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Phillips Academy Andover

School rating 4 / 5 by

180 Main Street Andover MA 01810 United States
Boarding
9th to PG
Day
9th to PG
Gender
Coed

Academic

Phillips Academy Andover review by .

Average class size at Phillips Andover Academy is 12. Faculty is EXTREMELY accessible (they have conference periods 3 days a week). Work load is above average and difficult, but manageable if people are willing to put in the work. School academics is not all about exams - there are a plethora of opportunities to pull a grade up and participation is also a factor in all classes. The school has a really good math/science program and is also strong in English and very strong in music. Dance is okay and theatre is amazing. Student body is extremely competitive and involved in EVERYTHING. Yes, Andover prepared me for college beyond belief.

College Counseling

First started discussing college Junior year. Met with my advisor as often as I needed....

Sample insights on college counseling

  • They have contacts at most of the major universities and feel perfectly comfortable picking up the phone and advocating for a student to get accepted somewhere they feel is a good fit for that student. However, these counselors are certainly not magic bullets. They cannot guarantee that a student will get into an Ivy League university...
  • For those wishing to move on to Oxford or Cambridge, the provision is second-to-none. In the months running up to application and interview, every subject faculty offers classes (often run by former Oxbridge tutors) exploring further areas of their subject as well as offering advice on personal statements, interview technique and more...

Admissions - Getting Accepted

SSAT needs to be taken. Take it the fall of 8th grade. You should be....

Sample insights on admissions

  • For the interview, dress conservatively. Try to be very clean and put together. Also, I was a tour guide for two years and at the end of every tour, we were asked to evaluate the candidate so if you think the tour is not apart of the process, you are very wrong. Ask questions and be interested. Also, tip for the parents: the kids speak on the tour. Do not ask their questions for them...
  • Most younger siblings have an easy time in the admissions process. I can only think of one case of a younger sibling not being admitted. About half of the students who entered with me had come from public schools. The remainder came from private K-6 schools, or had transferred from other New York private schools The Elizabeth Morrow School and St. Bernard were two of the larger feeder schools...

School Life

Housing is great - Food is decent for the amount of people they have to feed Facilities are often better than the ones I've seen here at Columbia. Andover is perfect because it's not in the middle of nowhere like most boarding schools but it's still a safe neighborhood. The neighborhood is predominantly upper-class white families The student body is among the most diverse, both in number and in practice. It's an open-minded community and when things happen, we would always voice and talk about it....

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