I thought the same thing at first. But after a couple months of dealing with dryers that don’t actually dry, I bit the bullet and signed up. Thanks grandma for the money. 
Thanks to everyone answering the questions 
Just came up with a lot more lol
- Do a lot of people ride bikes/skateboards around school?
- Do a lot of Uppers take the history requirement in their senior year to make time for another course instead? And usually what kind of course do people take instead? I haven't taken history for the past 3 years and while I'm really excited about getting back into it, I'm wayyyy more of a science person and if putting off history for another year means I can take an extra science class I'm definitely willing to do so.
- Do people go into the Andover town on weekdays often?
- Has anyone heard good things about the skating instructional? I'm not really a sporty person myself, and while I do want to play a team sport somewhere in the future, I want to take something I'm really interested in + am sure will have fun in at least for the first term.
- In your opinion what is the best place to study or do homework? Especially with a few friends.
- Do any teachers have cute dogs/cats and do you get to see them around campus (!!)
- I know that there seem to be dances almost every weekend, but do people actually go to most of them? What are some of the major dances that everyone goes to? How are they like?
- If I'm not wrong there''s a compulsory work program, how's that like and what are some of the best jobs?
Thanks again everyone!
- Not way too many, but there are certainly some. Scooters tend to be more popular.
- If I was to give advice, I would say take History 300 during upper year, and not senior year. It will tend to be nicer on your schedule. Also, if you do this, you can save the cool science electives for senior year, which is more fun.
- People are always going down the hill to go to town. Mostly, its just to stop at CVS or Starbucks, or get food.
- Never taken it, but most of the instructional programs tend to be pretty good.
- A lot of people work in the library so they can be with friends. One thing i've figured out though is that when we call it "working with friends" it's really "do a bit of work, then talk about random stuff" Some people like to work in their dorms, but there are also a lot of great hidden away work spaces.
- One of the cluster deans has what is perhaps the greatest golden retriever in history. But overall, not too many dogs/cats on campus. They sometimes bring in therapy dogs during finals week.
- Depends on the dance. There are some associated with certain cultural weeks (i.e. Latin Arts week, Indopak week) where too many people don't go. There is generally on big one per term. Don't worry, you won't miss it, because most people go to these big dances. They are what you make of them, and what state of mind you go in with(i.e. mischievous activities you most certainly should not commit :))
- It is called Work Duty, and frankly its a very very small time commitment of 45 mins per week. As far a jobs go just don't ever pick Mailroom, because it is the worst. You do nothing but carry a big bucket of mail up to the faculty mail boxes and sort it. Some of the cool ones are working in the Addison Gallery or Peabody museum.
@MABlue - “therapy dogs during finals week…!” Yikes. Test taking is a PTSD event. 
I like the therapy dog idea, as a dog lover and as a proponent of tough testing, which I see a difference in measuring rigor of different schools. What I am not for is “artificial manipulation” of grading, which seems a problem in rigorous schools. They either do too many curves so everyone feels better or apply a quota in grades distribution so there can only be a certain number of As from a class, which adds unnvessary stress.
@MABlue thanks again for all the info. Can you share more about the dances (the ones that most kids go to)? How do kids dress? What kind of dancing? I’ve been reading about “grinding” at prep school dances and wondered if that’s pretty much the norm everywhere incl. PA?
Unless things have recently changed, grinding was banned at Andover a couple of years ago. As far as dress, it’s individual choice within the boundaries of good taste. Inappropriate dress will get you turned away.
@skieurope thanks! good to know, and a relief for mom
To be honest, it may be technically banned by the school, just like alcohol/drugs are technically banned. Doesn’t mean people won’t do it. But hey, the world isn’t all peachy, so there will always be those types. As long as an individual student knows what they want, they should not feel the pressure. At Andover, I have always been impressed by the fact there is not much of a peer pressure culture when it comes to breaking the rules.
@MABlue thanks too for this: “At Andover, I have always been impressed by the fact there is not much of a peer pressure culture when it comes to breaking the rules.”
Hi! My friend are I (Girl No. 1 and Girl No. 2) just saw this feed and we’re both ending our freshman year here at Andover. We’re also both boarders from the West Coast, we don’t know if you are too, but if any of you are feel free to ask more questions about the transition.
