Phillips Academy Andover

Phillips Academy Andover, known as one of the "Little Ivies" of the Ten Schools Admissions Organization, was founded in 1778. It spans 500 acres and is conveniently located in the town of Andover, Massachusetts.
Top Academic Strength:
* **Rich Curriculum**: Offers over 300 courses, including 8 world languages and 150 electives, as well as advanced courses. It employs small class teaching with an average of 13 students per class, a student-teacher ratio of 1:5, focusing on critical thinking and interdisciplinary learning.
* **Special Programs**: Includes independent research projects in collaboration with universities like MIT, Harvard University, and Juilliard School, as well as "World Learning" programs such as visiting Sweden to see the aurora borealis, photography and outdoor adventure, experiencing craft culture in Japan, or an immersive experience in Morocco's rich history, delicious cuisine, modern development, religious traditions, and more.
* **Diverse Student Body**: Students come from 43 states and 46 countries, with 15% international students and 61% students of color.
* **First-Class Campus Facilities**: Boasts an advanced science center, including the Addison Gallery of American Art with a collection of 29,000 pieces, the Peabody Archaeology Museum with 600,000 artifacts, photos, and documents, and the OWH Library housing 101,000 volumes. It also features a 65-acre bird sanctuary, an astronomical observatory, and an FM radio station.
* **Art Facilities**: Graves Hall includes three classrooms, a music library, an electronic music studio, 19 practice rooms, two rehearsal spaces, and a recital hall.

1. Academic Excellence: Average SAT score of 1470/1600; average ACT score of 33/36.

2. Convenient Location: The school is located in Andover, an affluent area 30 minutes' drive north of Boston, with convenient transportation.

3. Rich Curriculum: The school's 18 departments offer over 300 courses. The curriculum includes a prescribed core that meets the demands of an open education, and elective courses designed to suit each student's interests.

4. Advanced Teaching Facilities: The 500-acre campus includes the Addison Gallery of American Art, the Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology, the Oliver Wendell Holmes Library with a collection of 101,000 volumes, a 65-acre bird sanctuary, an astronomical observatory, and an FM radio station.

5. Art Facilities: Graves Hall features three classrooms, a music library, an electronic music studio, 19 practice rooms, two rehearsal spaces, and a recital hall.

6. Andover has a unique advantage that other American high schools cannot match: the school has two museums, which are excellent resources for student learning and are also open to the public. One is the Addison Gallery of American Art, one of the world-renowned art museums, which houses a rich collection of American art with over 16,000 works by famous artists. The museum arranges special staff-student archaeological research several times a year, extending from Massachusetts to New Mexico and Guatemala.

University Admission Data:

In the past 3 years, over 30 students each matriculated into Harvard, University of Chicago, Cornell, and Yale Universities. Additionally, over 20 students each matriculated into Brown, Columbia, MIT, Stanford, etc. Among 348 students in 2022, 14 were admitted to Yale University, 14 to University of Chicago, 12 to Harvard University, 12 to Cornell University, 9 to Princeton University, 8 to MIT, 7 to Brown University, 6 to Columbia University, 5 to University of Pennsylvania, 3 to Dartmouth College, 2 to Duke University, etc.

The school strongly encourages students to participate in a wide variety of extracurricular activities, offering over 20 sports such as sailing, fencing, field hockey, ice skating, and yoga, as well as more than 120 student-run clubs and organizations like debate, foreign languages, baking, robotics, and Model United Nations.

Phillips Academy Andover offers a wide array of sports activities for its diverse student body, including over 60 interscholastic activities and 21 different sports. The famous annual football rivalry between Phillips Academy Andover and Phillips Exeter Academy has a 142-year history, making it the oldest rivalry among top high schools in the United States.

The school places great importance on sports, and its athletic facilities are comprehensive. Its sports facilities are absolutely top-notch among high schools in the United States. Outdoor sports facilities include 19 playing fields, 18 tennis courts, an outdoor synthetic track, and Phelps Stadium (which can accommodate over 2,000 spectators). Indoor facilities include 3 gymnasiums, 2 ice rinks (meeting NHL and NCAA standards, respectively), multiple basketball courts, eight international squash courts, a 6-lane swimming pool, a 12-foot deep diving pool, and two dance studios.

