetings on thursday mornings, so we get a little extra sleep in. You will usually begin at 8:50 or 9:20, however as an upperclassmen you can tweak the schedule a bit, since you usually only take 5 classes as opposed to the 6 generally taken by 9th graders. I only start at 12 PM on Thursdays. You probably don’t need to worry about 9th period until senior year. There are only a tiny number of courses that meet during this time, and they are usually advanced English/ART seminars which you would probably only take as senior.
Plus, you most likely wouldnt be able to play a Varsity/JV sport during a term where you have 9th period. I have not had one yet, and I am currently in senior spring(and suffering from a bad case of senioritis!) Most of the time you will get to do whatever you want after sports end(usually around 5-5:30 for interscholastic sports). Most clubs meet in the evening anyway.
Thursday morning first period is department meetings, so no classes. 9th period (starting at 4:50) has architecture and maybe a few senior English classes - very few classes meet during this block. Basically all periods meet M, T, F and half the periods meet for up to a double period on Wed and Thurs. Some classes meet 5 times a week, some meet 4. Next year (2016-17) will be the last year of this schedule, then it will change. What I hear is it will be 5 classes/term for 4 terms. Perhaps a later start. Have not heard all the details yet.
I remember Andover promising us a later start 4 years ago after a sleep expert/researcher spoke to us at All School Meeting, telling us that teens do better when they get at least 9 hours of sleep, and start later in the morning. Class start times haven’t changed, and sleep rarely goes above 7 hours…
Thanks for the info!
I just have one question left. My revisit day is coming up, and I was wondering what should I wear? I don’t want to show up overdress or show up undress. I was just thinking about wear blue jeans with a collared shirt and sweater.
You can dress very casually for revisit day and nobody will care. In fact, the more formal you dress, the more you will be noticed by PA students, and that is not what you want on revisit day. Just wear some khakis/jeans and a sweater or even a sweatshirt. Tons of people here anyway show show up to class like they just got out of bed, so don’t expect that you will be under dressed.
Thank you for making this thread. I have a few questions two
- What is the difference between day students and boarding students in terms of school activities?
- Can you request dorms as an upcoming 9th grader?(single rooms, doubles, etc.)
- As a boarding student, are you allowed to leave the school on weekends?
@Muselk These questions were asked early in the thread, if you comb through them you’ll be able to find the answers.
- I honestly wouldn't worry about the differences. At first, the day students stick together and borders from each dorm do the same; but, over the year, they mingle and nobody is treated differently depending on where they live. As a day student, you have a choice on when you leave, or if you will come to school on weekends to hang out or work. The activities you can do depend on your schedule
- Yes. I'd suggest Smith house if you are a girl because of the amazing location, and house counselor, and Rockwell if you are a guy. They send you a questionnaire on your preferences, habits, and interests to determine your roommate or lack thereof.
- You can get day excuses to leave with your parents' permission, you can also go on scheduled trips, and downtown too. There are some great restaurants and coffee places down there.