Dorms:
There are 4 freshmen girl dorms:
- Nathan Hale (around 40 girls) the biggest of the girls dorms (Pine Knoll Cluster) there are singles (which are only one person rooms) one room doubles (two girls in one room) and three room doubles (seperate rooms and a shared common room for two girls, by far the nicest arrangment in terms of dorms, but there are only a couple and they're only in Hale or other large girl dorms (Girl No. 1 lives in this one with a Three Room Double, very very very very nice)
- Double Brick (around 18 girls) the second biggest girls dorm (Abbot Cluster) only doubles in this dorm (hence the name!) it's the farthest girls freshmen dorm, but has THE NICEST ROOMS (Girl No. 2 lives here, some advice from her, it gets a bit lonely in terms of being in a slightly smaller dorm, especially freshmen year.
I think that Hale is a better choice if you’re more comfortable with living with a large amount of other girls. The only downside with living in Hale (from Girl No. 2) is that there’s a lot of drama during the year, which is inevitable, but Hale does have the most reputation of having the most fun.
- Isham Dorm (around 11-15 girls) third largest freshmen girls dorm (West Quad South (?) or North (we don't really know how to differentiate the two clusters, they're honestly the same, sorry) mix of singles and doubles, you either get a HUGE room that SUPER NICE, or you get a mouse hole literally the size of the walk-in closet. really really pretty dorm SUPER clean, used to be connected to Isham Health Center (we now have Sykes Wellness Center), but it's being renovated to be connected to a new upperclassmen girls dorm (called West)
There’s also one small girls dorm, but this changes year to year depending on the yield rate. This year it was Smith House, which was 10 girls, but next year it might to Eaton Cottage, which is near Isham. We’re not sure though.
Social Culture:
There is a hookup culture. For sure. Be prepared to know what you want and don’t ever feel like you have to participate, even if you are pressured to, because you will be at one point in your years here. Also, don’t feel bad if you don’t hookup with anyone, not everyone does and not everyone wants to. If you want statistics, you should visit The State of The Academy (http://sota.phillipian.net/) which should answer some of your questions regarding drinking, drugs, hookups, wellness, academics, race, socioeconomics, and more.
Not everyone is necessarily happy here, a lot of people struggle at this school and it isn’t meant for everyone. But, you’ll meet some amazing people and you’ll learn a lot about yourself and become so much more independent. There are always people here that can help. Get close with your House Counselors (this is much easier if you’re in a smaller dorm) and your prefects, who are the upperclassmen that live with you.
There will be many days and nights where you want to leave and you feel overwhelmed, that’s normal. We’re all still growing, and not all of us are used to being so independent, that some of us feel that we are alone instead. There’s a difference between being alone and being lonely. But it will blow over one day, and you will like there is no other place in this world you would you want to be. Andover is home.
Just putting this out there, mental Illness does exist here, and if you are someone who has experienced this or will in the future, you are not alone. Although that sounds very cliché, it is true, there are so many people that care and can help, it’s just only a matter of who you open up to and trust, along with being okay with trying to help yourself. To the parents who are now worried after reading this, don’t be too much. A lot of students here will have experience with this, and it’s just a part of attending a really rigorous school filled with a lot of Type A people, prone to anxiety. We were all extremely smart and well-liked at our old schools, and putting all of these kids together can really affect some people. However, I can guarantee, each and every student will find at least one person who they can completely trust and will help get through this, whether they be a peer or faculty member. There are resources here and you should not be afraid to utilize them. If you look at the State of the Academy, more than a third of this school has seen a counselor at Sykes, which just shows even more that there is a great support system here that students know and realize can be helpful.
It’s hard to date here, and not everyone wants to. It is a lot different from public school, at least from both our public high schools. At our old schools, either you we’re committed to a person in a relationship, or you were just friends. There are many flings here, and not every thing is lasting. This doesn’t mean that no one does date, in fact, if you are in a committed long term relationship, it is respected very much by the students.
It’s just feels a bit difficult for some people to be in a relationship with someone that they’ve established such a close relationship with as peers.
