I’m an eight grader and I’m very interested in going to Phillips Academy Andover. The thing is, I took algebra 1 in 7th grade, and for one of the semesters, my grade was a B. Otherwise, I have all A’s. I have moved to two different schools in two different school districts because of my parents’ jobs. Will this affect my chances for Phillips Andover? I know this info isn’t sufficient, but still…
No.
But I’ll give you a hint about how not to impact your chances. When interviewing or otherwise interacting with people from Andover, refer to the school as Andover or Phillips Academy - not Phillips Andover.
No impact assuming your SSAT math score reflects it was just a bump along the way.
And as you’ll see repeatedly in these threads, (not that you are asking this) unless you live near Andover and only plan to be a day student, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. If you are based in NE, tour and interview other schools too, even if Andover is #1 in your mind. For example, St Paul’s has a totally different campus experience and residential life vs Andover that you wouldn’t realize from online info.
May I ask why you are focused on just one school?
What are you looking for in a high school experience?
@skieurope @PrepDad2018 @CaliMex Thanks for responding! I never thought that you would respond so soon. I have seen some of your guys’s comments in other threads and they were amazing, too. @skieurope Thanks for the tip on saying Phillips Andover. @PrepDad2018 I don’t live anywhere near Andover (I live in CA, though I used to live in places all over the East Coast), but thanks . @CaliMex I am looking for a variety of different options, rigor, and things like that. I am interested in attending schools in the TSAO. 
@“thatshot…” just make sure you don’t get screwed over and miss out on a ton of opportunities to get into other awesome schools not part of any acronyms.
TSAO schools are good schools, but not necessarily better (reputationally, academically or otherwise) than a bunch of other schools out there. Plus, the TSAO schools are very different from each other. It is a very arbitrary way to go about this.
Figure out what your dream school looks like, and then have fun finding 10 or so schools that match that description. They are out there, and most won’t be TSAO schools.
Good luck!
@RedLioness @CateCAParent What are some other schools that are not part of TSAO?
While you should take the rankings with a grain of salt, along with the reviews, look at boardingschools.com or niche. They give a lot of stats on schools that you might find useful. Then come back here and search for threads about schools you find interesting.
Don’t know how you feel about staying in California, but the two schools here that end up pretty high on the lists are Cate and Thacher. There are others, too. I know about Cate, CaliMex knows about Thacher. There are parents and students here that can answer questions for pretty much any school.
Ask yourself some questions before you start - otherwise the school websites feel like a wild candy store. How big/small of a school do you like? Traditional/progressive? In a town or isolated? Sporty/arty? Diverse? Specialty programs? Weather? Competitive/collaborative? Teacher involvement/independence?
You can set up a spreadsheet with the qualities that matter to you and then you can see which schools have the most of what you want. If you can, visit campuses. They have such different vibes.
If your goal is to get into a good college, rest assured there are gobs of schools that will get you there. Personally, I have come to believe the boarding school experience is even more formative than college, at least for my kid (he went to public school and we were clueless about the options when we started) . So choose thoughtfully. The bonus is that you will rock an interview if you can show you really know and love the school.
I am an Andover mom. I think having a B is fine. I also think moving school districts is completely fine. I agree that it makes sense to look at more than just Andover. You mentioned TSAO (the Ten Schools) – absolutely look at those different schools and see where you feel most at home.