<p>We live in GA and will likely fly our daughter to and from school for the most breaks. I'm trying to plan ahead so as to minimize flight costs. </p>
<p>First, for major breaks, if dismissal from school is at 2:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m. or at the end of classes, when do the kids have to be gone? The next day or that evening? Would you suggest that I fly up to meet my daughter or just book a flight home for her. If she's going it alone, how does one get from campus to Logan? I know there are shuttles, but I'd like a little more detail on how that works.</p>
<p>With regard to drop off day for new students, approximately what time were you encouraged to leave the campus that afternoon or evening? </p>
<p>Now for Parents weekend, do most parents come? Is it usually the whole family, both parents or just one parent? Just curious. And what kinds of things go on during parents weekend.</p>
<p>Can’t speak for Andover per se, but generally all of the schools will have a fixed departure time from campus for buses going to airports - usually between noon and 2PM with a dependable airport arrival time. Most kids do not check bags for a weekend or even the longer breaks (mine never has in 3 years), so you can book your flights for 1 hour after the bus arrives at the airport.</p>
<p>The trickier question that you haven’t asked is about airline problems. Coming from the same region as you, often this involves a choice of a single (late) non-stop or a choice of connecting flights. This is where you need to find out how the school handles kids whose flights are cancelled. We had this experience a year ago for the a break where goaliegirl’s initial flight was postponed to the connecting city (weather problem at connecting city) until other connecting city flights (better weather) had already left. Then it was cancelled. Fortunately the athletic director (and now her house parent) was in the neighborhood of the airport (personal business) and brought her back to the school and got her back to the airport the next day.</p>
<p>Moral of the story here is that you need to have contingency plans. Try not to transfer through cities where she would not have a place to stay in case of emergency (or in our case where we couldn’t fetch her in the middle of the night by car).</p>
<p>Goaliegirl has been flying alone since 9th grade without much ado (outside of that one adventure). She had never flown by herself before up until that time. I even had her fly out for a special occasion, using the local bus to get to Logan to fly to Atlanta for a weekend event. Figured out the bus stuff herself.</p>
<p>If your daughter has the skill to independently navigate the airport (most schools just drop them at the ticket counter and pick them up from a fixed terminal entrance), by all means let her fly by herself. I think it has contributed a lot to goaliegirl’s confidence to take on more of life’s challenges.</p>
<p>I looked at Air Tran’s schedule. You get the joy of picking between a couple of flights transferring in Baltimore or waiting until the late non-stop to Atlanta leaves at 7:45. The choice of guessing the weather in the DC area or having no backup plan except returning to school. Delta though has 2 evening non-stops, so if you don’t mind dealing with them, it is a good situation.</p>
<p>Parent’s weekends - we’ve never been (I’m ashamed to say). I’m sure it is programmed with teacher conferences, athletic events, a main presentation, and of course a little quality time to take your daughter out for dinner. From what I’m told, this is typical.</p>
<p>My daughter flies by herself too. She’s at Exeter. The school buses them to the airport. She takes a 8:00 p.m. flight but leaves school on a 1:00 p.m. bus. She said it takes 2 hours to get to Logan. She takes a direct flight from Logan to San Francisco and then connects there to get home. We pick her up at 11:30 p.m. our time. Going back she takes a 6:00 a.m. flight meaning we have to get her to the airport by 5:00 a.m., then she connects again in San Francisco and takes a direct flight to Logan, arriving in time for the last bus to Exeter. We haven’t had any problems yet. The direct flight is more expensive but I think it is worth the expense because it avoids problems along the way. If she were to miss her connection in San Franciso she would have to spend the night in the airport, there’s no other choice for us. So far that hasn’t happened.</p>
<p>I’m not a parent, but I am a recent graduate from Andover. She will be required to leave the next day. I think the official policy is 24 hours after your last exam. I would just book a flight home for her. There are plenty of kids flying home by themselves and navigating Logan isn’t very difficult. Most kids at Andover either take a shuttle or a cab. The shuttle I used gave me a 15 minute window when they would pick me up. They would call when they were 5 minutes away so I could be downstairs when they arrived. They would drop us off at each individual airline counter. On the way back to campus we would call them when we got our luggage and they would come and pick us up. Once the shuttle was full or nearly so they would drive us back and drop us off at our dorms.</p>
<p>If I remember right parents were encouraged to leave campus that afternoon, but many came back later that night or the next day to help in the final stages of moving in. The kids are busy doing orientation, but there is time in the evening for parents to visit.</p>
<p>A lot of parents came to parents weekend, but certainly not all. More came the first couple years than upper or senior year. It was usually one or two parents and sometimes a younger sibling. The parents go to mini versions of their kid’s classes. My parents really enjoyed meeting my teachers and seeing what I was learning. I think there are talks after the courses, but my parents never went to those. There is also Grasshopper which is a student talent show that is great if you can get tickets. I believe there is usually a concert if your child is in orchestra.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the replies. That helps. D is pretty comfortable in airports. But I will feel better after she’s successfully done it once all by herself. I will definitely keep that in mind about the connecting flights.</p>
<p>I read in the other thread about possibly needing fans. Has that been an issue at Andover? Also, is it helpful to have your own printer?</p>