Phillips Academy Andover's arts education comprises three departments: Music, Visual Arts, and Theater & Dance, providing all students with opportunities for self-expression. The school has 10 large performing groups, including 2 concert bands, 1 jazz band, 3 orchestras, and 2 choirs.

Phillips Academy Andover, one of the ten schools in the 'Little Ivies' alliance in the United States, was founded in 1778, almost the same age as the country itself. If there is any high school with the longest history in the U.S., it must be Andover.
America's *Education Week* called it "the quintessential model among boarding schools," believing that it "truly succeeds in comprehensively shaping students' personalities while helping them prepare for college life." It is truly one of the best high schools in the United States.
For many years, in national private school rankings, whether it's overall rankings or academic rankings, Phillips Academy Andover has consistently been among the top.

Phillips Academy Andover is an independent, co-educational boarding secondary school, strong across all disciplines, with high academic rigor in all subjects, and a relatively humanities-leaning focus. It is the only secondary school in the United States that can incorporate an archaeological institute into its resources.

Featured resources include:
TANG INSTITUTE: As a catalyst for connected learning, exploration, and experience both on and off campus, the TANG INSTITUTE is dedicated to preparing Andover students for the complex and interconnected world of the future.

BRACE CENTER & CAMD: The BRACE Center for Gender Studies and the Center for Community and Multicultural Development bring students, faculty, and staff together to learn from each other in an inclusive and accepting space.

GELB SCIENCE CENTER: A three-story flexible space with modern laboratories and classrooms; university-level scientific equipment and digital integration; a seismograph, fish tanks, reptiles, and a rooftop observatory.

ADDISON GALLERY OF AMERICAN ART: A nationally renowned art museum, located right in the heart of campus. Home to works by Edward Hopper, Winslow Homer, and Frank Stella ’54.

OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES LIBRARY: Features a makerspace, 90,000 print books, hundreds of thousands of digital resources, and the nation's most comprehensive secondary school reference library.

This year's school data: The school offers 300 courses, including 8 world languages and 150 elective courses; the average class size is 12 students; representatives from 54 countries attended; international students account for 16% of the school population; students of color constitute 57% of the school population; students come from 45 states and regions; the teaching staff consists of 224 teachers; the student-teacher ratio is 6:1; teachers of color make up 32% of the faculty; 45% of students received financial aid.

I'd like to share a few experiences regarding my American student's enrollment:
1. Students with special interests are often overlooked and easily surpassed by others. For example, some sports teams are not selected based on merit, but rather on the familiarity between students and coaches, which also resembles 'personal connections' or 'favoritism'.
2. In fact, the number of Asian students at Andover is not low, and academic competition and various forms of 'involution' (intense, often unproductive competition) exist. The competition is extremely fierce, and students with low study efficiency will suffer tremendously after arriving.

As a "Feeder School" for Harvard and Yale, it is also known as the "cradle of Ivy League schools." Getting into PA means one leg is already in a prestigious university, with nearly 50% of prospective graduates receiving early admission each year.

Phillips Academy Andover is one of the "Little Ivies" (ten-school league in the US). It is the oldest continuously operating private boarding high school in the United States, dedicated to seeking students of wisdom and integrity from diverse cultural, racial, socioeconomic, and geographical backgrounds. The US "Education Week" hailed it as "the most essential model among boarding schools," believing it "truly succeeds in comprehensively shaping students' character while helping them prepare for university life."

School Mottos:
Non Sibi (Not for Self), meaning "selfless."
Finis Origine Pendet (The End Depends Upon the Beginning), meaning "well begun, well ended" or "good beginning, good end."

Phillips Academy Andover is one of the best private schools in the United States. In addition to providing students with foundational courses essential for a liberal arts education, the school also offers a wide range of elective courses to cater to the diverse interests of different students. The school boasts the best teachers and curriculum, as well as first-class facilities and resources.

