<p>To anybody who has yet to submit their Andover application, this '13er sincerely hopes that you do so before the upcoming February 1st deadline. </p>
<p>Last year Andover had a record high applicant pool and an unprecedented 84% yield rate among admitted students, a rate higher than any other boarding school of its caliber and far higher than Exeter's 69% yield rate. Unlike many of our HADES counterparts, we are offering more financial aid than ever before and are expanding our applicant drawing pool. Statistically, we are pulling away from the pack as THE #1 AMERICAN INDEPENDENT BOARDING SCHOOL.</p>
<p>The academy is going through an extremely exciting transformation period at the moment. We have an innovative and exciting new Head of School and we have a great deal of construction and renovation on campus. </p>
<p>It's the quality of Andover's applicants that have exalted the school, especially in the last few years. I thank anyone who has already sent out an application for their contribution to Andover and encourage anyone who has yet to send out an application, to do so in order to have a chance to become part of the Andover community.</p>
<p>Why is Andover trolling for applications? From what I have read on CC, unless you have 99% SSAT’s and have cured cancer in the last year, why bother?</p>
<p>What was interesting when my D got accepted at PA and PEA was the distinction between the two revisit days. PA pulled out all of the stops-- Bill Belichick talk, an ice cream truck etc. PEA had the director of admission tell the admitted kids that he was happy they came to the revisit day but that there would be nothing particularly special other than being paired with an Exonian and having lunch comp’ed. He said that he knew that Exeter was not for everyone and if the kid felt as if Exeter was a bad fit then please do not matriculate. He is right of course, Exeter in particular is for a particular type of student and I would guess that Mr Gary was fine with 69% so long as those 69% had a great PEA experience-- it meant that 31% figured out that Exeter wasn’t for them and therefore saved themselves and the Academy from discovering that after they started school.</p>
<p>Nice that the PA OP loves her/his school. But it seems a bit insecure to have to place in caps (SHOUT) that PA is number 1. If it is so, then there no need to write anything at all–just let the facts speak for themselves.</p>
<p>No offense at all to you, OP, and I’m sure that Andover is fantastic and appreciates your enthusiasm here on CC, but I just really can’t imagine that they’re hurting for applicants.</p>
<p>The Exeter comparison was uncalled for.
The #1 School in caps is definitely not the representation I would want to see from your school.
And thank you very much, but I think a lot of people are just going to apply to schools that a re a good fit for them, not based on mere numbers. Where is the part about how all the kids are nice, or how it’s a warm and welcoming place? The numbers sound to be honest robotic.</p>
<p>^ PA has a chip on its shoulder re: PEA, methinks–or at least this particular Andie does. Hence the numbers comparison and the capitalization…</p>
<p>I usually agree with GMT7, but we’ll differ on this one.</p>
<p>Andover is a bit more forgiving than Exeter on scores. Doesn’t mean they will take a kid with low scores. They certainly won’t take a student who is already struggling in their current school - or does well on a weak curriculum. But if you can trust three decades of experience - I think Andover is more fair about looking at an entire student’s resume than my own alma mater.</p>
<p>So - if you’re not in the 90’s, Exeter, and possibly St. Paul’s, are not going to be viable options. Everywhere else, the students are treated like people, not bad credit scores.</p>
<p>90% seem to be table stakes at PEA, from what I have gathered over the years. And the Admissions folks are pretty overt about that too. You might get to the table with less, but two questions, what else do you bring? and how will you fare at a school where everyone else, just about, does have those scores? </p>
<p>Exeter has an additional piece of its analysis-- they are looking for kids who will do well around the Harkness table-- the brilliant but introverted boy (my S who went to Eton) would have done miserably and been miserable at Exeter whereas my D who has since graduated, was a Harkness warrior–and I recall being told that she would be so by her interviewer after her part of her PEA interview was over. I think the intangibles (so long as you have table stakes) such as the interview and the school recommendations (looking for the words that suggest success at the table) count for a great deal at PEA–maybe more than at other schools.</p>
<p>AOs are interested in “fit” most of all. You might think that you or your child “fits” but the AOs who know their campus very well, might view it otherwise–and if so-- the best data will be of no use. </p>
<p>Finally–and this is critical–it is at best an educated guess on the AOs’ part. I will never forget my rejection letter from Amherst decades ago. Dean Case wrote that it is a tricky business and they do, not infrequently, get it wrong–he challenged me to show them that they had made a mistake in the years to come. It was a wonderful letter and one that I thought came from the heart. So if you or your child gets the thin envelope think of Dean Case’s letter–it applies here as well.</p>
<p>I hope that the “sorting hat” does its job well and everyone ends up where they will thrive.</p>
<p>Here’s another scenario. Maybe those stats aren’t accurate. Roughly 35000 kids take the ssat per year. 1750 score at 95 or above, only 350 of those at 99%. It is a given that some of those 350 don’t get in at either A or E. I haven’t run the numbers, but for A to have an average that high, ALL of the 99ers would have to both apply and be accepted to A to balance out those they admit below 95. </p>
<p>Somebody please correct me because I really don’t want to think they are fudging the numbers.</p>
<p>It is to be expected to overly emphasize in these fora SSAT results-- they are “hard” and they are not dependent upon what sort of school (as grades would be) or teachers (recommendations) or unknowns (how the interview went)–yet I really think that admission isn’t an algorithm, it is an art. Therefore this over-concentration/concern on/over scores on these boards is misplaced.</p>
<p>@etondad - you are right - those do seem to be the table stakes and that’s not necessarily seen as a positive by many (including staff members). </p>
<p>@neato - you are on to something. Especially since numbers are “self reported”</p>
<p>“So - if you’re not in the 90’s, Exeter, and possibly St. Paul’s, are not going to be viable options. Everywhere else, the students are treated like people, not bad credit scores.”</p>
<p>So untrue. I know a friend who had a 83% SSAT and got in. She is Asian, and DEFINITELY not a recruited athlete.</p>
<p>Let me correct myself. I went to PAs website where they have “Fun Facts” on the 235th class.
442 were admitted. The MEDIAN, not mean, score was 94. Big difference. That means that they could have admitted 220 kids with a 20%, 222 with 94%.</p>
<p>Also, an average of 44,264 in grades 8, 9 and 10 take the ssat per year.</p>
<p>Where are we getting average from?</p>
<p>It doesn’t really matter anyway. Getting a 94+ doesn’t really help you. It just gives the adcom one less thing to think about. “Check, moving on…”</p>
<p>I didn’t mean to be a rabble rouser! </p>
<p>Still, there’s something about the way these schools both tout the scores and downplay them at the same time that rubs me the wrong way.</p>
<p>Students don’t fall in love with a school because of ice cream trucks or pro football coaches. They connect to the totality of the school. This connection is a good thing – one the CC community encourages children to make. So please, let’s ease up on Benevolent4Them. There is nothing wrong with a student exuberantly supporting his or her school. And why wouldn’t Benevolent4Them want others to share the great experiences s/he has had at her prep school with others? </p>
<p>All prep schools market themselves. But none market effectively unless they also have a good product. Some emphasize their cache – the elitist appeal that they are not for everyone. Others welcome all admitted students. I, for one, prefer the latter approach because children learn and thrive in different ways. Some students hardly speak in class. Others actively participate in classroom discussions. In my view, the thoughtful introvert should be as important to an intellectual community as the articulate extrovert.</p>
<p>There is a difference between going to a number 1 prep school and attending a school that fits you best. The latter depends on individual preference; the former arises from general consensus, etc. A few prep schools can legitimately claim to be number 1. Andover is one of them. Please, let’s cut Benevolent4Them some slack.</p>