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What are my chances of getting into Phillips Academy Andover?
Itz_Mkay
9 replies3 threads New Member
I probably don't have good chances because I've moved around a lot and have only stayed at 2 schools for more than a year (I stayed at each for 2 years) so I don't have that many extracurriculars but I don't know.
I'm taking the ISEE in December, the best I've gotten in practice tests so far is the upper 70th percentile. But then again I went from the 50th to the 70th in about a month and a half so... hopefully 70th becomes 90th. My classes are:
Geometry Honors
Spanish 2
IT Fundamentals
English 1 Honors
Advanced Social Studies
Advanced Science
My grades are mostly A+'s some A's and an A-minus (My only A-minus is in Social Studies ). I won student of the year in 7th grade (the teachers added up our end-of-the-year averages and mine was the highest). I went on a Spanish field trip last year where we went to a restaurant had to order food and converse with the waiters in Spanish, I've also done Spanish skits in front of the school to show off the language program to new students. As previously stated I don't have many extracurriculars because I move to a different school every year, and a different state every other year, but my extracurriculars are as follows:
Community Service (Builder's and Beta Club): 1 year
Community Service (outside of clubs): 5 years
NJHS: I went to the induction ceremony and got a member certificate, but I didn't get to attend, as I moved halfway across the US and my new school doesn't have it
Sports: Soccer- 8 years (Rec and club teams)
Guitar: 2 years (I got my first guitar when I was 7 but I never played it)
Math Counts: 1 year
Battle of The Books: 1 year
Choir/ Honors Choir: 5 years (my 6th-grade choir sang at the Kennedy Center)
(You have to audition for honors choir, auditions are open to everyone in the school district)
Coding/ Game Developing: 2 years (I'm currently making a game to send in with my application)
In 3rd grade (or 4th grade I don't remember), I spent recess every day cleaning up the school grounds, and I got a lot of other students and a teacher to join in, so for the rest of the year, we did rotations for cleaning up the school.
My ethnicity is African American, and I will need financial aid. I am also applying to Choate, and a local boarding school with an acceptance rate of 50%.
My reasons for wanting to go to Andover are: I want to go to a school where I can make and keep friends (I've never kept any friends due to always moving), I want to be in a positive community where everyone wants to learn and the teachers challenge us. At every school, I've been to I've never had to study but was always considered the smartest by my peers. I have a college reading level and math level but the teachers usually teach stuff they know I know because other students aren't there yet. Schools that I've attended are also pretty negative, whenever I do get a question wrong I am made fun of for days, resulting in me not participating as much as I'd like, and the school I'm currently attending is very homophobic. I have really short hair and only wear men's clothes and I get asked almost daily if I'm gay or trans (people usually ask me with a disgusted look), when I first cut my hair my favorite teacher walked up to me and said "It's okay, hair grows, you'll be pretty again soon", and once when I walked into the girls restroom a group of kids started yelling "OMG that's a girl?" then started laughing and saying rude things. Anyways, not only is Andover positive, but they offer amazing classes, all of which I really want to join, and I think being able to get involved, and not having to skip out on things because of poor transportation, will be good for me and help me to grow as a person.
Thank you for reading! Even if you didn't read it all because honestly, I wouldn't.
Have an awesome day!
29 replies I'm taking the ISEE in December, the best I've gotten in practice tests so far is the upper 70th percentile. But then again I went from the 50th to the 70th in about a month and a half so... hopefully 70th becomes 90th. My classes are:
Geometry Honors
Spanish 2
IT Fundamentals
English 1 Honors
Advanced Social Studies
Advanced Science
My grades are mostly A+'s some A's and an A-minus (My only A-minus is in Social Studies ). I won student of the year in 7th grade (the teachers added up our end-of-the-year averages and mine was the highest). I went on a Spanish field trip last year where we went to a restaurant had to order food and converse with the waiters in Spanish, I've also done Spanish skits in front of the school to show off the language program to new students. As previously stated I don't have many extracurriculars because I move to a different school every year, and a different state every other year, but my extracurriculars are as follows:
Community Service (Builder's and Beta Club): 1 year
Community Service (outside of clubs): 5 years
NJHS: I went to the induction ceremony and got a member certificate, but I didn't get to attend, as I moved halfway across the US and my new school doesn't have it
Sports: Soccer- 8 years (Rec and club teams)
Guitar: 2 years (I got my first guitar when I was 7 but I never played it)
Math Counts: 1 year
Battle of The Books: 1 year
Choir/ Honors Choir: 5 years (my 6th-grade choir sang at the Kennedy Center)
(You have to audition for honors choir, auditions are open to everyone in the school district)
Coding/ Game Developing: 2 years (I'm currently making a game to send in with my application)
In 3rd grade (or 4th grade I don't remember), I spent recess every day cleaning up the school grounds, and I got a lot of other students and a teacher to join in, so for the rest of the year, we did rotations for cleaning up the school.