DISCLAIMER TO PARENTS: If your child does not call you all the time, it doesn’t mean that they don’t love you, we both love our parents very much. It’s just very hard to keep up with everything here and back home.
Advice:
Participate! Participate! Participate!
One of our regrets this year is not being involved in some things that we care much about.
There are so many opportunities here, and Andover is evolving to try to become more inclusive and progressive, but this can only be achieved if students participate and empower this movement.
Join clubs, go to forums, go to talks by notable alumni, go to brainstorming sessions with the library and the admissions center.
Don’t be afraid to try new things, or to become really involved with something you’re passionate about. Don’t be ashamed, and don’t feel like you’re missing out with friends or social events if you’re participating with things like this. In the long run, this will help you so much more, what you love doesn’t change, friend groups do.
Speaking of friend groups, YOU WILL FIND PEOPLE.
You will learn to love people here, and also be a bit more cautious, but that’s okay, we think that Andover has helped both of us to learn who we are as people, and our full potential as students.
Orientation is a wonderful time, take FULL ADVANTAGE of it. No one knows each other very well, and use the time to establish who you are and meet people. A lot of people are filtering themselves, and try not to do that so much. Of course, you want people to like you, but have people meet who you really are initially.
Friend groups change, they always do. Although this is Andover, it still is high school.
But have fun, don’t worry about getting all 6’s during Freshmen Fall, work hard, but don’t give up the opportunity to meet new people and experience a time where everyone is eager to know other people. Bottom line, while here, work (extremely) hard but play harder when the time comes. Make new friends from a ton of different backgrounds and make the most of your time in class with your AMAZING teachers. Buckle down on your studying when you need to (because you will, PLEASE develop, or start to, good study habits before you come) but when you don’t need to, let loose and just be crazy and grateful with your friends.
HAVE FUN HERE!
Andover is truly what you make of it.
Get PSYCHED for the hardest, worst, best, emotional, crazy, unreal, one of kind, four years of your life.
Hope that you’re grateful for this post, it better have helped because this took tears and an hour to write.
1 Like
Thank you so much! Definitely SO helpful!!! Would you mind writing some stuff on classes/sports?
@acoolperson Sure! Classes are pretty small… I think the average is around 12 per class which is SUPER nice coming from a massive public school. The teachers are great. As a freshman, you will probably have at least one teaching fellow (someone straight out of college, probably their first year ever teaching) and they are also usually great. However, be wary of the fact that there are HUGE grading disparities. This is worse for the humanities but it still happens in the sciences and maths a ton. We are on a 6 point grading scale (usually something like:
94-100 = 6 (honors)
86-93 = 5 (honors)
79-85 = 4
70- 78 = 3)
There are some teachers that literally have never given 6’s or have only ever given them to people who end up winning ridiculously prestigious awards in that area and there are some that give 6’s to half the class. Truly, your grade doesn’t really reflect your genuine standing though that is what you get compared with anyway. All I can say is try your best and teachers will always look at your effort and participation more than how good you actually are at the subject. All the teachers are also super understanding, care about their students’ well-being, and want to get to know their students really well. Don’t be afraid to make friends with them and take full advantage of the fact that some of them may even live with you in the dorms.
Sports are required all three terms (unless you are taking PE or sliding one term upper/senior year). There are sports that require a ton of time, like crew, and some that are really low key, like yoga. Varsity tryouts happen at the beginning of each season and for most sports there will be two JV levels with one Varsity level. However, depending on how many people play and their skill level, this can vary. Some of our teams are extremely good and are known to be the best in New England. Quite a few of our varsity sports teams actually won New England Championships this year. Andover also recruits for sports so we have some extremely talented athletes here who end up being recruited to play Division 1 sports in top universities. Don’t be afraid to try new things sports wise here. The athletic program has such a diverse range of options and levels that you won’t be able to find anywhere else. We have activities like Outdoor Pursuits to Spinning to Fencing to Dance to Music Basics. Even if you don’t consider yourself a huge jock, there are so many opportunities for you to get involved with the athletic department and at least for me, my sports coaches have become the closest faculty members to me.
