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A Preview of Andover’s 240th Admitted Class

Thousands of students from around the globe waited with excitement and anticipation on March 10th, the day Andover releases their admissions decisions. This year, the school welcomed its 240th admitted class. With over 3,000 completed applications, Andover accepted only 13 percent of applicants for the 2017-2018 school year, marking the lowest acceptance rate in the school’s history.

In addition, $6,200,000 of financial aid was awarded to new students. In the 2017-2018 school year, 48 percent of the projected student body will be on financial aid and 13 percent of the projected student body will be on full scholarship.

To help the admitted students make their decision, current students, as well as alumni and other members of the Andover community posted photos on Instagram with the hashtag #sayyestoandover. Each photo is unique and gives a reason for admittees to say “yes” to Andover.

“We actually came up with [the hashtag] last year, with the 239th admitted class. We were looking for a hashtag to use on social media that was also a call to action: we want the newly admitted students to actually say yes to Andover,” said Vivien Mallick, Director of Admissions Operations, in an email to The Phillipian.

Kassie Archambault, Assistant Director in Admissions, said in an email to The Phillipian, “It is so much fun for our office to see newly admitted students using the #sayyestoandover hashtag. I can distinctly remember finding out that several students chose Andover through their use of the Instagram campaign. There is so much exciting, positive energy around it. It’s also wonderful to see current students and alumni using the hashtag to share why they chose Andover, and all of the different reasons why they love and value our community.”

Although Team Shuman does not know how much effect the hashtag has on the decision of accepted students, Mallick stated how it has been used to send welcome messages to accepted students and how the campaign speaks to the community and school spirit at Andover. Social media plays a role for students, both current and newly accepted.

Kameron Saalfrank, a newly admitted student from the class of 2021, wrote in an email to The Phillipian, “I saw #sayyestoandover in many of the Andover Admissions posts on social media, many of which were reposted from different athletic and academic teams. Each post really reached out to me as an individual, letting me know that many students at PA wanted me to become one of them. This welcomeness was one of many great factors that made me #sayyestoandover!”

Eden Cui ’19 posted a photo on Instagram of herself and a few friends in Reykjavik, Iceland, where they traveled over spring break for a concert. Her photo represented current students from every grade.

“It was truly a memorable time and I think that the reason why we were able to make such good memories was the idea of this trip that allowed us to bond. This is why I decided to post this photo; it shows what Andover has to offer you partly—new friends; awesome friends,” said Cui.

“I think #sayyestoandover is a creative hashtag that helped many accepted applicants, including me, decide to commit to Andover,” said Saalfrank.

Some of these newly accepted students and their families will be coming to campus for Spring Visits on the last three days of March and April 3.