My ethnicity is African American, and I will need financial aid. I am also applying to Choate, and a local boarding school with an acceptance rate of 50%.
My reasons for wanting to go to Andover are: I want to go to a school where I can make and keep friends (I've never kept any friends due to always moving), I want to be in a positive community where everyone wants to learn and the teachers challenge us. At every school, I've been to I've never had to study but was always considered the smartest by my peers. I have a college reading level and math level but the teachers usually teach stuff they know I know because other students aren't there yet. Schools that I've attended are also pretty negative, whenever I do get a question wrong I am made fun of for days, resulting in me not participating as much as I'd like, and the school I'm currently attending is very homophobic. I have really short hair and only wear men's clothes and I get asked almost daily if I'm gay or trans (people usually ask me with a disgusted look), when I first cut my hair my favorite teacher walked up to me and said "It's okay, hair grows, you'll be pretty again soon", and once when I walked into the girls restroom a group of kids started yelling "OMG that's a girl?" then started laughing and saying rude things. Anyways, not only is Andover positive, but they offer amazing classes, all of which I really want to join, and I think being able to get involved, and not having to skip out on things because of poor transportation, will be good for me and help me to grow as a person.
Thank you for reading! Even if you didn't read it all because honestly, I wouldn't.
Have an awesome day!
Replies to: What are my chances of getting into Phillips Academy Andover?
I can't really give you any advice, because I myself am an applicant (not to Andover, though, but my top choice is Choate!) If you wanna DM me, feel free. We can like, vent or smth, idk lol,,
Yes you will have to get those scores up. Do you have a solid plan for that?
I would really not worry about your profile or switching schools and such (and I love your answer about why boarding school). But get in there with a plan to bump up that score. You got this!
And ugh for yucky people. We are in your team here!!
When you apply you need to streamline your application a bit. Stories about what you did in third grade are great during an interview to explain how you got interested in some activity but they are not really important for your application.
Focus on activities you did in 6,7,8 grade and plan to continue in BS. Especially focus on any activity that will be “useful” to the school.
Why Andover, again?
All boarding schools have community service/volunteer opportunities.
Several have robust Astronomy programs and observatories.
Most give full (or practically full) rides to families with demonstrated need.
Advanced Japanese instruction might be tougher to find, so if that is an area of passion, it makes sense to focus on schools that offer the language.
I would make a list of schools that offer Japanese and astronomy and apply to all of them. Andover is not at all unique in "how it does things." it is simply the most well known school.
Don't focus only on Andover.
Best of luck! I'm rooting for you!
You have answered the question "why boarding school" very well. Next up is the "why Andover?" piece. You're getting there. The Japanese piece is a good chunk of that answer. Their school motto is another great piece. Keep digging in. And don't be afraid to dig in at other schools too because I'll bet there are a handful of schools that could be great fits for you.
Some thoughts if you are open to them --
First thing -- as someone mentioned, you can get fee waivers, so at least the application costs go down.
Second thing -- check out this conversation on Japanese language at BS if you haven't already.
https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/2007073-any-boarding-schools-with-japanese-language-classes.html
Third -- you are doing the work now of the research of figuring all this out. I'm a 50 year old adult here -- so don't compare your questions and thoughts with those of folks who have been around the world 30 or 40 years longer than you. You have a lot to offer. Trust that, and keep researching and figuring it out. I know a lot of folks here would agree with me in saying we want to see your dreams come true on M10, so keep at it. I'm in your corner.
I DO think your SSAT scores need to come up higher. You will likely have tough time with Andover at 70%.
But that's where I need to chime in and say something -- from the heart! -- that you probably don't want to hear. As CaliMex said, why Andover? I've been around Andover for a long time, and I realize now more than ever that (1) The workload is very intense and grueling. That really appeals to some people! I think the school is a great fit for them
Itz_Mkay, I hope it all works out for you
I also have been looking into what aspects of boarding schools make them a good fit for me. The intense workload of Andover is something that I do like, but I don't feel as if that was one of my original deciding factors. I will continue to look at schools and if I feel that one a great fit for me, I will definitely try my best to persuade my parents to allow me to apply.
Thank you for your post! The "why Andover" question definitely isn't my favorite to hear, but thank you for bringing it up, as it is something I really need to think about.
Do you have any tips on the admissions process, or know of anything I can do to increase my chances of acceptance to the boarding schools I do apply to?
Have a great day!
I hope you expand your list. As I said, I think BS would be a great choice for you but I fear that focusing so narrowly on one or two schools will lead to disappointment. Broaden your list, get fee waivers.
What kind of culture and community are you looking for?