<p>Having a fan was nice. It can be hot in the dorms at the beginning and end of the school year. Most of the year it wasn’t needed though. It’s helpful to have your own printer. You can always use the printers in the library, but you have to plan around the hours it’s open. I liked printing out my papers the night before they were due so I didn’t have to worry about printing issues in the morning. It was more of a convenience than a necessity though.</p>
<p>We waited on the printer to see if roommate had one. She did and was willing to share, so we just supplied ink and paper. </p>
<p>As for Andover drop off day, for new students (at least for new 9th graders, don’t know about other grades) they really have quite a day planned with the parents involved for much of it. Dorm meeting, cluster dean meeting (while the kids were doing orientation activities, I think), big chaotic but nice lunch, speeches in the chapel. Late in the day, just before dinner, there was an optional ecumenical service in the chapel that I thought was very nice, though most people don’t go. We said goodbye to our daughter at I think about 6 pm. </p>
<p>We went to parents weekend also. Similar activities: dorm meeting, big chaotic lunch loosely organized into clusters, etc. One family from the west coast I met had the mom drop off in Sept, and the dad go to parents weekend. I thought that was a good way to save on airfare but still get a good dose of Andover and give your kid a visit from home.</p>
<p>As the parent of an Andover senior who’s been flying to school on her own for 4 years, I’d like to tell you what’s worked for us. She always flies out the morning after her last exam – the ontime records of most flights are much better in the morning, and if something goes wrong this gives us the whole day to get her home. (Although, knock on wood, we haven’t had that problem yet!) Some of her friends who’ve taken evening flights have had them delayed for many hours and eventually canceled, causing some pretty stressful experiences. The school, unfortunately, does not have a real policy/procedure for handling flight cancellations; it’s up to your student to contact his or her house counselor and work something out. Plus, the extra evening allows some time for packing, room cleaning, laundry, etc. – without pressure. Also, she only flies out of Manchester, NH on Southwest. Manchester is only a 35 minute drive from campus (we use Flightline shuttle service, which was a website for online booking) and is a breeze to use. Never any lines, traffic, etc., and as I mentioned, flight delays are rare. (If you don’t live in a Southwest city, however, that won’t work, as the other airlines are more likely to have connecting flights.) I fly to Manchester once a month both to visit my daughter and do business in the Boston area, and the car rental there is a piece of cake, unlike Logan, which is an absolute nightmare. Oh- and Southwest allows you to check 2 pieces of luggage free of charge.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the replies. This has been most helpful. Honestly, I’d never considered shuttling up to Manchester. I’ll have to check that out. The next morning flight sounds good too.</p>
<p>Are there any other really helpful pointers that you have learned along the way that might be helpful to newbie PA parents?</p>
<p>If your child is going to be transferring at certain airports, get the contact info for families from your child’s school who live near that airport. In case of an emergency delay or cancellation, you’ll feel better knowing you can call a school family to help out. </p>
<p>My daughter travels with other girls. If they ever get stranded, I figure they can share a hotel room together. Luckily, this hasn’t happened.</p>
<p>Find out from Andover this summer if there are other students from your area. Start making contacts and travel plans with those other families. It’s especially nice if your daughter can travel with an older student.</p>
<p>I’m not an Andover parent but I live in NH and I would highly recommend Manchester, NH airport over Logan. The security lines are so short compared to Logan, parking is easier, it’s a much smaller airport. I would feel much safer having a child alone in the Manchester airport than at Logan.</p>
<p>I’m off topic here, but don’t feel like it’s worth a new thread. Still about transportation though. Do many kids in Adover ride a bike on campus? The campus is a little spread out. Do kids ride from dorm to classes, class to cafeteria, etc.? If so where do they leave their bikes when they are inside the buildings?</p>
<p>A student could answer better, but I think there are a few students who like to bike around (particularly from dorms to classes) but not many. I see bike racks around, with a couple of bikes. The classes and Commons are all actually pretty close together. Music, many of the dorms, and the gym are a little farther away but again just a few minutes. The biggest possible distance between classes is Science to Music, and that can be done in the time allowed with a little hustle! As a plus, with the walking and the huge amt of athletics, the students are really fit :)</p>
<p>I would say maybe a quarter of students have bikes. It’s more common for kids in Abbot or the quads to have a bike just because they are further out. There are bike racks outside most of the buildings that students use. Most students just ride from their dorm to their first class and leave it there for the day. The classes are so close it would be a pain to haul your bike from one to the other. The exceptions would be music or relphil, but even then a bike’s not necessary. One thing to consider is that Andover is on a hill. It will be an uphill ride from Abbot or coming back from town. Also, bikes aren’t really used in the winter because riding a bike will just make it colder.</p>
<p>Thanks sugerkim. I didn’t pay attention on revisit day. Do they have bike racks outside the dorms too? And lemondade1 makes a good point, “with the walking and the huge amt of athletics, the students are really fit.”.</p>
<p>This may sound like a silly question, but do the dorms typically have regular twin mattresses or those extra long ones that colleges often have?</p>
<p>The rooms have a bed, desk, chair and dresser. The only pieces of furniture you’ll undoubtedly need are a small bookshelf and mirror. A small filing cabinet may also come in handy as well as floor and desk lamps. A fan is virtually a necessity as it can get hot early and late in the school year. You may have room for a more comfortable reading chair/footstool but it depends on the room layout. I bought a set for my daughter at IKEA. All linens, towels, etc. you must provide. As noted earlier the beds are XL so the best time to buy a mattress cover and sheets is during the college back-to-school period.</p>