<p>Any advice regarding telephones in the Andover dorms? Do they have them? If so, is there a reasonably priced long distance option available? We’re not sure we want/need to send a cell phone, but might be hopelessly out-dated on this thinking. Thanks!</p>
<p>There is a phone for each student. You will need a phone card to be able to dial another area code though. Depending on how much you plan on talking it might be cheaper to get a cell phone. There are also pay as you go cell phones. You could also consider skype or other internet options.</p>
<p>The majority of students seem to depend on cell phones. We use a shared family cell phone plan with free cell-to-cell calling so most calls home don’t utilize any minutes. Skype is also a good option, particularly for international students. Now that they don’t have rigid bandwidth limits it may also be possible to do video connections but we haven’t tried it.</p>
<p>Thanks for the list.</p>
<p>I just found a “Boarder’s Guide for Parents” on the PSPA (Parents of Students of Phillips Academy) site. It looks pretty practical. Just thought I’d pass that along. You can get to the PSPA site through PAnet.</p>
<p>Thanks for the heads-up. It contains some useful information. Do you know where to get the “Parent Handbook” they keep mentioning? Or, are they supposed to send us in the mail later?</p>
<p>The PSPA guide was helpful last year. Sorry that I forgot to mention it to you. I think that the “Parent Handbook” came in the mail, but I don’t remember when we got it.</p>
<p>We’re supposed to be getting additional information which would probably include the Parent Handbook in July.</p>
<p>Hey Guys, I’m considering applying to Andover as a lower. And as parents of kids who attend, I was kind of hoping you could help me out a little bit. I really want to apply, but my previous grades aren’t the best becuase I’ve had four open heart surgeries, six cardiac catheterizations and 2 EP studies. Will this hurt my chance of admission? I’m 14 and am going to be a freshman this fall. My grades are great, I volunteer at a retirement home. I play Guitar, piano, organ, and sitar. I write poetry, and I have found a potential cure for cystic fibrosis. I also have strong reccomendations from my teachers and colleagues(I do some work at hospitals locally) Do I stand a chance around Andover’s admission table? Please help! Thankyou so much.</p>
<p>I’m not sure how old your daughter is, but another thing to consider is that some airlines don’t allow kids 14 and under? 15 and under? to wait for their flight alone. Andover typically deals with this by finding an upperclassmen who’s over 18 and has a similar flight time to wait with them, but it’s best if it can be avoided.</p>
<p>Seeking advice from past or current Andover parents, please: How long do parents stick around to help their new students “settle in?” The 2009 Opening of School schedule shows a full day of activities/meetings on Sat. 9/12, including a leave-taking time early evening; however, it doesn’t say much about Sunday. What about Sun. 9/13 – are parents permitted to return to the dorms? While we don’t want to micro-manage unpacking and organizing, it would help us plan our long trip back home. And, frankly, it would ease my mind a bit to at least see some items generally unpacked and more or less placed somewhere other than in a pile under the bed (having known this to be the case with our child at more than one camp.) Textbooks: We’re read advice encouraging students to buy their textbooks early. Does this mean that parents help in this process during that first weekend, or can we assume that students do it themselves on Monday, as long as we’ve made financial arrangements with the Andover Bookstore. Thanks for your advice about the Opening of School weekend!</p>
<p>I know there are still a few parents still staying over after leave-taking, but the intent is that there has been a transition. There are numerous activities for the kids and setting up rooms becomes a social activity. In general, it would be best to follow protocol and let the kids acclimate on their own.</p>
<p>The second question is best left to one of the Andover students or 4 year parents. My daughter entered as a late admit new upper so she didn’t even meet her advisor until the day she arrived. She also had to take a test to see if she would place out of U.S. History. So she didn’t get her course assignments until sometime over the weekend and couldn’t get her books ahead of time. Whether that’s the case for all levels I’m not sure.</p>
<p>One thing I do know is that there will be groups of kids heading to the bookstore so your son/daughter will certainly be able to get the necessary books before classes commence as long as you’ve put a credit card on file.</p>
<p>It used to be that the Blue Keys took new students to the bookstore Monday morning to buy books. I don’t know if this is still the case, but that or Sunday would be a decent time to get books (although there would be a bit of a swarm).</p>
<p>We left our daughter on the Saturday evening, just before dinner, as instructed, and that was it. The next day, the parents aren’t encouraged to be around—the new students are busy and getting used to life without us parents. We did find that there was some time on Saturday for unpacking, and the parents in the dorm were busy helping. Unloading the car took about 15 seconds (you’ll find out why :)). And as Uroogla said, the Blue Keys are supposed to take their kids to the bookstore, it’s a zoo but also part of the fun.</p>
<p>Saturday at 6 pm we were gone. Daughter and new housemates had already bonded and they were off to dinner. We were clearly going to just be in the way. Sad to say, but happy that the bonds of friendship formed so quickly!</p>
<p>Andover cell phone reception: A recent post says that Verizon has good cell phone reception at Andover. ? Anyone heard anything about Sprint reception? Thanks!</p>
<p>No, but we started out with T-Mobile and it didn’t work inside the dorm, so we switched to Verizon. (Sorry that doesn’t help you with your Sprint question!)</p>
<p>Another somewhat silly question…During the winter, what is the most versatile footwear? Do students trudge around in boots? Tennis shoes? We live in the South, so my daughter doesn’t even own a pair of winter boots yet. Any suggestions? What is the typical winter footwear?</p>
<p>Uggs seemed to be the most common cold weather footwear for girls, but there seemed to be a variety of footwear in use on a day-to-day basis, particularly when there was no snow on the paths. Traditional snowboots didn’t seem that common, but I’ll bet most kids have some form for romping around in the deeper snow, shoveling the dorm steps, etc. </p>
<p>Of course styles change rapidly and comments from anyone over 30 should be taken with a grain of salt. Perhaps the best thing to do is have your daughter raise the question (probably not specifically with regard to boots but more broadly what cold weather clothing will a southern student need) on one of the Andover social networking groups. I’m sure they’ve probably bonded on Facebook by now.</p>