Academic excellence is a hallmark of Andover education, boasting a top-tier, robust academic curriculum system nationwide. Andover offers over 300 courses, including 8 world languages and 150 electives, with systematic teaching objectives and course designs. All new students must take a math placement test, and classes are assigned based on the assessment level. Students of comparable ability study together, so sometimes a single classroom might include freshmen, 10th-graders, or 11th-graders simultaneously. Andover offers 8 foreign language courses, such as Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, etc. In class, teachers encourage students to express themselves using the foreign language, and all language courses are taught by native speakers. Science courses are mandatory for Andover freshmen, including introductory courses like biology and physics, which involve extensive laboratory work. At Andover, a student's performance in science is directly related to their level in mathematics; if a student is in an advanced math class, their science class will also be assigned to an equivalent level.

Although Andover's campus area is not large, only 500 acres, the school's main departments each have their own independent buildings. Andover currently has 849 boarding students and 298 day students, coming from 49 countries and regions. 12% of students receive full scholarships, and 46% receive financial aid. There are 104 international students, accounting for 15% of the student body. The school has 216 teachers, with a student-teacher ratio of 7:1. The school has an annual endowment fund of $24.5 million, and its alumni fund reaches $1.42 billion.

As one of the most prestigious private boarding schools in the United States, Andover is almost as old as the country itself, and is also the oldest boarding school in the U.S. It was ranked #1 nationally in the 2022 Niche Best Private High Schools in America. It is also a member of the TSAO Ten Schools Alliance, known as the 'Little Ivies' of America. America's 'Education Week' called it 'the most quintessential example among boarding schools,' and it is known as the 'Harvard and Yale prep class.' Furthermore, we have compiled the Ivy League admission rates for top U.S. boarding high schools in recent years, with Andover's Ivy League admission rate reaching 25%.

Andover offers a wide array of student clubs and activities, providing students with numerous opportunities to discuss significant projects and topics. For example, in gender equality projects, students have the chance to interact and communicate with survivors of gender-based violence. These dialogues can provoke profound thinking, leading students to new understandings of gender. Participating in various activities also helps students find close and like-minded friends. The school also has many community service activities, such as assisting individuals in the surrounding community with mental or physical disabilities. These activities effectively help students integrate into the community, offering many opportunities for interaction and fostering an overflowing sense of care. Such activities allow students, during their American high school journey, not only to build connections with teachers and fellow students but also to gain a deep understanding of the people in the surrounding community, enriching their high school life and contributing to the cultivation of their compassion and sense of responsibility.

Phillips Academy Andover is dedicated to fostering an inclusive community that encourages students and adults to respect, inspire, and learn from one another. The school's Gelb Science Center is equipped with advanced facilities to support student scientific research. The school boasts three floors of flexible, modern labs and classrooms, university-level scientific equipment, and digital integration. The school observatory is located on the roof of the Gelb Science Center. The rooftop dome, installed in 2004, can rotate 360 degrees and is equipped with a computer-controlled DFM 16-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector. Two additional telescopes are mounted on the DFM: a Lunt Solar Systems 60mm Hydrogen-alpha refractor and an Orion Premium 102mm ED refractor. These provide excellent daytime solar views and wide nighttime views. The observatory is outfitted with a spectrometer and an SBIG large-format CCD camera, complete with a full set of Bessel UBVRI photometric filters.

The school's daily management everywhere shows a pursuit of political correctness. The school board considers everything based on race, treating Black and Mexican individuals as the most noble. Gender fluidity is encouraged, with males able to become females and females able to become males. The current principal is a Black gay man; when speaking on stage, he often mentions "my husband" and "my son" to convey family harmony. The school culture deems transgenderism and homosexuality fashionable and advanced. Of course, if you are proud of your child becoming homosexual or wanting to transition, and can accept new models of human families, congratulations, this is the school for you!
During the pandemic, school teachers were reluctant to resume classes. The chaotic school management greatly angered parents. Thanks to the school's past good reputation, current enrollment is still very good, and most of the admitted children are kind and diligent. What changes will occur in their values three or four years from now? Are this school's values consistent with your family's values?

Andover offers 21 sports activities, including: Baseball, Basketball, Crew, Cross Country, Field Hockey, Football, Lacrosse, Ice Hockey, Cycling, Golf, Nordic Skiing, Ultimate Frisbee, Wrestling...