@bluegrl To your point about participating in many activities, I have to say this is one of my biggest regrets. Sitting here a week from graduation, I am very thankful for all that I experienced, but also regret not doing more because I sometimes got too consumed in the work-sports-sleep-repeat schedule. To any incoming students and current underclassmen viewing this thread, make sure to not let the experience slip by. Even on the tough days, don’t try to make them go by too quickly. The most valuable thing I learned at Andover was how to deal with failure. Don’t be scared of it, and go out on a limb and try something totally foreign.
I’m definitely thinking about trying crew in the spring(I’ve never done it before). About how much time does it really take up?
Pretty much every minute of your free time, and then some.
Also, how is the food? Do people go into town often? How much money would one need to bring for CVS/food purposes?
Totally agree with @MABlue
@acoolperson There are sooooooooo many students involved with crew here. They will all be in the same position as you so the time commitment is definitely doable and because of all this time together, crew members are known to be sort of a “cult” on campus. If you do crew, you will spend around 3 hours outside of school everyday at the boathouse. Most days you will leave immediately after school ends to catch the crew bus and will come back at around 6 to eat dinner. There is both fall and spring crew. Fall is instructional and spring is competitive. Some years a couple of our varsity boats have even been invited to race in the Henley Regatta in England, which is huge. I know a bunch of my friends are in crew and absolutely love it and wouldn’t do anything else, so if it’s something you’re interested in, go for it.
The food is amazing, not going to lie. Paresky Commons (Dining Hall) staff are so good about making really good food and some days will even have special meals where it’s a barbecue outside, or have milkshakes and ice cream cookie sandwiches at dinner. There is frozen yogurt available everyday at lunch and dessert at dinner. If you are vegetarian or vegan, Commons does try to accommodate to that as best they can and there are options everyday for people with special dietary needs. All of my revisits absolutely loved the food here, so we are really set in that department.
People do go into town often. Some may say it’s too far, but honestly, a good number of dorms are closer to Dunkin Donuts than to Commons. Just putting a warning out there though, one thing you will come to get used to as an Andover student is being yelled at downtown by Andover High School kids. If you interviewed on campus, you will probably remember a giant, glittering, silver statue that looks vaguely like male genitalia. Because of that, Andover High School kids like to yell and make fun of us for that, but honestly, it’s hilarious and not a big deal. For CVS/food purposes, I say bring around ~$200 for these expenses. Just a tip, don’t use PA Campus Funds on your BlueCard (your Student ID/Andover debit card), only put money into the BlueBucks Fund (you will know what I am talking about later on when the school sends you this info). However, I would recommend getting a Bank of America debit or credit card, too. We have a BoA ATM on campus which makes those transactions super convenient. You will need extra cash or a card on you if you decide to go to Boston for the day, or eat at a nice restaurant downtown.
-Is it required to do the instructional? I already signed up to do field hockey in the fall and I haven’t had experience with crew…
-I was looking at the State of the Academy and one of the questions was “which facet of identity do you feel is least discussed at Andover?” Answers followed with ability, socioeconomic status, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc. Do people want to know these things about each other? Does it affect the way that they’re viewed?
I don’t believe it is mandatory to do instructional, as there are many crew athletes who play other fall sports. Just make sure you attend winter crew indoor workouts. Also, the only other advantage to taking instructional is that it would give you the boost of knowing how to actually row out on the water.
I guess that in some ways, people want to know these different aspects about identity that each student posses. The second question there is a bit more difficult, as I have seen both sides of the spectrum over the last 4 years. There are certainly people/groups of people who see themselves as being discriminated against for their orientation, race, or political views. Honestly, I feel that some people take it too far, and act as if they are direct victims of absolutely devastating prejudice, often on the basis of minority status or gender, however my personal view is that many of these people take it too far. I am a racial minority, and identify with none of these groups. I have not once, and I repeat NOT ONCE, felt that people here have viewed me differently because of my “identity” I do not deny that there may have been a couple of isolated incidents(nothing major though), yet some aspects of SOTA tend to be seen more clearly when you are actually here. In fact I think our campus is one of the most accepting places you could possibly find. Honestly, the only one of these aspects that I do not think is discussed all that much is ability/disability(or whatever else may be the politically correct term)