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Albuquerque Academy

School rating 4 / 5 by

6400 Wyoming Boulevard NE Albuquerque NM 87109 United States
Day
6th to 12th
Gender
Coed

Academic

Albuquerque Academy review by .

Albuquerque Academy provides students with a rigorous yet socially amenable education. Students are strongly encouraged to work to their fullest potential, however, they are stressed to do so without competitive connotations. The amount of competition that exists within the student body is dependent on the students alone, and not on the staff. The general ambiance initiated from the faculty and administration is very pleasant and user-friendly. While diligence is key to success at the Albuquerque Academy, competition between colleagues is not. The strengths of Albuquerque Academy are primarily academic. Classes at the Academy are all honors-level or higher. Beginning freshman year, students can choose from a well rounded pool of courses to enroll in, while fulfilling a general education requirement. Many teachers have been teaching at Academy for well over fifteen years, while some have been around for up to 40 years. The wide array of courses cover nearly every high school subject and beyond, ranging from a strong visual arts program to an excellent college expository writing program within the English department. An entire building is devoted to the sciences, while another is devoted to the visual arts, and yet another holds thousands of books as the school library. The average class size is around 16. The Albuquerque Academy strives to live up to this expectation. Teacher-student interaction is crucial to an education from the Academy. Teachers are very accessible to every student, and almost always develop a relationship with every student in each class they conduct. Each class covers topics in a wide variety of methods, including exams, discussions, lectures, projects, readings, and research. Exams and test-taking do not play an overwhelming role at the Academy, although students do usually take two exams per class, along with regular testing throughout the year. The Academy espouses having a broad education, and for this reason does not base everything on scores and grades. The school advocates a well-rounded education, and pushes students to step outside of the box, and outside of the comfort zone. The average daily life for a student is somewhat predictable. For the most part, classes meet everyday, and in the same order each day, with the exception of one "off-period" or "free-period" per class per week. Students are required to eat at specific times in the designated dinning halls on campus, with the exception of seniors who are allowed to eat off campus once a week. Each year students receive schedules based on what they chose to take the previous year. However, students have the freedom to alter these schedules as they wish, usually met with a positive response from the scheduling office.

College Counseling

At the Academy, my experience with college counseling was very important. They seemed....

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

To my best of knowledge, you are required to take a writing/math test....

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

One major theme at Academy is diversity. In fact, an entire day at Academy is called "Diversity Day". On this day, students celebrate diversity by holding booths, presentations, food, music, and more all over the campus. This day is open to visitors, and required for all students to attend. Students of every background attend the Academy. This is possible to due the enormous endowment it possesses. Students feel safe and secure at the Academy. For the most part, the campus is closed to outsiders during the day. The dinning hall prepares all of its own....

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