It also offers 31 art courses, including: Architecture, Clay, Drawing, Painting, Printmaking, Video, Art, Mixed Media, Acting, Choreography, Dance, Directing, Drama, Jazz, Music, Play Production, Public Speaking, Recording, Songwriting, Stagecraft, Theater...

Phillips Academy Andover, founded in 1778 and located in Andover, Massachusetts, is an independent co-educational secondary school. The student-to-faculty ratio is 5:1.

Andover's 18 departments offer nearly 300 courses. The school provides 84 extracurricular activities. Andover offers AP courses only in science and mathematics. In addition to AP courses, Andover offers a wide range of other elective courses, including subjects such as Existentialism, Anthropology, Architecture, Religious Studies, and Philosophy.

Previous graduates have gone on to Harvard University, Stanford University, Princeton University, MIT, Columbia University, University of Chicago, and others.

Andover has systematic teaching objectives and curriculum design. Therefore, any student graduating from Andover is undoubtedly well-prepared to adapt to university life. Students need to spend 3-7 hours daily on homework. If you want to have an easy high school experience, Andover is definitely not suitable. The school allows students to independently choose courses, and all subjects maintain high academic rigor, such as: mathematics, art, music, drama, languages, science, English, history.

Founded in 1778, Phillips Academy Andover is one of the top private schools in the United States. Located in Massachusetts, the school spans 500 acres. It offers over 300 courses, 8 world language programs, and 150 electives. At Andover, learning is an active pursuit that takes many forms. Here, no one sets standards for students; instead, students have infinite opportunities and possibilities. The school's Peabody Institute of Archaeology is highly distinctive, being the only secondary school in the U.S. to incorporate an archaeology institute into its educational resources. Students can not only learn the foundational theories of archaeology in the classroom but also directly participate in ruin exploration and immerse themselves in vibrant and diverse cultures.

The school's mission is to require faculty and staff to uphold the equal pursuit of knowledge and virtue for 'youth from every quarter.' This principle calls on students to discover the greatest strengths in themselves and others, and what is best for both others and themselves. Phillips Academy Andover is committed to building a diverse and inclusive community, encouraging students and adults to respect, inspire, and learn from one another. Guided by 'altruism,' the Phillips Academy Andover community fosters a balance among students' intellectual curiosity, engagement, leadership, and service, pursuing excellence in academics, citizenship, and ethics.

Andover, like Exeter, is a very comprehensive school with a rigorous academic program and a rich curriculum, offering over 300 major courses and over 150 elective courses. The school places great emphasis on cultivating students' independence and self-management skills, for instance, academic courses require students to learn independently, responsibly, and self-directedly. In addition, the school has introduced a 'cluster system,' maximizing the advantages of a small school environment. Each cluster functions independently, managing its own social activities, academic advising, disciplinary counseling, and sports, fully engaging students' learning and management abilities.

Andover's college admissions data is also astonishing. In the past three years, over 30 students have been admitted to Harvard, University of Chicago, and Yale University, respectively, and over 20 students have been admitted to Columbia University, Cornell, Georgetown, MIT, UPenn, Stanford, and others. In 2021, the proportion of students admitted to Ivy League universities, MIT, University of Chicago, and Princeton was 32.3%, which speaks volumes about its academic level.

Andover is the only secondary school in the United States that can integrate an archaeological institute into its resources. The Peabody Institute of Archaeology has nearly 600,000 artifacts. It primarily studies artifacts, documents, and images related to Indigenous cultures of the Americas. The most representative geographic areas are the Northeast, Southeast, and Southwest of the United States; the Arctic and Subarctic; Central and South America; and Mexico. Each summer, students can choose to explore ancient and modern Pueblo cultures in the American Southwest, trek through the jungle-covered ruins of Machu Picchu, or discover prehistoric caves in France. Andover offers students countless opportunities for personal growth, and these experiences enrich their lives.

Everything you want to know about the reality of Andover's students life, academic, sex, mental life, etc. is here: https://sota.phillipian.net/

Andover, as one of the best private schools in the United States, boasts rigorous academics and a rich curriculum, offering over 300 major courses and more than 150 elective courses. Its educational level in arts, humanities, mathematics, and natural sciences is top-notch. The school favors students who are excellent in all aspects.

