With the conclusion of spring revisits and enrollment last week, the admissions cycle for the 249th admitted class marked a few of many changes to the process over the years, including a return to test-mandatory admissions. The Admission Office and current students across grades reflected on their experiences with the application process.
Jill Thompson, Director of Admissions, addressed this year’s addition of an optional video Response to the application process.
“We implemented a new Short Video Response of one minute or less that invited students to reflect on the question, ‘What brings you the most joy, and why?’ Essentially, we converted our written short-answer question to a verbal video question to make our application more fun and engaging for both applicants to complete and admission officers to review,” wrote Thompson in an email to The Phillipian.
Ashley Zhu ’29 expressed her thoughts on the admissions cycle last year, which marked the first since the COVID-19 pandemic in which standardized test scores like the SSAT were required.
“Having [tests] required or not required will not strongly affect someone’s application process… someone’s test scores do not represent what they are capable of both academically and as a person because some people do better at testing, some people do worse at testing. It just depends,” said Zhu.
Zhu, who interviewed in person at the admissions office, described that she had other options during that time, including a virtual interview and a short video. She appreciated how the admissions process offered flexibility for alternatives to the traditional interview.
“It’s difficult to mandate interviews, like one-on-one [and in-person], because [of] scheduling conflicts, or just not being available. So I do think the video is a good idea for students who are applying, because some people are more comfortable talking to a camera and others aren’t. I do like having a mandated interview or video because it really can show someone’s personality and more [of] how they interact [with others],” said Zhu.
Emma Moore ’28 applied to be a new Lower last year. She shared her insights into how different the admissions process may look for students with varying interests, including athletic recruits.
“I actually didn’t do an interview on my official tour. I did it with one of the girls on the basketball team…Really, the only time I came to campus was for my tour. And then I had, obviously, revisit day,” said Moore.
Nafi Diagne ’26 applied to Andover in the 2021-2022 admissions cycle, closer to the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. She noted a virtual interview, among other changes, in social regulations during the welcoming process.
“It was a [regulation] that you can’t come in, because I remember doing all of my interviews [online]. Then, by the time it came around to getting in, we had to wear masks, but I still could visit in person. I did a revisit day, and I spent the whole day with a student going to her classes and stuff. By that time, the regulations had eased,” said Diagne.
Diagne shared her observations with the Class of 2026, including a reduction in her class size to compensate for overenrollment in previous years.
Nafi continued, “All I remember people said a lot was [that] because they overenrolled in 2019 and 2020, our class [had] less people in general in freshman year… [It] didn’t seem [like] anything out of the ordinary besides the fact that they had to cut back a little on numbers after [COVID-19],” said Diagne.
Chance Hernandez ’29 offered advice for prospective students. He encouraged them to prioritize personal fit over prestige when applying to Andover and similar schools.
“Don’t try to pretend to be someone you aren’t and really just portray yourself authentically, since representing yourself as yourself is the best way to navigate through the majority of life… A school might be ranked highly or highly academic, and that’s good for the institution, but if it isn’t the right fit for you, then it isn’t the right fit for you, and there’s no need to feel like it demeans your own worth,” said Hernandez.
