Phillips Academy Andover

Prep School Admissions
1

Hi everyone!!!
I am a boy entering in the class 2029 in the fall and I just have some questions:
Thank you all so much!!

  • Is it socially acceptable to study in silent? What are some secret and or cool study places around campus?

  • Is it possible to get a single as a 9th grader? I know this is incredibly hard to get but what about a 3 room double? Will I have a higher chance of getting a 3 room double as a ninth grader as I get older? Is there a dorm you recommend? I heard “rockwell” has a lot of singles which sounds appealing but is it nice? What about the people/culture in the dorm?

  • Where do freshmen sit in the dining hall? I know of some sort of social dynamic.

  • I am a boy and is it weird if I decorate my dorm? The dorms look bland in some of the pictures of boys decorated dorms I have seen.

  • I play tennis which I am beginner/intermediate at but am hoping to move up to the varsity team eventually and was wondering how much time there would be to play outside of the season? Is there enough time to play during breaks or after school. What about in the athletic center in the winter indoor tennis courts? Will it be unlocked during the school day?Are there instructional sports like tennis in the fall that I could take just to practice even though I already have some experience.

  • How much access does your keycard give you? Can you enter buildings whenever you want? Athletic buildings?

  • Is there anything in particular that I must buy? It can be for dorm, school supplies. I haven’t received a packing list but I was just wondering if I do receive a list if there is stuff that you recommend that won’t be on it.

  • What is the policy on AI? Do teachers care?

  • Will I take placement tests for the school to pick classes for me? If so, when will I take it?

  • When I arrive on campus in September, what will my schedule be for the first couple days until I am totally independent.

  • I am from Sacramento California and want to experience Boston since I have never been there before. Do you ever get to go into it? Can you take the train to Boston by yourself for the day on weekends? Is that a weird thing to do?

  • Does anyone use a bike to ride around campus?

  • Where do popular people hang out on campus?

  • I am black and was wondering if there are any clubs/affinity groups I can join? What is the culture there?

  • Is there enough time to walk downtown for lunch on a school day? What if I wanted to get coffee in the morning?

  • What is the policy on doordash?

  • Is there one tryout or is there a separate varsity tryout and a separate jv tryout where you get placed?

2

Can’t answer all of these but will take a swing at a few:

  • Yes you can study in silence. There is a silent room in the Library for just this purpose.
  • Yes there are singles for Juniors as well as three room doubles. Rockwell has traditionally been a Junior dorm. None of the dorms are particularly nice, nor particularly bad. Think: cinderblock.
  • Not at all weird to decorate your room. Expected. It’s your room.
  • I believe there was a separate thread for supplies. Do a search.
  • I believe you will take a math placement test and perhaps a language if you want to start above the traditional Junior level course.
  • Exploring Boston is common and encouraged; just make sure you have the time. There used to be a bus that picked you up from school by the Chapel, but don’t know if there still is.
  • Several Black affinity groups. There is Af-Lat-Am as well as a BSU. I’m told there is now an affinity group for both African and Caribbean students as well. The culture is The Culture.
  • Going downtown to get a coffee could work if you’re in the right dorm (West of the Chapel), but not particularly practical except on weekends.
  • Doordash is common
    Not sure about the other stuff, so hoping someone else can help.
    Good luck!
3

This is (unfortunately) coming from a mom’s perspective, so feel free to ignore since we tend not to know much.

My son mostly reports studying in his room, but there are times where he’s working in a group for something for class. In those cases, he typically is going to the library or the music building to meet up. He, too prefers quiet hours for studying and hasn’t mentioned feeling like that is a challenge to arrange.

It sounds like it is more usual than not to have a single as a 9th grader. My son is in a three room triple, but he thinks that’s more of an outlier than having a true single. Most of his friends are in Rockwall, and they seem nice and happy with their dorm.

Not weird! Lots of people (including boys!) decorate their dorm rooms. Just be aware that at the end of the year you have to pack everything up for storage/shipping by yourself in the middle of finals week. It can be a challenge if you have really moved in and nested.

