Phillips Academy Andover Summer Session

Your Name: Anni Wen

Class of: 2014

Program: Phillips Academy Andover Summer Session

When you did the program: Summer of 2012

Location: Andover, MA
Link: http://www.andover.edu/summersessionoutreach/summersession/pages/default.aspx

Summary: Phillips Academy Andover Summer Session is a five-week summer program in which students take two core classes of their choice (I took Writing for Success as well as a class on International Relations). In addition to these two classes. Students can take an optional SAT Prep course.

In the afternoons, students interact through sports. Throughout the five weeks, the dorms on campus house more than 600 students from 50 different countries. On weekends, students can take trips to Boston, which is less than an hour away by bus or train. On Wednesdays, students have the option to visit different colleges in Massachusetts, Connecticut, or Rhode Island.

About how many kids were in your summer program?  more than 600

Who were the adults and what role did they play in your experience? The adults are your house counselors and teachers. House counselors played the role of your friends who made sure you are having fun and adapting to the new environment away from home.

How much free time did you have and what did you do with it? Classes were only in the morning, so in the afternoon, there were optional college counseling program which I was actively involved in. On weekends, I went to Boston with friends or stayed on campus Saturday nights to attend dances. There is an 11 PM curfew on Saturdays and 9:30PM curfew on Sunday-Friday.

Did you have room and board or a home stay in another country? If so, what was your experience like? I lived in on-campus dorms and had an awesome roommate from another country. We became best friends and would tell each other about everything that happened. My neighbors also came from different parts of the world, but despite our differences, we had a great time and even chatted through the night!

What were the other students in your program like and how were the relationships that you formed? Students in my program were from all over the world! Imagine living in an environment so diverse that you hear multiple different languages being spoken at once. We learned from each other and everyone brought a piece of their culture to share.

What kinds of activities, social events, and trips were organized for the students? Boston trips, water parks, beach hang-outs, movies, shopping mall, college visits, Saturday night dances, game shows, and many more were offered!

If you had academic classes or homework, how many hours a day did you spend on schoolwork? 3-4 hours per night. Every minute you spend in class is equal to the amount of the homework you'll receive that night. That's the summer session policy.

About how much of your own money do you think you spent on gifts, food, transportation and other things not provided by the program? $400, mainly on weekend trips.

Did you have a curfew? If so, what time? 11PM on Saturdays. 9:30PM from Sun-Fri.

Did you have internet access? If so, how much time did you spend using it? Yes, but it shuts down at 12PM to make sure students get enough sleep.

How organized was the program? How much flexibility was there with the agendas? How much of a say did the students have in this? Very organized, but students did not have much say in the program since it was all organized before we got there. We did get to take class surveys.

How was the food? Rate from 1-5 (1 being the worst and 5 being the best) 5

What is at least one thing you would do to improve the program? I think that classes should be mixed grades.

What was your biggest take away from the experience/what will you most remember? I learned to appreciate other people's differences and experienced what life is like away from home.

Who would you recommend this program to? Who would this program not be best suited to? I would recommend this program for anyone that is interested in challenging themselves with 3-4 hours of homework per night during the summer. I would also recommend this program to those who are looking for diverse place to learn. This program would not be best suited for those who want to get a home stay or community service experience.

Rate your overall experience: 5 (life-changing)