Ask an Andover Upper Questions

SergeantFriday
Sun, 28 Jul 2013 12:19:31 +0000

Outoftheweather,

Check with your academic advisor when school starts, but I think you can also fulfill your foreign language requirement by taking two years of one language and one year of another “not commonly taught” language such as Russian or Arabic.

Thus, for example, you could take French in ninth and tenth grade and then continue with two years of Russian or Arabic in eleventh and twelfth grade. Depending on your placement, this approach may prevent you from taking an AP language course.

If I had it to do over again,I would have taken Russian. Every student of Russian at Andover I know is very happy they chose to study that language.

Synchro,

I wouldn’t be surprised if tenth grade is harder to get into than ninth grade because Andover accepts more ninth graders than tenth graders. But I can’t say for sure because I don’t know how many Andover applicants apply to ninth and tenth grade respectively. You might ask your interviewer about this.

You can, if you wish, repeat ninth grade. Keep in mind, however, that admission to Andover is tough for everyone regardless of what grade to which they apply.

It’s hard to predict what makes a successful candidate. Outstanding grades, SSAT scores, recommendations, essays, extracurricular activities, etc. may get you in the admission race. But many applicants don’t cross the finish line unless their applications also reveal a distinguishing talent, extracurricular passion, background, etc that will meaningfully contribute to the Andover community.

Good luck!