Lots of access to the places you need to be. Just be sure to keep it on you and not lose it as many times as my son has this first year at Andover. :upside_down_face:

The Andover honor code about academic honesty has pretty strong language about not using AI (in addition to not discussing assignments with pretty much anyone before they are turned in). My son seems to think that the school takes this extremely seriously. YMMV

The placement tests will come around the same time as a lot of other information (like how to set up your new email account) does. You’ll also need to submit a picture for your ID card/internal face book. I think those emails started coming in early May. Don’t worry about the tests – they’re low-stress events and just determining placement for things that you kind of already know: math, foreign language (unless you’re starting a new language), art and music. Also, if something is actually wrong with your placement, you’ll be able to fix it once you’re on campus during the Add/Drop period while working with your advisor. Seriously, don’t stress about them.

You move in, and then you start right off the bat in your new schedule. But don’t worry: everyone else is also starting something new, so even though you don’t know what you are doing yet, you will figure it out pretty quickly and with lots of help from the people around you.

We’re also from across the country, and Boston was pretty exciting and new to our kid, too. A lot of your access to the city is controlled by the permissions your parents set in your student profile. So, if they are OK with you going into the city, you can. I will say, though: you won’t do as much as you think you will because you’ll be pretty busy with classes/sports/homework/making new friends/sleeping, at least at first. Go ahead and set up an Uber/Uber Teen account. That’s how all the boarding students seem to manage getting on/off campus, at least in my kid’s dorm.

There are affinity groups that limit membership to members of the group, as well as clubs, which may touch on demographic groups, but welcome all students for membership. Go to the first group and club fair (held really close to the first day of school) and get a taste there. Some affinity groups and clubs have instagram accounts. Reaching out to them over the summer may help ease anxieties about there not being a friendly face around for you to find.

Lunch is a very, very quick period of time in your day. I doubt that you’ll be regularly eating lunch off campus. HOWEVER

There are virtually no rules about Doordash. It is out of control how often ONE PARTICULAR STUDENT IN THE CLASS OF 2028 is Dashing dinners.

You’re doing fine and asking the right questions. Don’t worry about the fall right now. It may not feel like it, but you are almost certainly ready. Just keep doing school at your current place, soak up all the family time you get between now and the end of summer, and you’ll be in good shape to hit the ground running in Massachusetts after Labor Day. For real.

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4

Thank you so much everybody for answering!! If anyone else has any other information to share I would greatly appreciate it!!

5

Congrats! It’s an amazing place and a great experience

6

I’m a current student, and I’ll try to answer each question. To preface, I just completed my sophomore year, and I’m an athlete.

  1. I’ll rank my study spots and provide pointers: An underrated spot is any of the athletic buildings (most likely Pan or Snyder have areas where you can do work, which are mostly empty; however, this does change seasonally, as Snyder gets packed during squash and track season. Dorm room (great for studying into the night). I find that having one place where you go and there isn’t a ton of hubbub, and all you do is work, can be very beneficial. Thus, studying in the library is hard because I also socialize there. Finally, Silent (an area in the library). I study in silence during the day due to its proximity to the academic buildings on campusIt’sss normally pretty packed, though, and I mainly hit it up during the day, not post classes.

  2. It’s possible. I can’t recall if you can put down your preferences, but I wouldn’t be worried. Everyone has positive experiences. I had a three-room double, which was fun. Honestly, I think having a roommate is great. Staying up late to rip FIFA, hop on Omegle, or whatever, is all great fun.

  3. Fresh and Soph (referred to as juniors and lowers) sit in the upper right/upper left.

  4. My day as an athlete consists roughly of these main things: 545 wake up, brush teeth, grab school bag, go to the locker room. Get stuff from lockers, practice until 745, back to lockers, switch sport bag for school bag, hit up breakfast, then first period around 830, squeeze a shower in if needed (would definitely recommend a bike/scooter). First period 830-950, hit up the den with my friends, buy a snack, then go to play more sports. Sport till 12 (bout 2 hours), then grab lunch, big time to socialize, then go to class, 1245-210, after class go and practice more until intermural sport, ie. squash (this is a fall ex. so out of season), squash from 330-5, first 30 minutes do squash, then leave and study until 6. at 6 grab a quick 20 minute dinner then go lift, lifting until 8. at 8 evaluate your work. Go to the dorm and do homework, then try to go to sleep by 930 so you can wake up at 6 again.

