<p>Currently, please. If so, say your school's name and what you like about it, don't like, whether you advise students to come, etc.</p>
<p>Describe your classes, schedule, and friends.</p>
<p>Wow.... that's just a little general. :) Can you ask more specific questions? Are you looking at certain schools in particular?</p>
<p>I'm looking at Choate and Andover - so mainly comments on those.</p>
<p>I'm a student at Miss Porters, but I have friends at Choate if that helps. :)</p>
<p>Ooh, good. What do your friends say about Choate?</p>
<p>And do you like Miss Porter's? My friend is applying next year and is about, sixth generation I think.</p>
<p>That's pretty general, but I go to Andover, so I'll try and answer some of those questions. I love the kids and teachers at Andover. There is a passion for learning from both sides. The campus is beautiful and the town isn't bad. The kids are so diverse that it's hard to imagine that your at a high school. I especially love the amount of course offerings and clubs. They have definitely broadened my horizons.
I don't have any major complaints about Andover, but the thing you'll hear at most schools is the problem with communication between the administration and the students. I also get stressed, but that's just my personality.
I would advise students to attend Andover. It has been the most amazing experience and I've learned so much that only a boarding school can teach.</p>
<p>Describing classes, schedule, and friends is very general, but I'll give you a little bit about each. If you want more, just ask more specific questions.
My classes are all amazing. I'm currently taking physics, Spanish 420, U.S. history, English, and trig. My schedule is nice. I only have all my classes on Monday and Friday and I get off at 1:00 everyday (not counting sports). I have grown very close to kids from all of the world. Being in a dorm is very nice because I have become good friends with people that I normally wouldn't have talked to at my old schools.
Wow, that's enough for now. I'd be happy to answer any more of your questions though.</p>
<p>Could you explain the grading system at Andover?</p>
<p>What is the roommate system like? The housing system. Could you expand on that, sugerkim? Thank you.</p>
<p>Andover 05 grad here. The system runs on a 1-6 scale, with 6 being the best. The breakdowns are similar to many schools (92 and up is a 6 except in science, 84-92 is a 5, etc.). Under normal school grading systems then, a "4" would be either a B- or C+, but since the students are smart, the median tends to settle at a 4, which would equal a good, solid B+ at any other school. There is no ranking system, so you don't have to worry about that for college. 4's are usually easy to get, but in the opinion of most teachers, the gap between a 4 and a 5 is much smaller than a 5 and a 6.</p>
<p>Also, residences are arranged by "clusters," which basically means groups of dorms that are in the same area on campus. Often, you will be involved in your cluster in other ways too (there are cluster intramural teams, cluster food events called "munches," and if you get in trouble you meet with your cluster dean). Dorms are single-sex and your first year, you fill out a questionaire so they can match you up with an appropriate roommate. It's pretty complicated but all you have to know is that after your first year, you can basically "pull" other people into your dorm, be pulled into other dorms, or move around if you've been elected to Proctor or Prefect positions on campus.</p>
<p>In addition to what RaspberrySmoothie said, the grading system is also up to the teachers. Some say that a 90 is a 6, and since many teachers do not collect homework effort can sway your grade upwards. Some teachers also have a curve in a particularly difficult class.
In regards to dorming, many kids have singles their first year. For the next 3 years, you can choose who your roommate is or try for a single (they are not as common in upper classmen dorms depending on the dorm). The rooms generally vary. What dorm you wind up in is pretty complicated, but it makes sense once you get to that point.</p>
<p>Thanks, sugerkim.</p>
<p>Do you and your roommate live in the same room? I heard there's a separating room between them.</p>
<p>So you basically stay in the same cluster your four years there - like the twelve colleges at Yale?</p>
<p>I have a three room double, which means that we each have a small bedroom that is attached to a bigger room that has our desks and furniture. There are also one room doubles and two room doubles. In a two room only one person has a small room.<br>
You can change clusters. A lot of people do to get into a different dorm or a better location on campus. One cluster, Flagstaff, has no freshmen, so people have to move into it.</p>
<p>My friends LOVE Choate...hard work, but really fun.
And I love Miss Porter's :)</p>
<p>If this hasn't been touched on before...9th graders are all in separate housing and have to move dorms for 10th grade so there is always fair amount of cluster movement. I can't quite say clusters are as close as the Residential College at Yale (although I'm no Yalie so I wouldn't know necessarily) but it does provide that "community-within-a-community" deal.</p>
<p>I'm a Choate student '08. I'll try and help out if you have any questions.</p>
<p>Is Choate amazing? I want to apply so badly but I'm not allowed.</p>
<p>I love it at Choate. In most cases, the community is great, classes are pretty interesting.</p>
<p>The only real negative I can find is that going to an elite private school can make it harder to get into college. Courses are extremely difficult, and plenty of times Ivy League schools would rather take the 4.0 from a public school than a 3.2 from an elite prep school.</p>
<p>That's true of all elite schools though.</p>
<p>are you serious?
that is a big negative. I have a 4.1 right now (public school)
but I still think boarding school is a better alternative for me.</p>