A school acclaimed as 'the cradle of Ivy League schools,' one that truly excels in comprehensively shaping students' character while also fully preparing them for university life. It is one of the private high schools with the lowest acceptance rates in the world, one of the wealthiest private high schools in the United States, and also the oldest private boarding high school, enrolling students from grades 9-12. The school is dedicated to fostering a diverse and inclusive community, actively seeking students of wisdom and integrity from various cultural, ethnic, socioeconomic, and geographical backgrounds.

With over a thousand students enrolled, the student-teacher ratio is 1:5, and class sizes average about 13 students, ensuring that every student receives direct guidance and assistance from teachers. The school strongly supports students taking a gap year, offering comprehensive services and a wide array of summer learning programs, such as hundreds of science projects, cross-cultural learning programs, wilderness exploration activities, domestic and international internships, overseas language and cultural exchange, and performing arts programs. The school offers over 300 courses and more than 150 elective courses, including existentialism, anthropology, architecture, religious studies, and philosophy, allowing students to choose various advanced courses in any department.

The school's facilities are advanced and comprehensive, covering everything from academic support to extracurricular arts and sports activities, designed to meet the learning and development needs of every student.

### Overall Situation:
- Academically top-tier, with a large number of high-level courses. Many courses' difficulty far exceeds AP, and the fields and depth covered have reached the level of a small liberal arts college.
- Precisely because there are many course options, and the course design for mathematics and science is extremely complex. For example, Pre-Calculus has regular and accelerated versions, and the regular Pre-Calculus is divided into 5 courses, each lasting one semester, and in different semesters. The content is interconnected, making it relatively difficult to skip any specific course. This requires students to carefully study the school's curriculum, actively communicate with the school when selecting courses, cleverly combine them, and strive to choose courses suitable for themselves.

### Academic Strengths/Features:
- The biggest feature is the extremely rich courses, covering a very wide range of fields and depths. For example, 12th-grade English classes include courses of different types, time periods, regions, authors, and themes.
- Interdisciplinary courses: For 11th and 12th-grade students, there are many interdisciplinary courses that allow students to combine relevant knowledge from two or even more fields, learning comprehensively and comparatively for better results. Examples include Law and Literature, Ethics and Technology. These interdisciplinary knowledge areas are very cutting-edge, and high school students studying them can not only improve their thinking and horizons but also lay a solid foundation for future university majors and studies.

### Shangxue Mingde Student Feedback:
- Too many courses, difficult to choose.
- Humanities teachers generally have very high demands, and there is a lot of writing, making it difficult for Chinese students to achieve high scores.
- The school strongly supports students in choosing challenging courses, but everyone should objectively evaluate themselves, choose suitable courses, and avoid blindly pursuing difficulty and impacting their GPA.

Phillips Academy Andover is a top private high school located in the Boston area, featuring a quintessential New England campus, 21 miles from Boston by car or train. Andover School is committed to providing a diverse and inclusive environment, aiming to inspire students to respect and learn from each other.

School Advantages:

1. Andover is one of the best boarding schools in the United States. It boasts strong faculty, offers 300 courses, 150 electives, and 30 AP courses.
2. The school encourages every Andover student to learn about cultures and practices vastly different from their own through "Learning in the World" (LITW). Examples include a 3-week Russian language study or a 7-day Portuguese music tour.
3. The school's GELB Science Center is a three-story modern laboratory and classroom space, equipped with university-level scientific equipment and digital integration.
4. In addition to advisors, the school also has peers who provide help with math, science, and languages.
5. The school's rooftop also features an observatory dome with a research-grade telescope for astronomy and wonderful celestial observations.

I chatted with an admissions officer from Andover. She said Andover is a very large school where students need to learn independently. No teachers will proactively contact you, and children who lack self-discipline might get lost here. Andover is a highly competitive school; nearly a hundred students apply to Harvard each year, with about 20 getting accepted. Many of them are legacies. I've visited Andover four times myself and it feels like a university. Indeed, many students might not be suitable for this kind of learning and living. It requires independent and self-sufficient students who can manage their time and studies independently.

Praise Andofu!