Variations of this where you have a rest day, less work, more work, etc. exist, even days with a captains or off campus club practice, but realistically you can get in your 3-4h of work, and 3-4h of sports every day, while maintaining sanity and a bit of a social life. (I find that sometimes pushing studying to the weekends frees time to explore the tunnels under campus and see friends on the lawn.

  1. Blue card lets you into your dorm and all buildings during the day, but not other dorms, just commons, athletic buildings, and academic buildings. Afterr 8, there’s mandated study hours (it’s easy to lie about yourlocationn don’t worry), that’s when buildings close down. This includes all athletic buildings (you can sneak/break into all of them though), and some academic buildings. Being in specific classes, like an art class, opens up some buildings like the pottery studio after hours,that’ss about it.

  2. off the top of my head, scooter/bike, get the laundry service, big trash can, a fan that fits in your dorm window, computer and ipad if possible, if your a serious athlete get a meal plan that gets delivered to your door at the start of the week, sometimes commons sucks and doordash expensive asf. Not much else. I didn’t wear my winter boots the whole time,look don’tt need those because all the walks get shovled. That’s about it, other than amenities like a playstation/mini fridge/tv (u gotta hide those though they search ur room if theyr sus and you can’t actually have appliances in your room)

7)Use AIi for everything except for the actual writing. Brainstorming, learning math, creating a bibliography, etc., butit’ss like 2 strikes if u use it for an essay,ay so not worth it.

  1. I remember getting tests. I thoughtIi got them by this time of summer, but if ur a 9th grader, idk becuzIi was a 10th grader coming in, I had a Spanish and math one. English is a blanket class until senior year.

  2. I think I remember not knowing my schedule until the night before classes. You do a bunch of stuff moving around in a group with people ur own age, but new students get there early. Most returners get there right before class gets in session.

  3. Lowk, you have to do hella stuff with this thing called reach, requesting leaves, and stuff.That’ss mainly for timeyou’reur going to be accounted for, though, so for example, sign in at 1130 on a Saturday, you can put in a request to stay at a ffriend’shouse and stuff. Another example is off-campus practice during sports; you need approval. Going to Boston is calm. ex. on the weekend, as long as you’re back by sign in and you don’t get arrested, they won’t know if you leave. Also on week days, sometimesIi get driven to malls with my friends, but if you have a car permission that’s chill too, and if u don’t just be discreet.

  4. Yes, lifesaver

  5. They also have trips to malls on Sundays, but they leave at like ,9 and im never awake

  6. on the lawn playing spikeball, or just anywhere with their friends den is calm, Lib is calm, but once you have a friend group,anythingg works. I’ve hung out inathleticc buildings gambling, and I’ve played hide and seek in academic buildings, it’s all whatever, you’re not gonna be clowned for doing stuff.

  7. not black but there is that stuff

15)Yea, .as a freshman, you take 6 classes, which means 3 a day with one free period a day. ifIfhat free period is around your lunch, you def have time. I always go downtown after all school meetings becuase you have hella time. idk about coffee in the morning, that definitely doesn’t work for me, but if you get up early enough, I guess. They have coffee and lattes in the dining hall in the lower left.

  1. Doordash is chill. Most of the time, they tell you to make sure it’s delivered by final sign in, but you can always sneak out to grab it (justdon’tt sneak out through a fire exit like my boy… twasn’t very sneaky.

  2. variess sport to sport. It’s important to realize that there are epeoplewho come to Phillips Academy to play sports. Our hockey team is the best in the nation. If you weren’t recruited by the coach, you will never make the hockey team. You need to be nhl prospect good. on the other hand, you could walk on to a random sport and make varisty first season if its more chill like nordic skiing. other sports are more on the line. field hockey for ex will have captains practices where the coaches can observe you. youll know what team your on by the season if u dk those.

lmk if u got any other questions, i had a lot of good and some bad expierences and im always down to talk,good luck.

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